“I’ve noticed the consistent trend is for product managers to define personas with 90% demographics, and 10% wants/needs/emotions. Maybe less. For example, it’s easy to create Jill—a 23-year-old in a major metro who has a roommate, loves travel, and is very into the DJ scene. Jill is thinking about buying her first car. That’s a great starting point. But it’s barely the tip of the iceberg.
Does Jill care about what the car says about her, or does she care about fuel efficiency? Is Jill focused on saving money, or on resale value? Does Jill care about the car tech, or just that it gets her places? Further, does Jill enjoy the research process, or does she just want to be pointed in the right direction? Is she going to make a little comparison spreadsheet for herself, or just wing it?”
“Far too often products are coming to market without considering the needs of the individual, as opposed to pure demographic fit. All of the above scenarios are valid to a product manager who is designing a site/app to cater to car buyers. But a simple review of car-buying websites shows a distinct lack of consideration for emotional needs versus purely practical ones.
When the TV industry tried to bring 3D technology into the house, they showed a distinct lack of empathy. Sure, 3D movies were performing well in theaters, so it made logical sense to bring that kind of tech into the home. But an empathic product manager could have easily predicted the poor reception: movie theaters are primarily solitary (though shared) experiences, whereas family/living rooms are primarily social experiences. And no family wants to sit on the couch wearing a bunch of goofy glasses (not a problem in a darkened theater).
Great product managers can put themselves into the mindset of the persona, and really get into his/her skin to understand the wants and needs and, most importantly, the emotional triggers of their users. And truly great product managers will cycle through many different[…]”
Excerpt From: Josh Anon. “The Product Book.”
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