1. Going Lean
with Persona-Building
at Moz
A case study on how to we’re making our
persona set informative,
believable, empathetic and usable

2. Why should you listen to this?
 Hear a about Moz’s in-flight lean persona-building
process –we’re in the middle of it
 Get a feel for how leaner methods might work for
you
 Because I really value your insights
 Let’s learn from each other!

3. First, a bit about Moz…

4. Who we are:
Subscription-based
inbound marketing analytics tools
Mission:
Help people do better marketing

5. 
2008: SEOmoz founded (previously SEO consultancy)

2010: V1 product launched – SEO-focused tools

2012: funding + growth + local and Twitter analysis tool acquisitions

2013: rebrand + major updates to target broader customer set
Today:
~22k customers
~300K community
~145 employees

6. Next, a quick review of personas…

7. What a persona is (and isn’t):
An archetype description
of an imaginary but very plausible user that personifies these
traits – especially their behaviors, attributes, and goals.
What it’s not:
a real user or a generic user
Source: Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love, pg. 106

8. Some examples
Sources:
Enough funds: http://uxmag.com/articles/personas-the-foundation-of-a-great-user-experience
Dan: http://blog.green-gecko.net/personas-not-as-scary-as-you-think/;
Saab: http://www.atlargeinc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/persona1.jpg

9. Why personas are important
Personas can and should help us:
• Deepen empathy for and design effectively for the different types of users
that make up our customer base
• Describe to the company who the product is for, how they will use it, and
why they will care
• Rally teams around a common vision
• Understand both markets that we are and are not targeting
• Agree on prioritization!

10. How personas can be useful
Engineering:
–
–
Technical requirements to support the best customer experience outcomes
Feature priority, design and depth
Marketing:
–
–
Merge with demographics, cohort, distribution channels, etc. to inform marketing user types/personas
Deepen understanding of customer segments and needs for acquisition and retention efforts
Product:
–
–
–
Product roadmap planning and prioritization
User scenario definition and validation
Customer segmentation and customer retention strategies
Business planning:
–
Market positioning and strategy
Help and Operations:
–
Inform support and account management efforts based on users’ needs
All Mozzers: On-boarding and general customer empathy

11. How Moz went lean (or, thank you, Lean UX)

12. The process and timeline
1. Build prototype personas: 30 days
– Build proto sketches using Lean UX principles
– Identify overlaps across products
– Update metrics and background data
– Consistent format: names, faces, and brief stories
– Outcome: Draft, usable personas
2.
Validate, iterate, and construct final: 45 days
– Outcome: Personas validated, revised
3.
Share and foster adoption: Ongoing
– Outcome: Richer knowledge of our customers by all Mozzers!

13. The team: inclusion, not exhaustion
1. Inner-circle product + planning allies/experts
2. Team – some classic feature team techniques:
Core team:
• Product/UX-dense
• All areas represented
• Engineering critical
• Knowledgeable about customers
• Interested!
• Work groups by product/site: 4-5
Involved as needed:
• Experts
• Data Science
Reviewers: Core team + execs +
managers

14. Including your
people is
including your
customers

15. A note about your legacy personas
Informative for details, but not particularly useful as foundation
Mr. Smithers
Lindsey Naegle
#4 Target (10% Effort)
#3 Target (12% Effort)
Vital Stats
Experience: Advanced to Expert
Budget: $100 - $500 per user/month
Pricing Model: Monthly membership/Annual
% of current user base: 26%
Geo Breakdown: 60% US, 30% UK, 10% other
Number of domains: 20 - 200
Corporate SEO Leader/ Fortune 500
Apu
Power Consultant at Big Agency
Title: Account Manager
#1 Target (40% Effort)
Key Differentials:
•Power user
•Super knowledgeable at SEO
•SEO investment: > 50%
Real Life:
Jon Myers - MediaVest
Chris Boggs - Rosetta
Brian Lewis – EngineReady
Stephan Spencer – Covario
Andrew Girdwood – BigMouthMedia
Todd Friesen - PositionTech
Fat Tony
#2 Target (30% Effort)
In House Marketer
Titles: SEO specialist, web dev, web graphic
designer
Key Differentials:
•Power user, has to show results to others
•SEO investment: > 30%
media, conversation rate optimization, web dev,
writing/blogging
Spend Time On: On page optimization, content
creation, keyword research, link building
SEO Tactics: GGWMT issues, competitive keyword
analysis, analyze most-linked, analyze backlinks, XML
sitemaps, blogging
Key Differentials:
•Understands nuts & bolts of internet
marketing
•LowQuote:
on time & resources
“I need to juggle many clients
•SEO improvement.”
and show investment: < 30%
Real Life:
Wil Reynolds - Thinkseer
Dave Snyder - Search & Social
Chris Winfield - 10e20
Thomas Schmitz - Portent Interactive
Marty Weintraub - AimClear
Michael Gray - Wolf-Howl
David Mihm – DavidMihm.com
15
Vital Stats
Responsibilities: SEO, Analytics, Social Media,
Conversion Rate Optimization, Web Design
Spend Time On: On site optimization, Content
creation, analytics, reporting, link building
SEO Tactics: GGWMT issues, Competitive KW Analysis,
Analyze Most Linked, Analyze Backlinks, Blogging SEO
Quote:
“I
Experience: Beginner to Intermediate eat, drink, and breath SEO”
•SEO evangelist at the company
Quote:
Budget: juggle many•SEO investment: > 50%
$50-100/month
“I need to
clients
and show serious results!!”
Real Life:
SEOmoz
Pricing Model: Freemium, subscriptionStats
SEOmoz Breakdown: Not geo specific
GeoStats
Number of domains: 1
% of Survey: 4.5% (± 1%)
% of Paid Subscribers: 4%
Cancellations: 3%
Competitors: Raven SEO, SEObook, SEM Rush, Covario
Alex Schultz - Facebook
Vincent Wehren - Microsoft
Tony Adam - Myspace
Chris Allen - Expedia
Pauline Orr - IBM
% of Survey: 12.5% (± 1%)
% of Paid Subscribers: 12%
Cancellations: 4%
Competitors: SearchClu, Conductor, Build In House Tools
Vital Stats
Experience: Intermediate to Expert
Budget: $50 - 200 per user/month
Pricing Model: Monthly membership/annual
% of current user base: 26%
Geo Breakdown: 60% US, 30% UK, 10% other
Number of domains: 3-100 over time
Titles: Marketing manager, SEO specialist,
Responsibilities: SEO, analytics, web design, social
SEO analyst, content manager
Independent consultant/small agency
Responsibilities: SEO, Analytics, Social Media, Director of SEO, Marketing Director
Titles: PPC,
Conversion rate optimization, writing/blogging, managing
Spend Time On: On- Page optimization, link building,
analytics/data collection, keyword research, content
SEO Tactics: GGWMT Issues, Competitive keyword
Key Differentials:
analysis, analyze backlinks, analyze top linked to pages,
employed conversion tracking
•Super knowledgeable at SEO
Vital Stats
Experience: Advanced to Expert
Budget: $500-2k/month
Pricing Model: Annual membership
Geo Breakdown: Big cities
Number of domains: 1 or 2
SEOmoz Stats
Real Life:
% of Survey: 15-25%
Kristen Acker – VP Marketing at Zillow
% of Paid Subscribers: ~ 22%
Cancellations: ~ 9%
Kirsten Hornby – VP Marketing at NileGuide
Competitors: Raven SEO, SEObook, SEM Rush, Covario
Lauren Vaccarello – Senior SEM Manager at Salesforce
Melissa Peterson – Editor at Foodista
Laurel Moudy – Director of Sales/Marketing at OneHub
Responsibilities: SEO, Analytics, Social Media, Conversion
Rate Optimization, Web Design
Spend Time On: On site optimization, Content creation,
analytics, reporting, link building
SEO Tactics: GGWMT issues, Competitive KW Analysis,
Analyze Most Linked, Analyze Backlinks, Blogging SEO
Quote:
“I know SEO matters, I just wish I had more
time”
SEOmoz Stats
% of Survey: 28% (± 1%)
% of Paid Subscribers: ~26%
Cancellations: 10%
Competitors: Raven, Majestic, HubSpot

16. Phase 1: Build (Usable) Prototype Personas

17. Goal outcome: Lean UX proto-persona sketches
17
Sources: http://custdevday.com/pages/content/lean-ux/ and http://coschedule.com/blog/lean-ux-user-personas/

18. Testing the process
in flight
•
Smaller, team that included
Product vet
•
Process-savvy
•
Open!
•
Clear ideas on customer
segments documented on
paper

19. First thoughts on paper
The hidden talents of a biz-dev guy!

20. Tweak the process: more collaboration, up front
This is where things got FUN:
“Oh, man, I know that guy!”
“We see this all the time in our
phone conversations with buyers”
“These people really are looking
for a secret sauce”

21. A side note about empathy and redemption
Don’t get too
clinical!
Rich, FUN, frank
discussions, but
couldn’t help
dissect and
stereotype
Lots of review and
feedback brought
inadvertent biases
to light
5+ editorial scans
for language alone
Source: Christina Wodtke’s essay in The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using Personas

22. Love them all!

23. CxO: Steve (Local)
DEMOGRAPHICS
Cross-over: API founder-visionary Steve,
Moz Analytics Steve
Details:
Buyer
This is API persona founder/visionary Steve
Could be at: large agency
Examples:
Founder/entrepreneur
Age: 35-45
White male? (Female examples?)
Probably in tech in some form ~15 years
Bachelor’s degree
Extremely comfortable with technology
Tweak the process more:
we have a template!
Tools need to support employees’
workflow
Business is always cash-flow positive, and
he’s laser-focused on keeping it that way
Needs:
Prospecting/RFP tool for large clients (to
pick up Macy’s, REI, Home Depot)
Automate repetitive, unskilled work
PAIN POINTS / NEEDS
BEHAVIORS

24. Leader Steve (Analytics)
Agency founder
25-34 (older: male; younger: balance)
Education: all
-- High-school prodigy
-- College drop-out
-- College/network
Details:
More buyer (Notes – can’t read??)
Could be in: Agency
3-20: trenches; 21-XX: More buy decision
-- entry point or decision, but not both similar personas separately
Defined
-- something about delegated decision for each site/product
DEMOGRAPHICS
Needs:
~12 sessions with
-- A single tool
-- Justify inbound effort
-- Good reporting
-- Educate in all inbound channels
-- Participate in all channels
-- Actual value right away
-- Pain points: too many tools, diff vendors
Values:
-- Dreamer/creator
-- Independence
-- Empowering others
PAIN POINTS / NEEDS
notes/feedback ongoing
Connects/forwards
Agile: try everything
Figures out value prop/niche/clients
Savvy > ongoing
Less savvy > projects are seasonal
Expert in one channel
Answers email at 2 a.m.
Bootstrapped
Takes risks, fixes things
Empowers others
BEHAVIORS

25. Merging and identifying cross-over

26. SME Evangelist Steve
Agency founder
“quote”
Overview
• Analytics + OSE: secondary
• Local: secondary
• Data: NA
Job/role: SEO turned founder of a mediumsized agency
Could also be found in mid-size to large
agency, perhaps mid-size to large in-house
brand
Purchase influence: user, influencer, buyer
Goals
Motivations and values: Innovation + new ideas, and moving the
industry forward; knowledge sharing; efficiency; spreading the word;
staying connected; disruptive technologies/insights
Needs: Automation, more time to dig deep and think creatively;
reports that allow him to analyze quickly; high-quality results and
effective tools for teammates who are also creative and self-motivated
Abilities, skills, and knowledge
Marketing domain knowledge: Expert
Technical knowledge: Advanced to expert
Behaviors:. Steve is a respected thought leader and SME in his
industry, is highly collaborative, and shares information via his blog
and networking. He speaks at conferences to generate leads for the
agency and to build his own network. Steve’s passionate about his
work, and digs deep into analyses whenever he can (but not as much
as he’d like). He’s a hacker at heart, a tool-a-holic, and a risk taker, and
loves playing with new and novel approaches to crunching data and
metrics. For his team, he’s focused on empowering, finding efficient
processes, and figuring out the value prop or niche for a
service/tool/solution.
A consistent format for
sketch documents
Activities: 3-5, chiefly work-related; TBD from
customer interviews and/or industry survey
e.g., researches new directions and solutions
for getting unique data for clients
More roles like this: strategic senior leader of
many stripes (VP/director of XYZ); senior
architect; senior consultant; visionary/thought
leader
Personal details
Defining characteristics are charisma and deep domain knowledge
Education could be any level
Data sources and sources for assumptions:
Source for attributes: The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using Personas

27. Visualizing with a persona map
Social-Inbound
Connector Melissa
Marketing manager
SME/Evangelist Ben
Senior consultant
Moz
Analytics
Grey-Hat Frank
SEO
All-Business Joe
Biz dev
Leader Steve
Agency founder
Data-Driven Dimitri
Inbound marketer/SEO
Moz
Data
Engineer Oliver
Developer
Get-Things-Done
Kayleigh
Marketing generalist
Eduardo
Storyteller Susan
Inbound mktr/SEO
Office manager
Indie Ian
Independent
consultant
Moz
Local
Decision-maker Dan
Senior executive
Sabine
Sr. technical architect
Would-be apprentice
Elizabeth
Junior SEO
Savvy Nala
Small-biz owner
Technical Sage
27
Jack-of-All-Trades
Tech-averse Thomas
Small-biz owner
Black-hat Ivan
SEO
Accidental consultant
Mackenzie
Web designer
Reseller Bob
Salesperson

28. Another view: product-specific
Social-Inbound
Connector Melissa
Marketing manager
SME/Evangelist Ben
Senior consultant
Get-Things-Done
Kayleigh
Moz
Analytics
Grey-Hat Frank
SEO
Moz
Data
Engineer Oliver
Developer
Eduardo
Office manager
Storyteller Susan
Inbound mktr/SEO
Would-be apprentice
Elizabeth
Indie Ian
Independent
consultant
Leader Steve
Agency founder
All-Business Joe
Biz dev
Jack-of-All-Trades
Marketing generalist
Data-Driven Dimitri
Inbound marketer/SEO
Moz
Local
Junior SEO
Savvy Nala
Small-biz owner
Black-hat Ivan
SEO
Accidental consultant
Decision-maker Dan
Senior executive
Mackenzie
Web designer
Technical Sage
Sabine
Sr. technical architect
28
Tech-averse Thomas
Small-biz owner
Reseller Bob
Salesperson

29. What’s next?
1. Validate, iterate, and construct final: 30-ish days, then ongoing
–
–
–
–
Validate: Structured interviews, Industry survey 2013, customer segmentation research, targeted
product usage analysis
Iterate: Revise and add to proto-personas, solidify identities/details
Construct: Usable, organized persona set; Design work to make sharable, build persona wall
Outcome: Personas validated, revised
2. Share and foster adoption: Ongoing
–
–
–
–
–
Make them available! Persona wall, wiki
Incorporate into team workflow: user stories/epics, marketing strategy/campaigns, retention programs
Encourage active feedback and collect in a “parking lot”
Revisit quarterly
Outcome: Richer knowledge of our customers by all Mozzers!

30. Takeaways so far…

31. Get clear on your goals
Ours:
A shared language and framework
… for prioritizing across teams and empathizing with our customers.
A current picture of current and potential new customers
...to account for our growing customer base, evolving business strategy, new
markets, and expanding product line.
A learning experience
… so that Mozzers can learn, share buy-in, and feel connected to the same goals and
outcomes.

32. Get clear on requirements for your process
Ours:
• Lean!
• Collaborative 
• Believable :/
• Usable <3
• Current #
• Fun

33. Process points to consider
• What’s the cost/benefit story
– Time
– Data and methods available/needed
– Resources $
– Who should be involved
• How do we get buy-in? Adoption?
• How do we keep these things current?

34. What will they look like?
Not this…
Apu
#1 Target (40% Effort)
In House Marketer
Titles: Marketing manager, SEO specialist,
SEO analyst, content manager
Key Differentials:
•Understands nuts & bolts of internet
marketing
•Low on time & resources
•SEO investment: < 30%
Real Life:
Kristen Acker – VP Marketing at Zillow
Kirsten Hornby – VP Marketing at NileGuide
Lauren Vaccarello – Senior SEM Manager at Salesforce
Melissa Peterson – Editor at Foodista
Laurel Moudy – Director of Sales/Marketing at OneHub
Vital Stats
Not this…
(but Mailchimp, you are amazing)
Experience: Beginner to Intermediate
Budget: $50-100/month
Pricing Model: Freemium, subscription
Geo Breakdown: Not geo specific
Number of domains: 1
Responsibilities: SEO, Analytics, Social Media, Conversion
Rate Optimization, Web Design
Spend Time On: On site optimization, Content creation,
analytics, reporting, link building
SEO Tactics: GGWMT issues, Competitive KW Analysis,
Analyze Most Linked, Analyze Backlinks, Blogging SEO
Quote:
“I know SEO matters, I just wish I had more
time”
SEOmoz Stats
% of Survey: 28% (± 1%)
% of Paid Subscribers: ~26%
Cancellations: 10%
Competitors: Raven, Majestic, HubSpot
What would
YOU do?
Source: http://blog.mailchimp.com/new-mailchimp-user-persona-research/

35. Thank you, and please discuss!

36. References
Books:
The Inmates are Running the Asylum
Lean UX
The User Is Always Right: A Practical Guide to Creating and Using Personas for
the Web
The Essential Persona Lifecycle: Your Guide to Building and Using Personas
Contact info:
Karen Semyan, karen@moz.com
w: moz.com
t: @Moz
f: www.facebook.com/moz