How do you humanize customer personas?

1 Use real names and photos

One of the easiest ways to humanize your customer personas is to give them real names and photos, instead of generic labels like "Marketing Manager" or "Busy Mom". This helps you visualize them as real people, not just segments or categories. You can use online tools like Name Generator or Unsplash to find realistic names and images for your personas, or use photos of actual customers (with their permission, of course).

2 Add emotions and motivations

Another way to humanize your customer personas is to add emotions and motivations to their profiles. How do they feel about their problems, goals, and solutions? What drives them to take action or avoid it? What are their fears, hopes, and aspirations? By adding emotions and motivations, you can empathize with your personas and understand what makes them tick. You can use surveys, interviews, or online tools like Empathy Map to gather insights into your personas' emotional states and drivers.

3 Include personal details and stories

A third way to humanize your customer personas is to include personal details and stories that make them unique and memorable. What are their hobbies, interests, preferences, and quirks? What are some of their memorable experiences, challenges, or successes? How do they communicate, learn, and make decisions? By including personal details and stories, you can make your personas more vivid and realistic, and avoid stereotypes or assumptions. You can use social media, reviews, or online tools like User Story to collect personal details and stories from your customers or prospects.

4 Validate and update your personas

A final way to humanize your customer personas is to validate and update them regularly, based on feedback and data. Your personas are not static, but dynamic and evolving, as your customers change their needs, expectations, and behaviors over time. You need to keep your personas relevant and accurate, by testing your assumptions, asking for feedback, and tracking metrics. You can use analytics, surveys, or online tools like HubSpot or Xtensio to validate and update your personas.

Humanizing your customer personas is not only a creative exercise, but a strategic one. It helps you create more engaging and effective marketing, sales, and service campaigns, that resonate with your customers and prospects on a personal level. By using real names and photos, adding emotions and motivations, including personal details and stories, and validating and updating your personas, you can humanize your customer personas and build stronger relationships with them.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?