LearnProduct

Home / Phase-1 / Customer Personas & Segmentation

Phase 1

Customer Personas & Segmentation

Great products speak to real people, not averages. This module shows you how to pair segmentation (evidence-based groupings in your existing customer or prospect data) with personas (research-grounded, semi-fictional archetypes) to design messaging, onboarding, and experiences that feel personal—and perform. You’ll learn when to use segments vs personas, how to build both (fast and rigorously), and how to operationalize them across marketing, product, and sales—from first-touch targeting to in-app personalization.

1

Core Concepts: Segments vs. Personas

Customer Segments

Data-defined groups sharing observable traits. Answers: “Which clusters exist in our audience, and how should we target them?”

Customer Personas

Research-grounded characters embodying motivations and pains. Answers: “Who are we designing for and how do we move them?”

Use segments to target at scale. Use personas to craft messages that resonate.

2

A Practical Blueprint: Build Segments, Create Personas

A

Assemble Your Data Spine

1–2 weeks

Gather data from CRM, analytics, support tickets, and surveys. Focus on key fields like demographics, firmographics, and behavior.

B

Segment Your Audience

1–2 weeks

Start with simple, actionable segments based on lifecycle stage, behavior, or needs. Validate that they are measurable and reachable.

C

Research to Humanize

2–4 weeks

Conduct interviews, diary studies, and usability tests with 6-12 participants per hypothesized persona to uncover motivations and pains.

D

Synthesize into 3–5 High-Leverage Personas

Final step

Create one-pagers for each persona including goals, pains, JTBD, and decision triggers. Keep the count tight to avoid dilution.

3

Making it Real: From Decks to Decisions

Activate your segments and personas across the entire customer journey:

Where Segments Win

  • Targeting & ad spend
  • Lifecycle automation
  • Pricing & packaging tiers
  • Customer success playbooks

Where Personas Win

  • Messaging & narrative
  • Onboarding design
  • Sales enablement
  • Content roadmapping

Resources

Acquia

Customer Segments vs. Personas: What’s the Difference?

Open Resource
Userpilot

User Segment vs User Persona: What’s the Difference & How To Create Both in SaaS

Open Resource
oho

Segments vs. Personas

Open Resource
Previous Module

Next module:

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) Framework

Next Module