Do Personas Work in a Global Marketplace?

Do Personas Work in a Global Marketplace?

Val Swisher CEO, Content Rules, Inc.

@ValSwisher @ContentRulesInc

@ValSwisher • #CMWorld

AGENDA

① A Brief Look At Personas ② Personas Are Not Universal ③ Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions


1 A Brief Look At Personas


Personas① What is a persona? ② Why create personas? ③ How are personas created? ④ How are personas used?



• Representation of your “ideal” customer.

• Stereotype of person, likes, dislikes, traits, activities, age, gender, income, hobbies

What is a Persona?

• Provide a framework around which people build content.

• Allow us to make assumptions about our buyer and develop content to fit the assumptions.

• Better than guessing.

Why Create Personas?


How Are Personas Created?


• Surveys • Interviews • Tools (SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo,

Consumer Barometer, HubSpot DemographicsPro, analytics tools)

• Review of analytics • Educated guessing • Lots of sticky notes

2 So What’s the Problem?


Personas Are Not Universal① How do Personas Break in the Global Marketplace ② Research ③ Examples


Global stereotyping does not work. Most companies build personas for one market (U.S.) and make the assumption that everyone else in the world is just like us.

Not Everyone is Like Us







“Perception of Facial Expressions Differs Across Cultures,” www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/09/facial-expressions.aspx “Internal Representations Reveal Cultural Diversity in Expectations of Facial Expressions of Emotion,” Rachael E. Jack, et al, Journal of Experimental Psychology: general 2012, Vol 141 No. 1, 19-25.

Some Research


http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/09/facial-expressions.aspx

Test faces representing emotions: Happy • Sad • Surprised Fearful • Disgusted • Angry

What the Research Studied


“East Asians and Western Caucasians differ in terms of the features they think constitute an angry face or a happy face. – Rachel Jack

Results


Treat different people differently. Anything else is a

compromise. – Seth Godin


3 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions


Another Approach① What are Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions? ② How can we apply them to global content? ③ Examples


• Dutch psychologist • Founder of comparative intercultural

research • Researcher at IBM • Did pioneering study of cultures • “Culture’s Consequences,” released

in 1980 • Defined four dimensions of national

culture

Geert Hofstede


• Power Distance • Uncertainty Avoidance • Individualism vs. Collectivism • Masculinity vs. Femininity

Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture


The extent to which members of organizations and institutions accept and expect power to be distributed unequally.

Power Distance


High Power Distance =Belief in authority and hierarchy Low Power Distance = Belief in distributed power

• References to status and authority • Photographs of corporate leaders • Letters or messages from corporate leaders • Titles and Awards

High Power Distance and Content


Highest Power Distance • Malaysia • Panama • Guatemala • Philippines • Venezuela • Mexico • China • Arab World

Country Scores on Power Distance Scale


Lowest Power Distance • Austria • Israel • Denmark • New Zealand • Ireland • Norway • Sweden • Finland



A country’s tolerance for ambiguity

High Uncertainty Avoidance = Stresses predictability, structure, values traditions Low Uncertainty Avoidance = Willing to have ambiguity and less structure

Uncertainty Avoidance


• Reduce anxiety, use guided navigation • Security important, particularly transactions • Support important • Work harder to gain trust • Tradition in theme • Use local idioms, colloquialisms, metaphors

High Uncertainty Avoidance and Content


Highest Uncertainty Avoidance • Greece • Portugal • Guatemala • Uruguay • El Salvador • Belgium • Japan • Peru

Country Scores on Uncertainty Avoidance Scale


Lowest Uncertainty Avoidance • Singapore • Jamaica • Denmark • Hong Kong • Sweden • Ireland • UK • Malaysia



Importance of the individual versus importance of the group

High Individualism = goals of the individual most important High Collectivism = goals of the group most important

Individualism vs. Collectivism



• Privacy statement important • Theme of self-reliance and independence • Uniqueness of the product • Website personalization • Individual acknowledgements • Gift recommendations

High Individualism and Content

• Prominent community policy • Loyalty programs • National identity clearly depicted • Group activities such as member clubs, forums • Collective themes such as family, teams

High Collectivism and Content


Highest Individualism • United States • Australia • UK • Canada • New Zealand • Italy • Belgium • Denmark

Country Scores on Individualism – Collectivism Scale


Highest Collectivism • Guatemala • Ecuador • Panama • Colombia • Indonesia • Pakistan • China • Costa Rica



Masculinity vs. Femininity


Masculine = assertiveness, achievement, ambition Feminine = caring, nurturing

Measure of assertiveness versus caring

• Clear gender roles in content • Practical, direct information • Tips and tricks

High Masculinity and Content


• Attention to aesthetics • Use of imagery • Lots of colors • Emphasis on intangible aspects

High Femininity and Content


Highest Masculine • Japan • Hungary • Austria • Switzerland • Italy • Mexico • Jamaica • Ireland

Country Scores on Masculine – Feminine Scale


Highest Feminine • Sweden • Norway • Netherlands • Denmark • Costa Rica • Finland • Chile • Portugal



Summary


U.S. personas do not work in most countries Create personas for each target customer in each market Use general approach, such as Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Be respectful of each culture in words, images, video, audio, layout, design, and navigation

Be Culturally-Aware


Val SwisherCEO Content Rules, Inc. www.contentrules.com


Marketing

Do Personas Work in a Global Marketplace?