METHODOLOGY
Creating personas and journey maps
Creating personas and journey maps is a three-stage process.
Segmentation and prioritization
The first stage consists of segmenting current clientele, as well as advisors in distribution networks, based on criteria such as age, gender, income, language and geographic location. Taking these criteria into account, and to develop the best possible representation, a total of 20 clients and 22 advisors were identified across Canada to participate in the consultation stage.
Field research and analysis
Field research consists of conducting detailed interviews with each of the identified participants. This step, which is based on qualitative methods, is used to extract insights, identify behaviours and, most importantly, understand motivations. The data collected is then grouped according to similarities between participants in order to establish similarity ratios between them.
Persona modelling
Based on our analysis and results, six personas were created. They each have their own personality, aptitudes and preferences, as well as behaviours and reactions motivated by different values and aspirations. Their journey maps describe the buying experience for clients and the selling experience for advisors in terms of actions, thoughts and feelings at every stage of the process.
Personas and their use
Personas created from real client and advisor profiles are fictitious, but extremely detailed representations of the people we deal with. In addition to general characteristics like name, age and gender, they also contain areas of interest, passions, aspirations, habits and consumer behaviour. Full profiles are available for each persona.
The objective of the personas is to provide a detailed understanding of our clientele so we can meet their needs and expectations. This type of understanding can allow us to adapt solutions, messages and touchpoints to a specific clientele based on a target persona, for example.
Journey maps and their use
Journey maps represent the current experience of each persona throughout the buying or selling process. They show the cycle of emotions experienced by the persona and shine a spotlight on points of delight, friction, rupture and abandon.
This knowledge of actions, thoughts and feelings throughout the process helps identify key moments where action can be taken to eliminate irritants and therefore optimize the client or advisor experience.
