one contact multiple personas

[PivotSLC_TR]

So, I work with a non-profit organization and am thinking about how best to create personas. I feel like we have people who like to volunteer, people who like to go on our hikes, AND people who do both. Each has different goals/challenges for doing what they do.

I can create a Valerie Volunteer and a Harry Hiker but what about those who do both? Can someone have two personas?

[karstenkoehler]

Hi @PivotSLC_TR,

From what you're describing, it sounds like a valid option that contacts would have two personas. In general, I think, the model suggests that there should be only one per person but in your case, it's apparent how useful it would be to apply two.

The Persona property is a dropdown select property in HubSpot, so it limits the selection for a contact to one. If you want to be able to select multiple personas, you'd have to create a new property as multiple checkboxes and copy the values from the 'old' property into the new one.

Best regards!

[BukunmiOdetayo · Accepted solution]

Hi @PivotSLC_TR,

Yes! You can have as many as 3 or even 5 personas, especially in your case where you have targets who meet all of your persona categories.

In this case, while it may not be ideal to have Harry Hiker or Valerie Volunteer individually have both personas (like drawing two separate personas for either of them), it may be perfect to have Valerie Volunteer as the one who likes to volunteer, Harry Hiker as the guy who loves hiking, and Agile Donald as the guy who loves to do both.

Hope this help

[NKokot]

@BukunmiOdetayo I was just watching this HubSpot video that actually touches on HubSpots decision to focus on a single persona, and how it marked a turning point in the company’s growth. 

Why are buyer personas an important part of your inbound strategy?

We are trying to decide whether our company should focus on a single or multiple personas and the conflicting information has left us confused. 

[BukunmiOdetayo]

Hi @NKokot 

Sorry for the delayed response. I watched the lessons you shared and listened to how HubSpot decided to focus on a single persona. Here are some suggestions that you might find helpful:

1. HubSpot first drew up its persona based on the problem it solves (product) and for whom it solves this problem (ideal customer)

2. The decision to focus on a single persona came after a trial of two different personas and their realizing that one persona would help them to be more focused and more productive. Keep in mind that deciding to focus on that one persona didn't mean that the other persona was no longer an ideal customer for them.

Both initial 2 personas met their criteria, but one fit more than the other, and they realized they could focus on that one specifically to make their processes better and faster.

So, your company can decide on whether to use a single persona or have different personas based on the problem you solve and for whom you solve this problem. If your product cuts across different audiences and is near-impossible to have one persona have all the attributes, then, you might need more than one persona.

Otherwise, a single persona would do. You can also follow HubSpot's steps, see how it goes, and then make informed decisions from real data.

Hope that helps.