There is a lot of confusion in the landing page optimization community regarding personas, cognitive styles, and roles. These terms are often used loosely or interchangeably, with unfortunate results.
It’s time to set the record straight and cover the basics.
Roles
Roles correspond to specific classes of visitors interacting with your site. They are defined by their relationship to your Web site and call to action. The role breakdown can be basic, or it may need to be slightly more nuanced depending on your circumstances.
Here are some representative examples of possible roles:
- Plumbing supply company: Retail customers (looking to buy an individual replacement part), plumbing contractors (need an array of parts for a specific customer job), wholesale buyers and real estate developers (need large volume price breaks and extended payment terms).
- Dating service: Prospective member (hasn’t signed up yet), new member (has paid but hasn’t set up a complete personal profile), experienced member (has done multiple searches and contacted other members).
- Educational-saving-plan provider: Future recipients (children under age 18), parents of recipients (who typically establish the plan), relatives and friends (who may contribute money to the plan).
- Consumer e-tail company: New visitors (who haven’t visited your site before), returning visitors (who have visited but haven’t bought yet), first-time buyers (trying to complete their first purchase), repeat buyers (who already have their information stored in your system), e-mail list members (who have signed up to hear about future special offers).
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