Standardized Persona Interview Questions

These are the baseline, first level questions asked during an interview for persona development, typically as part of a messaging engagement

Buyer Common Job Titles

Who is the buyer? What are the titles commonly associated with the job role?

For example: IT: Collab, security, networking; LOB: CMO, CTO, CXO

Buyer Role

List the buyer role characterized by decision-making criteria and power level.

The five common buyer roles are champion (sponsor), influencer, decision maker, user and ratifier (a professional purchaser or negotiator).

Engagement Level

Describe when and how the persona participates in each phase of the buying process.

Buyer’s Position in the organization

What is the persona’s position in the organization? Do they report into the buying center or not? This can be an important indicator of decision-making impact and influence. 

Job Role

Group the buyer’s job role by day-to-day responsibilities, accountabilities and how performance is measured (e.g. management by objectives).  What does the buyer do? Describe a day in the life.

Initiatives

What programs and projects is the buyer tasked with completing? What are the buyer’s motivations? What are the buyer’s feelings and aspirations about these initiatives? How does successfully completing these initiatives earn the buyer credibility and promotions?

Buyer Need

A persona may have multiple needs; isolate the primary buyer need that is most likely to attract the persona to the offering.