buyer-persona

name	buyer-persona
description	Use when defining target users, customers, or audience segments to ensure they are grounded in real customer jobs rather than arbitrary demographics.
license	MIT
compatibility	Claude Code and compatible agent products
metadata	{"type":"workflow","family":"workflow","rigor":"full","keywords":"persona, customer-profile, target-audience, JTBD, job-to-be-done, user-segmentation, buyer-journey, customer-obsession","requires":"stakeholder-discovery, competitive-analysis","enhances":"prd-writing, pitch-deck","sources_pdf":"The Jobs to Be Done Playbook (Kalbach), Talking to Humans (Constable), Working Backwards (Bryar), Anything You Want (Sivers), Get Together (Richardson)","sources_web":"Lenny's Newsletter: Persona Methodology"}

Overview

This skill forces the creation of personas grounded in functional objectives (Jobs-to-be-Done) rather than superficial demographics. By focusing on the Job Performer and their Struggling Moments, it ensures that product and marketing efforts address actual customer needs.

Iron Law

NO PERSONA WITHOUT A VALIDATED JOB-TO-BE-DONE Personas built on demographics alone (e.g., "Millennial Mark") lead to "fluffy" marketing and products that fail to solve real problems. A persona must be anchored to a specific job someone is trying to "hire" a solution for.

State Machine

digraph buyer_persona_flow {
    "Discovery: Interviews" [shape=doublecircle];
    "Step 1: Identify Job Performer" [shape=box];
    "Step 2: Define Main Job & Needs" [shape=box];
    "Gate: Validated Job?" [shape=diamond];
    "Step 3: Layer Psychographics" [shape=box];
    "Step 4: Draft PR/FAQ" [shape=box];
    "Persona Approved" [shape=doublecircle];

    "Discovery: Interviews" -> "Step 1: Identify Job Performer";
    "Step 1: Identify Job Performer" -> "Step 2: Define Main Job & Needs";
    "Step 2: Define Main Job & Needs" -> "Gate: Validated Job?";
    "Gate: Validated Job?" -> "Step 3: Layer Psychographics" [label="validated"];
    "Gate: Validated Job?" -> "Discovery: Interviews" [label="fuzzy"];
    "Step 3: Layer Psychographics" -> "Step 4: Draft PR/FAQ";
    "Step 4: Draft PR/FAQ" -> "Persona Approved";
}

When to Use This Skill

• When starting a new product or feature.
• When existing marketing messages are not resonating.
• When the team is confused about who the "ideal customer" really is.
• When user research identifies a recurring "struggling moment."

When NOT to Use This Skill

• For purely technical internal optimizations.
• When the "who" is a legal entity (use market-context or stakeholder-discovery).

Core Process

Step 1: Identify the Job Performer

Distinguish between the Job Performer (the person doing the work) and the Buyer (the person with the budget). A successful persona prioritizes the needs of the performer first to ensure product-market fit. (Source: Kalbach, Ch. 2)

Step 2: Define the Main Job & Needs

Use the standard syntax: verb + object + clarifier.

• Main Job: The overarching functional objective (e.g., Visit family on special occasions).
• Needs: Desired outcomes expressed as Direction + Measure + Object + Clarifier (e.g., Minimize the time it takes to share learnings).
• Iron Law Check: Ensure the job is solution-agnostic. Can they do this job without your product? (Source: Kalbach, Ch. 2)

Step 3: Layer Psychographics & Circumstances

Identify the Circumstances (time, manner, place) that trigger the job.

• Pushes/Pulls: What is pushing them away from their current solution? What is pulling them toward a new one?
• Anxieties/Habits: What worries them about changing? What old habits keep them stuck? (Source: Lenny's Newsletter / Bob Moesta)
• Proudly Exclude: Identify who the persona is not. Confidently exclude 99% of the market to win the "Hell Yeah!" 1%. (Source: Sivers, Ch. 16)

Step 4: Validate with Stories (The Truth Curve)

Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to drill into past behaviors. Do not ask for future preferences; ask for the last time they struggled with the job. (Source: Constable, Bryar)

Step 5: Draft the PR/FAQ

Write a customer-facing press release and a set of internal/external FAQs for this persona. If the "Press Release" doesn't excite the defined persona, the persona or the product is wrong. (Source: Bryar, Ch. 5)

Cross-Skill Invocations

REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: stakeholder-discovery — to identify all actors in the ecosystem (approvers, technicians). RECOMMENDED SUB-SKILL: prd-writing — to turn the persona's needs into a formal requirements document.

Rationalization Table

Thought	Reality
"We already know our audience is 25-35 year old men."	Demographics don't predict behavior; struggling moments do.
"Writing a PR/FAQ is too much work for a simple persona."	If you can't write a compelling PR, you don't understand the persona's pain.
"Let's just ask them what features they want."	It's the customer's job to explain the problem; it's yours to design the solution.
"This persona is for 'everyone'."	A product for everyone is a product for no one. Proudly exclude.

Red Flags

These thoughts mean STOP — you are about to shortcut:

• "The persona is 'The Enterprise Buyer'" → You've ignored the Performer.
• "Our job is 'Use [Product Name] to...'" → You've embedded the solution into the job.
• "We'll build it first and find the persona later" → This is the #1 cause of product failure.

Diagnostic Checklist

• Is the "Main Job" defined using verb + object + clarifier syntax?
• Is the "Job Performer" distinct from the "Buyer"?
• Have we identified the "Struggling Moment" that triggers the job?
• Does the persona confidently exclude a large portion of the market?
• Is every claim in the persona backed by a past-behavior story (STAR method)?

Sources

• Kalbach, Jim. The Jobs to Be Done Playbook. Ch. 2, 4.
• Constable, Giff. Talking to Humans. "How To," "The Truth Curve."
• Bryar, Colin. Working Backwards. Ch. 5 (PR/FAQ).
• Sivers, Derek. Anything You Want. Ch. 16.
• Richardson, Bailey. Get Together. "Spark the Flame."
• Lenny's Newsletter. "Persona Methodology with Bob Moesta."