| name | merchant-persona |
| description | Build a research-backed Salla merchant persona. Pre-seeded with Salla's merchant segments (Nano, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise) and Saudi/GCC market context. Slash command: /merchant-persona <type> |
Merchant Persona Builder — Salla Platform
You are building a Salla merchant persona grounded in the platform's actual merchant segments and Saudi/GCC market context. Personas here are not generic e-commerce sellers — they are specific Salla merchant types: the nano fashion seller on TikTok, the SMB electronics shop in Riyadh, the enterprise brand scaling across the GCC.
Initialization
- Read
knowledge/pm-context.md for the PM's pillar context and merchant segment focus.
- Read
knowledge/platform-pillars.md for pillar-specific merchant pain points.
- Check
knowledge/personas/ for existing personas to avoid duplication.
- Check
knowledge/feedback/ for any merchant feedback that can inform this persona.
- Check
knowledge/research/ for any existing user research.
Step 1: Identify the Persona Type
If the user passed an argument (e.g., /merchant-persona smb-fashion), use it as the starting point.
Otherwise ask: "What type of Salla merchant do you want to build a persona for?"
Options (based on pm-context.md segment focus):
- Nano seller — first-time, side hustle
- SMB — growing brand, team of 1-5
- Mid-Market — established brand, multi-channel
- Enterprise — large catalog, dedicated ops
- Specific vertical (fashion, electronics, food & beverage, services, digital products, crafts)
- Or describe the merchant type in your own words
Step 2: Clarifying Questions
Ask these in one pass:
- What pillar interaction matters most for this persona? (The feature area where you need to understand this merchant)
- Do you have existing research to draw from? (Customer interviews, CS ticket patterns, NPS verbatims, Salla merchant data)
- What is the core PM question you need this persona to answer? (e.g., "Would they pay for X?", "What's blocking their first sale?")
Step 3: Research (if tools available)
If WebSearch is available, search for:
- "[Saudi / GCC] [vertical] small business owner challenges"
- "Salla merchant review" or "تجربة سلة التجار"
- "[vertical] e-commerce seller pain points Saudi Arabia"
- Arabic-language forums and communities (Argaam, Mubasher, dedicated Salla Facebook groups)
If Slack MCP is available, search for:
- Merchant feedback and support ticket themes related to this segment in your CS channels
If tools are not available, proceed with platform context from knowledge/platform-pillars.md and any merchant research in knowledge/research/.
Step 4: Generate Persona
# Merchant Persona: [Persona Name]
**Segment:** [Nano / SMB / Mid-Market / Enterprise]
**Vertical:** [Fashion / Electronics / F&B / Services / Digital / Crafts / Other]
**Created:** [Date]
**Pillar relevance:** [Which Salla pillar(s) this persona is most relevant to]
---
## Meet [Persona Name]
[Name in Arabic and English — choose a realistic Saudi name, e.g., "نورة / Noura"]
> "[A direct quote that captures their mindset — in their own words, mixing Arabic if authentic. e.g., 'أبغى أبيع بس ما عندي وقت أتعلم تقنية' — 'I want to sell but I don't have time to learn tech'"]"
---
## Profile
| Field | Details |
|-------|---------|
| **Age** | [Range] |
| **Location** | [Saudi city / GCC country] |
| **Business type** | [What they sell] |
| **Monthly orders** | [Volume range] |
| **Team size** | [Number of people helping them] |
| **Time on Salla** | [How long they've been a merchant] |
| **Tech comfort** | [Low / Medium / High] |
| **Primary device** | [Mobile / Desktop / Both — note that 70%+ of Salla merchants manage primarily on mobile] |
| **Language** | [Arabic only / Bilingual] |
---
## Context & Background
[3-4 sentences. What is their business story? Why did they start selling online? What does their day look like? Where does Salla fit into their business?]
---
## Goals
What they are trying to achieve with Salla:
1. **[Primary goal]** — [context]
2. **[Secondary goal]** — [context]
3. **[Secondary goal]** — [context]
---
## Frustrations with Current Experience
What is painful or broken today — in priority order:
1. **[Pain point]** — [Specific behavior or failure mode. Reference platform pillars where applicable.]
- *Salla context:* [Where on the platform this pain lives]
- *Evidence:* [CS ticket theme / NPS verbatim / research finding]
2. **[Pain point]** — [Description]
- *Salla context:* [Platform area]
- *Evidence:* [Source]
3. **[Pain point]** — [Description]
---
## Behaviors & Patterns
- **How they discover Salla features:** [App Store / social media / word of mouth / Salla emails]
- **How they contact support:** [WhatsApp / help center / Slack community]
- **When they're most active on Salla:** [Mornings / evenings / during Ramadan / before Eid]
- **What would make them switch to a competitor:** [Specific triggers]
- **What makes them a loyal Salla merchant:** [Specific reasons they stay]
---
## Jobs to Be Done
Framed as JTBD statements:
| When... | I want to... | So I can... |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| [Situation] | [Action] | [Outcome] |
| [Situation] | [Action] | [Outcome] |
| [Situation] | [Action] | [Outcome] |
---
## Relationship with Salla Features
| Pillar | Usage | Satisfaction | Key need |
|--------|-------|-------------|---------|
| Store Builder | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
| Checkout | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
| SallaPayments | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
| Salla Shipping | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
| App Store | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
| Analytics | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
| Loyalty & CRM | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] |
---
## Saudi/GCC Market Context
[Factors specific to their market situation:]
- **Payment preferences:** [Mada / STC Pay / COD preference]
- **Shipping expectations:** [Same-day / next-day / standard expectations for their region]
- **Seasonal behavior:** [How Ramadan, Eid, or White Friday affects their business]
- **Regulatory exposure:** [Any VAT/ZATCA complexity they face]
- **Language needs:** [Bilingual catalog? Arabic-only customer base?]
---
## Opportunity Areas
Based on this persona, the highest-impact opportunities for [pillar]:
1. **[Opportunity]** — [Why this persona needs it, estimated segment size impact]
2. **[Opportunity]** — [Why this persona needs it]
3. **[Opportunity]** — [Why this persona needs it]
---
## What NOT to Build for This Persona
[Features or directions that sound good but won't serve this merchant well. Save the PM from misaligned work.]
- [Anti-feature 1] — [Why it won't work for them]
- [Anti-feature 2] — [Why it won't work for them]
---
## Research Questions to Validate
[Open questions about this persona that should be confirmed in merchant interviews]
1. [Question]
2. [Question]
3. [Question]
Step 5: Save and Follow Up
Write to: knowledge/personas/persona-[name-slug].md
Suggest next steps:
- "Want me to build an interview guide to validate this persona? →
/merchant-research"
- "Want me to map their journey through [your pillar]? →
/merchant-journey"
- "Want me to use this persona to sharpen an existing PRD? →
/refine-spec"
