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👤 3 Ultra-Detailed Personas Beat 10 Generic Ones Every Time

January 16, 2025
10 min read
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Why most persona documents are useless, and the 15-section format that actually drives product decisions.

The Useless Persona Problem

You've seen them: "Sophie, 32, Marketing Manager. Likes productivity tools. Uses Slack."

This tells you nothing actionable. You can't design a feature for "likes productivity tools."

The 3-Persona Rule

  • 1 persona = too narrow, miss opportunities
  • 3 personas = sweet spot, focused product
  • 5+ personas = dilution, bloatware, confused marketing

The 3 Buyer Types

👔 THE BUYER

Signs the check. Cares about ROI, budget, vendor risk. Often not the daily user.

📣 THE CHAMPION

Internal evangelist. Pushes for adoption. Wants quick wins to prove value to leadership.

⚡ THE POWER USER

Uses your product 8h/day. Wants productivity, shortcuts, integrations.

15 Sections Per Persona

  1. 1. Quote (verbatim from interviews)
  2. 2. Main tension (core problem)
  3. 3. Professional context (role, company size)
  4. 4. Friction points (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW)
  5. 5. Motivations (tripartite: emotional, rational, social)
  6. 6. Magic moment (when they realize value)
  7. 7. Quantified impact (time saved, revenue gained)
  8. 8. Red flags (CRITICAL/HIGH/MEDIUM)
  9. 9. Linked solutions (features that solve their problems)
  10. 10-15. + 6 more contextual sections

👤 Generate Research-Backed Personas

CharliA creates 15-section personas in 75 seconds with Perplexity research.

Try CharliA Free →
Charlia

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