Year
2013
My Role
Research, Visual Design
AT&T’s eCommerce team needed a data-driven understanding of user behaviors to better serve its customers. Through research including interviews, surveys, and online journaling, I developed five personas representing key customer segments. These personas guided user-centered design decisions, fostered empathy, and aligned teams around customer needs, creating a scalable foundation for future insights.
Challenge
AT&T’s eCommerce team faced the challenge of designing digital experiences that catered to a diverse customer base with varying behaviors, needs, and priorities. Without a clear understanding of their users, design efforts risked being misaligned with customer expectations, potentially hindering engagement, satisfaction, and market differentiation.
Solution
To address this challenge, I conducted comprehensive user research, including interviews, surveys, and online journaling, to gather qualitative and quantitative insights. These findings were synthesized into five actionable personas, each representing a key segment of AT&T’s customer base.
The personas provided a shared understanding of user behaviors, motivations, and pain points, enabling the eCommerce team to design experiences that aligned with customer needs while driving business outcomes.
Approach
To create actionable personas, I employed a multi-faceted research strategy:
User Interviews: Conducted in-depth interviews with 27 participants across four cities and sales representatives from 11 stores in six cities.
Surveys and Forums: Engaged with over 200 customers through surveys and online forum discussions.
Behavioral Observation: Facilitated online journaling and telephone interviews with six customers as they navigated real purchase decisions.
Data Synthesis: Organized findings using affinity mapping to uncover behavioral patterns, pain points, and motivations.
This thorough approach ensured the personas were grounded in real user data, providing the team with meaningful insights to inform design and strategy.
Outcome
The personas had a lasting impact on AT&T’s eCommerce strategy by transforming how teams approached user needs and decision-making. With these personas:
Customer-Centric Focus: Teams consistently prioritized real user behaviors and pain points, resulting in more intuitive digital experiences.
Improved Collaboration: Cross-functional teams aligned around a shared understanding of customers, streamlining workflows and reducing silos.
Business Growth: Enhanced design decisions contributed to improved customer satisfaction and engagement, driving stronger market performance.
Scalable Insights: The personas provided a framework for ongoing user research, ensuring future designs continued to meet evolving customer expectations.
By embedding these personas into their processes, AT&T’s eCommerce team created a foundation for user-centered innovation that delivered measurable business value.
The persona development process began with a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data. To make sense of the findings, I used an affinity mapping exercise, as shown here. Key behaviors, motivations, and pain points from customer interviews, surveys, and forums were clustered to reveal patterns and themes. Each sticky note represents a piece of data, meticulously organized into actionable insights that laid the foundation for the persona creation.
This framework allowed me to identify five distinct customer archetypes, each grounded in real user behavior and needs. These personas served as a shared reference point for the eCommerce team, ensuring that every design decision aligned with the diverse needs of AT&T's customer base.
To develop robust and actionable personas, I identified and categorized key behavioral dimensions, as illustrated in this chart. These dimensions—such as Technology Optimism, Decision-Making Processes, Price Sensitivity, and Web Savviness—capture critical customer traits and preferences.
Each dimension was further broken down into measurable attributes, such as Technology Acumen, Informational Demand, and Web Skill, with scales indicating variance in user behaviors (e.g., from low to high dependency or limited to expert web skills).
These attributes provided a structured framework for synthesizing qualitative and quantitative research data. By scoring customers across these dimensions, we uncovered patterns and themes that shaped the five personas, ensuring they were grounded in real-world user behaviors and priorities. This methodology empowered the AT&T eCommerce team to design experiences tailored to distinct customer needs and preferences.
Maggie Knowles
Achiever, Go-Getter & Quality Seeker
Age: 38
Location: Dallas, Texas
Role: HR Director
Family: Married to Steve, with one teenage daughter (Melissa)
Household Income: $125,000+
Motivators
Wallet/Cost: Cost is not a major factor; Maggie values quality over price.
Mind/Rational: Seeks efficient and high-quality solutions.
Heart/Emotion: Prioritizes trusted, family-friendly brands.
Behavioral Insights
Tech Optimism: Embraces new technologies that simplify family life.
Decision-Making: Thorough researcher who values informed decisions but expects quick solutions.
Price Sensitivity: Focuses on value rather than budget constraints.
Web Savviness: Confident in using digital tools and relies on online resources for research.
Technology & Product Integration
Prefers integrated services, including TV, mobile, and internet.
Actively uses streaming services and online platforms to manage entertainment.
Maintains a landline for faxing but relies on mobile for most communication.
Buying Influences
Relies heavily on recommendations from family, friends, and peers.
Values customer reviews and expert opinions over traditional ads or store sales reps.
Maggie represents a modern, quality-focused customer who prioritizes simplicity, reliability, and trusted brands. Her persona helped the AT&T eCommerce team design experiences that emphasized seamless integration, high performance, and strong family-oriented branding.
Janet Smith
Bargain Hunter, Budget-Driven
Age: 62
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Role: Payroll Coordinator
Family: Married to Rob, with an adult son in Oregon and a married daughter in Raleigh
Household Income: $85,000+
Motivators
Wallet/Cost: Strongly influenced by deals, promotions, and incentives.
Mind/Rational: Conducts extensive research, comparisons, and review analysis before making decisions.
Heart/Emotion: Values quality and efficiency in products and services.
Behavioral Insights
Tech Optimism: Not inherently tech-savvy but recognizes the benefits of new technologies when introduced.
Decision-Making: Actively seeks input and feedback from family and friends before making purchases.
Price Sensitivity: Highly budget-conscious, prioritizing value for money.
Web Savviness: Comfortable exploring online deals and reviews, though still developing fluency in navigating digital tools.
Technology & Product Integration
TV: The most important service, as Janet and her husband spend significant time watching together.
Internet: Beginning to explore streaming services like Hulu and Netflix but still prefers traditional cable TV.
Mobile: Limited integration into daily life beyond basic use.
Buying Influences
Relies on customer reviews for authentic insights, favoring real-life user experiences over technical expert reviews.
Finds inspiration and validation through family, friends, and web-based consumer reviews.
Responds strongly to promotions and discounts offered by trusted brands and retailers.
Janet embodies the value-conscious customer who seeks maximum benefit for minimal cost. Her persona guided the AT&T eCommerce team to design experiences that emphasize cost transparency, accessible support, and user-friendly tools for deal discovery.
Karen Burchell
No Frills, Price Conscious
Age: 34
Location: Torrance, California
Role: Nursing Assistant at Kaiser Permanente
Family: Single mother of two daughters, ages 12 and 10
Household Income: $35,000+
Motivators
Wallet/Cost: Prefers budget-friendly options and is an impulse shopper for items on sale.
Mind/Rational: Seeks quick and easy solutions to save time.
Heart/Emotion: Values brands that are affordable yet reliable for her family.
Behavioral Insights
Tech Optimism: Not tech-savvy; prefers straightforward, low-maintenance options.
Decision-Making: Relies on recommendations and readily available information to make fast decisions.
Price Sensitivity: Highly sensitive to cost, often prioritizing affordability over brand loyalty.
Web Savviness: Uses basic online tools but is not a heavy digital consumer; prioritizes simplicity.
Technology & Product Integration
TV: Dominates household usage, though her daughters are increasingly using the internet for school projects.
Internet: Primarily used as a resource for homework and light browsing.
Mobile: Not heavily integrated into daily routines; used mainly for essential communication.
Bundling Interest: Exploring options to bundle services for cost savings and convenience.
Buying Influences
Relies on word-of-mouth recommendations, TV commercials, and online reviews to learn about products.
Balances the desire for quality with the need to stay within a tight budget, often seeking advice from sales reps or other customers.
Finds Google search to be a starting point for researching deals, often losing focus due to the volume of options online.
Miles Thompson
Always On, Tech Junkie
Age: 29
Location: Downtown Boston
Role: Business Consultant for a global consultancy firm
Family: Shares an apartment with a friend
Household Income: $90,000+
Motivators
Wallet/Cost: Price is not a priority; willing to pay a premium for quality.
Mind/Rational: Values cutting-edge technology and seamless convenience.
Heart/Emotion: Drawn to brands that emphasize novelty and innovation.
Behavioral Insights
Tech Optimism: Highly tech-savvy and a first adopter of new technologies.
Decision-Making: Quick and informed, staying on top of industry trends.
Price Sensitivity: Minimal; prioritizes functionality and features over cost.
Web Savviness: Heavy user of digital tools, seamlessly integrating them into daily life.
Technology & Product Integration
Internet & Mobile: Miles views internet and mobile as interchangeable tools, essential for work and personal life.
TV: Primarily used for streaming and gaming rather than traditional viewing.
Integration: Leverages connected devices to manage bills, stream content, and stay updated on news and events from any location.
Buying Influences
Relies on industry blogs, forums, and expert reviews to make purchasing decisions.
Peers and professional networks provide secondary validation for products.
Appreciates sleek designs and sophisticated marketing from innovative brands.
Miles represents the highly connected and tech-driven professional who values innovation, performance, and integration. His persona drove the AT&T eCommerce team to focus on advanced features, seamless multi-platform experiences, and premium offerings to appeal to early adopters like him.
Oscar Reyes
Value-Focused, Practical, and Feature-Oriented
Age: 42
Location: Downers Grove, Illinois
Role: Financial Planner
Family: Single, with family living in the New York City area
Household Income: $70,000+
Motivators
Wallet/Cost: Avoids unnecessary expenses; values products that deliver utility and efficiency.
Mind/Rational: Fact-driven, prioritizing practicality and functionality in decision-making.
Heart/Emotion: Enjoys detailed research and thorough evaluation before committing to purchases.
Behavioral Insights
Tech Optimism: Not an early adopter; prefers a “wait-and-see” approach to new technologies.
Decision-Making: Carefully evaluates options, taking time to analyze features and functionality.
Price Sensitivity: More focused on getting the right features than securing deals or promotions.
Web Savviness: Comfortable using the internet to conduct detailed research and evaluate options.
Technology & Product Integration
Internet: Most important telecom service, used heavily for both work and leisure.
TV: Starting to explore online streaming for entertainment but not yet a primary focus.
Mobile: Interested in using mobile devices for internet access, though currently underutilized.
Integration: Limited service integration, but open to solutions that improve accessibility and convenience.
Buying Influences
Regularly consults CNET professional reviews and Consumer Reports to make informed decisions.
Trusts well-researched third-party reviews over word-of-mouth recommendations or ads.
Prioritizes utility and value over brand prestige or emotional appeal.
Oscar represents the pragmatic customer who values research, utility, and informed decision-making. His persona guided the AT&T eCommerce team to focus on clear product details, transparent comparisons, and tools that facilitate in-depth research, appealing to rational, methodical buyers like him.
The development of these five personas—Maggie, Janet, Karen, Miles, and Oscar—enabled AT&T’s eCommerce team to align their design and business strategies with the diverse needs of their customer base. By incorporating insights from in-depth research and behavioral analysis, the personas provided:
Enhanced Empathy: Teams could humanize their users, creating a shared understanding of their motivations, behaviors, and challenges.
Data-Driven Decisions: Personas became a foundational tool for prioritizing features, tailoring marketing strategies, and improving user experiences.
Improved Collaboration: Cross-functional teams—from design to engineering and marketing—used the personas to stay aligned and focused on customer-centric outcomes.
Scalable Framework: The personas provided a reusable framework that could be iteratively refined for future projects, ensuring long-term value.
These personas helped AT&T deliver user-centric solutions, improve customer satisfaction, and strengthen their competitive edge in the digital marketplace.
