A diverse audience can be studied, understood, and represented in a variety of ways. Before choosing a framework, think: "if I could understand my users in this way, would that help me make better UX or product decisions?" This case study highlights how you can represent and build for your customers by considering their 1) Goals, and 2) Expertise. It also highlights what is counterproductive, like creating inherently biased personas.

1. 2019
Understanding
a Global Customer Base
2019
Beth Godfrey
UX Researcher at Mailchimp
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2. 2019 2
Hello!
My name is Beth
Godfrey.
I’m a researcher at
Mailchimp.

3. 2019
Mailchimp
has about
17 million
customers...
3
...about half of
which are
located outside
the U.S.

4. 2019
Mailchimp
has about
17 million
customers...
4
...about half of
which are
located outside
the U.S.

5. 2019 5
So how we understand
such a large and diverse
customer base?

6. 2019 6
● Interviews
● Surveys
● Concept Testing
● Field Visits
● In-App Customer Feedback
● Support Feedback
● A/B Testing
● Card Sorting
● ...etc.
First, we do all the
research things

7. 2019 7
But once we have all
the knowledge,
we have to make it understandable
and actionable by product teams.

8. 2019 8
#1 : By expertise
For Mailchimp, that means a few things.
Marketing Expertise
Have they done any marketing before?
Technical Expertise
How technically savvy are they?
Business Expertise
How long have they been running their
business?
All these factors affect what we build, how we
build it, and how we communicatefeatures to
our users.

9. 2019 9

10. 2019
The tool: Data-Informed Personas
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#2: By their goals
This also falls into 3 categories
Business Goals
What are they, as a business, hoping to
accomplish?
Product Goals
What do they hope to accomplish by using
your product?
Invisible Goals
What are things they shouldbe doing, but
aren’t doing, due to lack of expertise?
By understanding our users’ goals, we can
create personalized experiences, like
marketing recommendations or recipes.

12. 2019
Location sales
Digital products
Content networks E-commerce Experience providers
Engage (and continue
to engage) with their
community
Re-engage with their
product, upgrade or use
advanced features
Buy products Make a booking
online
Visit a location
The tool: Customer segments
Online-------------------------------Hybrid-------------------------------Offline
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13. 2019 13
How can I start
understanding my
customer base?

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1. Expertise: Identify in which areas your users
need help, and how you can meet them where they
are
2. Goals: Define what a user of your product is
trying to accomplish, and what you could build or
clarify to help them reach those goals

15. 2019 15
Thank you!