Persona Creation at EGYM Wellpass: Crafting Member-Centric Insights 🎯

At EGYM Wellpass, we've redefined our understanding of member personas to enhance our product strategies and foster empathy within our growing product team.

1. The Genesis of Persona Enhancement 🌱

Understanding our members is crucial for effective product management, especially as we aim to expand our reach across Europe. Initially, we operated with proto personas—basic representations based on limited research. However, to grasp the intricacies of our user base better, we embarked on a comprehensive persona creation project.

In this endeavor, we harnessed the research skills of a student intern, who aligned her bachelor thesis with our objectives. This collaboration allowed us to not only refine our persona frameworks but also to deepen our insights into the unique traits of our users.

2. Comprehensive Approach to Persona Development 🔍

The persona creation process at EGYM Wellpass comprised several vital stages, combining qualitative and quantitative research methods to ensure thorough insights. Here’s how it unfolded:

2.1 Preliminary Data Analysis 📊

We began with a meticulous analysis of existing user data, both qualitative and quantitative. This phase involved compiling and examining available information, allowing us to identify initial persona candidates. Key components of this analysis included:

• Demographic Overview: Exploring age and gender distributions, revealing an equal usage rate among male and female members.
• Usage Patterns: Evaluating venue preferences to understand whether members exhibit loyalty to specific sports facilities or prefer a more exploratory approach.

2.2 Engaging User Interviews 🗣️

Having established potential personas, we moved to direct engagement with our members. We personally interviewed users across different segments to gather rich qualitative insights. Our approach combined:

• Diverse Recruitment: Special attention was given to hard-to-reach groups, such as busy working mothers. Multiple reminders and flexible scheduling were employed to accommodate varying schedules.
• Iterative Refinement: Insights gained from user interviews allowed us to refine initial personas, ensuring they accurately represented our user base.

2.3 Quantitative User Research (UXR) 📋

Next, to validate our qualitative insights, we conducted a segmented survey focusing on identified persona groups. This phase helped us transition from anecdotal evidence to statistically supported conclusions, further refining our personas. The insights generated reinforced our understanding and led to the development of the final Wellpass Personas.

3. Presenting Our Findings to Stakeholders 📣

The culmination of our research was a comprehensive presentation to both the product and customer-facing teams. This presentation aimed not only to introduce the newly created personas but also to emphasize the importance of maintaining user-centricity in decision-making processes.

Our final personas included:

• Routine Ralf: A dedicated member who frequents venues weekly, representing a significant segment of our base.
• Explorer Ernie: A social sports enthusiast struggling to form habits, who also figures prominently in our member statistics.
• Busy Betty: An irregular user, often visiting select venues, including wellness centers.

4. Identifying Patterns and Objective Insights 🧩

During the research phase, we identified patterns through both variables and interview responses. This involved clustering similar opinions to achieve a spectrum of perspectives, from six to twelve consistent positions on various axes. Our methodology emphasized maintaining objectivity, ensuring that outliers were considered thoughtfully, and refining our categorization based on robust criteria.

5. Integrating Personas into the Product Strategy 🔗

Keeping personas relevant in daily operations can be challenging. Feedback from stakeholders must be contextualized according to which persona it originates from, creating an objective lens through which to view product enhancements. The ongoing integration of these personas into our product strategy remains a work in progress, and we remain open to improvements in this area.

In conclusion, the process of persona creation at EGYM Wellpass was not only about defining user types but also about instilling a culture of empathy within our team. As we continue to evolve our product offering, these personas will serve as crucial reference points to ensure we address the needs of our diverse membership base effectively. Emphasizing that persona creation is an iterative process, we advocate for flexibility and openness to change rather than striving for perfection.

Through this project, we have gained significant insights and developed a framework that allows us to align our strategies with actual member needs, ultimately contributing to our overarching goal of enhancing user experience within the fitness sector.