Market --> Segment --> Persona
If you're not selling into a great market, you'd better find one quick or hang it up. You can push a boulder uphill only so long.
If you're in a great market, niche down into a great segment ASAP. Nail it. Be the best for that segment before you add another.
If you have a great segment in a great market, figure out that persona. Imagine one real person who would absolutely freak out with delight over your product and how it solves their problem.
'Persona' is an oddly depersonalizing term. Really, it's just a person. Maybe you've never met them. Maybe they don't actually exist. But you should think of a real, flesh-and-blood, believable human just like those you have met.
Yes, you operate in complex networks of organizations. But in the end, the fundamental unit of every structure is an individual human.
Only individual humans can act. Only individual humans can be frustrated, accountable, happy, or change their minds.
Don't lose connection to the real, individual people you are building for, supporting, marketing to, selling to, and partnering with.
What would it take to get a Tweet like this?
I came across this tweet from a guy I know who runs a fitness newsletter and is, apparently, a huge fan of Notion.
If you were a @NotionHQ Superhero what would you put on your utility belt?
— Charlie Deist 👣 (@chdeist) March 16, 2022
Mine:@super_ for websites@TallyForms for forms@integromat aka @MakeHQ for automation@mounika_2000 for avatars@stfnco for Super templates@notionway for inspiration
Related Q: Dark Mode or Light? pic.twitter.com/0DPcET5QY4
(Notice how not only Notion, but a bunch of their partners get love in this post.)
Yeah, I know. Notion is (mostly? kinda?) B2C. B2B isn't the same. Sure.
Still, it's not that different.
And the differences are shrinking all the time. Because B2B customers demand a more B2C like experience, and because the line between work and play is blurring.
So back to the question. What would it take for your customers to tweet like this about your product?
The tweet isn't just a simple, 'I like this product' post.
This guy clearly loves the brand, knows the product well. Uses all kinds of integrations religiously. Is engaged with other users in the community. Has opinions on favorite features. He surmised that tweeting like this would be good for his brand. Showing his love for these tools helps raise his status in his communities.
Interesting.
Really digging deep and asking what Notion has done to make this kind of tweet not-too-uncommon is a worthwhile exercise.
No, you won't be able to copy everything. But you'll get some damn good insights, and confront some hard truths about how your product is received by the ecosystems surrounding it.
Aspire to have people call themselves [YOUR PRODUCT] Superheroes.
Quote of the Day
"Notion almost died in 2015. We were building a product that we thought was cool — not a product that people needed."
Ivan Zhao, Notion Founder
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