If you had to choose one persona (of the mapped personas) for whom the public website should be designed - who would it be?
I would like to kick off this discussion by suggesting it is the Potential Client, for a few reasons:
A key challenge we are facing is our own sustainability as a community. This challenge is being answered in the efforts to build up EdgeRyders as a consultation service of the future where a valuable and much needed meeting between mainstream society and the edge creators can take place.
Those who are already members are more familiar and most likely drawn deeper into the online platform.
New members who arrive at the platform seem to come with an intrinsic motivation that overcomes any obstacles to comprehension the current platform may have.
There is an undeniable experience of confusion that greets anyone who does not arrive with a "motivation to join" and that confusion may drive away people that we would like to keep close.
While it may (though that is a question for another day) be OK to indulge in a messy "studio experience" we owe it to ourselves and our relationship with the world around us to bring more clarity to our public face.
If that is the case, and the designated persona for the public website is a potential client, here are some questions we may want to discuss to better know this person:
Who is this potential client? Is it a public servant working in a government office? Is it someone like Anne-Marie of Common Futures who is a freelance agent circling near public servants?
What motivates a potential client to reach outside her familiar box?
What is different about a potential client compared to other people in her "mainstream environment" that pompts her to reach outside the box?
What is a potential client looking for? This question is about a human/emotional experience (such as curiosity, inspiration, support, confidence, community).
How is a potential client perceived in her native environment? Is she a thought leader, a stranger/outsider?
Is she a veteran in her position or a new and fresh presence?
Where is she in the management hierarchy? Is she a decision maker with power? How close is she to money?
Does she have a large sphere of influence in her world or is she on her own?
What does her day-to-day life look like? Does she sit in an office most of the time? Does she frequent conferences and events? Does whe work long hours? Is she stressed?
Please feel free to comment with both answers and additional questions you may want to reflect on.
People like [Nadia] and [Tiago] and [AD_Admin] and others in the community who have experience connecting with potential clients, please share your insights and experiences.
Paging [AD_admin] again on this, Arthur can help answer these questions and even join your team
Just one thought: in my understanding the public facing placeholder should address potential clients in both the scenarios you mentioned at 1. and should be comprehensible for anyone accessing it.
Holds mid-level management position - indicating at least 4 or 5 years of experience in her current organziation/branch.
Specializes in her field.
Does not have direct control/access to budget. Needs to get budgets allocated fromhigher levels of management. Budgets are alllocated in advance (depending on financial cycles: quarterly, yearly, etc.).
She has begun to recognize that current efforts in her field are not yielding desired results. She has begun to question.
She is secure in her job. She has an established record and is respected. This gives her space to question.
Her questions have started cause her to feel somewhat distant from many of her colleagues who seem to be caught up in a tedious and repetitive routine.
She is open to hearing about creatives alternative, though she may not yet know what they can be.
She is beginning to see that her current perspective is limited, that she needs a fresh perspective.
She is beginning to realize that she almost needs to find a fresh perspective ... otherwise her vitality will fade.
She has patience and long-term vision. She is able to meet something new and unknown and to remain curious without seeing a clear path forward.
She will prefer to navigate a safe path without risking her career.
When she somehow comes across EdgeRyders for the first time:
She will want to feel a connection, even a sense of belonging. Relief.
She will want to feel that there is substance and not just superficial words and promises.
She will want to be able to learn more by exploring on her own.
When she chooses to contract EdgeRyders:
She will want to focus on a specific domain ... most likely her area of specialization.
She will want to be able to dig deeper and learn more.
She will want to be able to share her experience with others, to introduce them to EdgeRyders and to get their feedback (these people will meet EdgeRyders within a more specific context then she did, she will already be making some kind of introduction on behalf of EdgeRyders).
She will want to get at least a basic understanding of what working with EdgeRyders is like (what can we provide and how much does it cost).
When the time is right she will want to be able to reach out to someone who she can get learn about in advance. She will want to reach out to a person with whom she feels she can relate.
When she chooses to Initially contract with EdgeRyders:
She will be looking for a limited scope engagement to experiment and see what it means to work with EdgeRyders.
She will be looking for an experience that is a combination of guided (opening her up to EdgeRyders) and freedom (to move around and make her own choices).
She will want transparency - to see how things actually work "behind the scenes" in EdgeRyders in response to her request.
