Supplementary reference material for the target-audience skill. Covers the JTBD framework, segmentation models, persona-card anti-patterns, and channel research checklists.
- 1. The Jobs-To-Be-Done (JTBD) Framework
- 2. Segmentation Model Comparison
- 3. ICP Definition Criteria
- 4. Persona Card Anti-Patterns
- 5. Channel Research Checklist
- 6. Buying Trigger Patterns
- 7. Quote Anti-Patterns
- 8. Validation Checklist
JTBD frames customer behaviour as: customers don't buy products, they "hire" products to get a job done. The job is the underlying motivation that exists independent of any specific product.
A customer doesn't buy a quarter-inch drill. They buy a quarter-inch hole. They don't even buy the hole — they buy "a way to hang a picture so the room feels finished."
When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome].
| Job | When | Motivation | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance team needs to defend marketing spend | the quarter ends | I want to show clear ROI on every campaign | I can defend the marketing budget to the CFO |
| Solo maker has to-do overload | I open my laptop in the morning | I want to see exactly what to focus on today | I can ship something meaningful by lunch |
| Eco-conscious shopper | I run out of dish soap | I want to buy a refill that doesn't ship water in plastic | I can keep my plastic-free streak going |
Two customers can be demographically identical (same age, role, income) but have completely different JTBDs:
- A 35-year-old marketing manager at a SaaS company might be hiring a productivity tool to "look organised in front of my CEO" (status job)
- A 35-year-old marketing manager at a different SaaS company might be hiring the same tool to "stop dropping launch deadlines" (functional job)
Demographic personas treat these two customers as the same. JTBD personas treat them as different — and the marketing copy that converts each is completely different.
Every purchase has three job layers:
- Functional job — the practical thing being accomplished
- Emotional job — how the customer wants to feel
- Social job — how the customer wants to be perceived by others
Strong personas document all three.
| Model | Best for | Worst for | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firmographic | B2B with diverse company sizes | Pure B2C | "Australian SMEs, $1–10M revenue, services industry, 5–50 employees" |
| Demographic | Mass-market B2C | B2B | "Urban Australian women, 28–45, income $90k+" |
| Behavioural | Product-led growth, established product | Pre-launch | "Daily active users who have invited 3+ teammates" |
| Psychographic | Lifestyle and identity-driven brands | Pure B2B utility | "Self-identified eco-conscious shoppers who read ingredient lists" |
| JTBD | Almost everything — produces sharpest insight | Brands with weak product-market fit (no clear job yet) | "People hiring a productivity tool to stop dropping launch deadlines" |
| Stage of awareness | Marketing copy, ad targeting | Product roadmap | "Solution-aware buyers who are evaluating Asana vs ClickUp vs Linear" |
The strongest audience documents combine 2–3 models — typically JTBD as the primary frame, with demographic/firmographic descriptive overlay.
The ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is the customer the brand serves best, not necessarily the customer who pays the most. Selection criteria:
- Value extraction — gets the most value from the product
- Acquisition cost — easiest to find and convert
- Lifetime value — pays the most over time (high LTV)
- Retention — stays the longest
- Referral — brings other customers
- Strategic fit — aligned with the brand's strengths and direction
- Cost to serve — doesn't drown the team in support requests
- "Whoever pays the most" — Enterprise customers often have the highest contract value but the highest CAC and the highest churn. Not always the ICP.
- "Whoever asks the most often" — Squeaky wheels are not the ICP. Persona research must include customers who don't complain.
- "Whoever is most like us" — Founder bias. The ICP isn't necessarily a clone of the founder.
- "Anyone who buys" — Refusing to choose an ICP means the brand has no ICP.
Marketing Mary
Age: 35, Mum of 2
Likes: Coffee, yoga, Instagram
Pain points: Too busy
Goals: Work-life balance
This is useless. It tells you nothing about what Mary will buy or why.
Sarah is a 28-45 year old Australian woman who is busy professional or stay-at-home
mum, with income $50k–$200k, who values family, career, sustainability, health,
and authenticity.
This describes an entire demographic, not a person. A persona that fits everyone fits no one.
Jordan is a forward-thinking innovator who embraces change, leverages digital
transformation, and is always seeking to optimise his ROI.
This is what the founder wants their customer to be. It's not a real customer description.
Emma is risk-averse and conservative, but also embraces cutting-edge tech.
She is value-conscious but willing to pay premium for quality.
She is busy but also has time for thorough research.
These are mutually exclusive traits papered over.
Jordan, the SME founder
> "I've already been burned by three CRMs. I don't have time to learn another one
and I definitely don't have time to migrate twice."
Demographic snapshot:
- 38, Brisbane
- Founder of a 12-person electrical contracting business
- $2.4M annual revenue, 18% net margin
- Married, 2 kids primary-school age
- Self-taught operator, no MBA, runs the business and the books
The job he's trying to get done:
- "When I'm chasing invoices on a Saturday, I want to see all overdue payments
in one place, so I can spend Sunday with my family instead of sending follow-up
emails."
Pains:
- Customers pay 30+ days late as standard
- Manual invoice chasing eats Saturdays
- Has tried Xero, MYOB, and a homemade spreadsheet system; each had a fatal flaw
- Refuses to spend more than 1 hour learning a new tool
Channels:
- Reads: BRW, AFR, podcast: "How I Built This Australia"
- Belongs to: Local trade association, founder Slack group
- Trusts: Other tradies in his network, his accountant
The difference: every detail in the second example is grounded in a defensible job-to-be-done that explains buying behaviour.
For each persona, document where they actually spend attention. Be specific.
- Industry publications (name them)
- Newsletters (name them)
- Books / blogs / Substacks
- Trade press
- Mainstream news (where, what time)
- YouTube channels (name them)
- Podcasts (name them)
- TV / streaming (where they encounter advertising)
- Podcasts
- Radio / streaming services
- Audiobooks
- Slack / Discord communities
- LinkedIn groups
- Subreddits
- Industry associations
- Local meetups
- Conferences (which ones)
- Direct from brands vs marketplaces
- Subscription vs one-off
- Premium vs budget
- Research-heavy vs impulse
- Whose recommendation moves them
- What kind of social proof works
- What kind of social proof bounces them
Every persona has triggers — events that move them from "thinking about it" to "ready to buy." Common trigger patterns:
| Trigger type | Example |
|---|---|
| Pain crossed a threshold | "I just lost the third hour of my Saturday to invoice chasing." |
| Status change | "We just hired employee #10 and HR is unmanageable." |
| External event | "EOFY is in 6 weeks." |
| Competitor failure | "Our existing tool just had a 3-day outage." |
| Recommendation | "My accountant told me to switch." |
| Budget cycle | "We're allocating Q3 budget next week." |
| Personal milestone | "My business hit $1M ARR; time to look professional." |
Documenting triggers helps marketing identify the moments to reach the customer. A campaign that hits a trigger converts dramatically better than one that doesn't.
The persona quote should sound like the customer's internal monologue, not a marketing tagline. Common mistakes:
"I love how this product helps me live my best life and embrace innovation."
No human says this.
"This is the best thing I've ever bought! 5 stars!"
This is what they'd write in a review, not their internal frame of mind.
"I want premium quality but I'm always looking for the cheapest option."
These are mutually exclusive.
"I've already been burned by three CRMs. I don't have time to learn another one." "I run out of soap once a month and I'm sick of buying single-use plastic. There has to be a better way." "My finance team won't approve another marketing tool unless I can prove it pays for itself in one quarter."
Before declaring the audience document complete:
- Every persona has a stated JTBD (functional + emotional + social if possible)
- Every persona has a real-feeling quote in their own voice
- Every persona has 3+ documented objections
- Every persona has specific channels (named publications, platforms, communities)
- No alliterative persona names
- ICP is defined as a single profile, not "all of the personas"
- Anti-audience has 3–5 statements
- No demographic stereotypes
- Open Questions section flags any thin-evidence assumptions
- Every claim is traceable to Phase 1 evidence (or marked
[HYPOTHESIS])