Laddawn.com : User Personas & Scenarios

Atlantic stocks 12,000 items in one giant warehouse location - about 1/3 janitorial supplies; 1/3 industrial products and 1/3 packaging. Atlantic works with 600 suppliers ranging from Kimberly Clark to Interstate Container. Poly bags make up a small fraction of Atlantic's packaging supplies.

Frank has been a salesman for Atlantic Packaging for over 5 years.  He sells to a diverse base of clients, ranging from consumer electronics to apparel.   He’s a gregarious “people person”; he’d much rather be in the field interacting with clients, than spending time back at the office. He’s a great conversationalist and listener, and attentive to small details. 

Frank gets by with basic word processing, email and some web use. He is somewhat risk-averse when it comes to new technology; as soon as he masters some complex system, they go and change it on him.  Atlantic recently replaced his cell phone with a smart phone, but he hasn't had time to master its new features. He uses it primarily for calls, texts and emails. He is still getting used to the touchscreen.

In order to grow his sales, Frank is constantly trying to increase his knowledge of the products he's selling and the industries he's selling to; he tends to ask his customers and suppliers lots and lots of questions. When he has a new sales opportunity, he occasionally does some preliminary research online at the office. But more often than not he hands quoting and ordering off to the Purchasing Department, unless he needs something after hours.  When it comes to polybags, he loves Laddawn’s fast quotes; he wishes everyone was like Laddawn. Frank is sensitive to pricing; he's always looking to increase his margin and isn’t afraid to ask for a better deal.

Frank also researches his personal buying decisions on the web, but because he doesn't like to use his credit card online, he tends to make purchases at stores or over the phone. He enjoys YouTube videos that his friends occasionally send to him him. He also plays fantasy football. He stays connected with friends and family mainly though phone and email. He had a Facebook account, but abandoned it - he's blocked from using it at work, and found Facebook's constant notifications and changes to privacy settings too difficult to keep up with.

Chuck has been with Atlantic Packaging for 18 years. He is one of three purchasing agents there.  Chuck has got a lot on his plate every day. It's hard for him to retain much information about the poly products he buys sporadically. In evaluating different vendors, he cares most about pricing, availability and return policies. He has a handful of favored vendors, based on his contacts at those firms who take really good care of him.

Chuck's job performance is graded on gross profits and turns; he is expected to increase his turns from 9 to 12 this year. Meeting such objectives is becoming harder and harder. Due to increased competition, Atlantic is not growing at the pace it did when he first started there. More and more he hears that providing excellent service is what will give you the competitive edge; however, he's not sure how that translates to his "behind-the-scenes" role.

His day is pretty much spent in email, on the phone, and in Volaré, Atlantic's ERP system for the last eight years. Although Chuck types with two index fingers, he knows all the ins and outs Volaré; new staff often turn to him for tips on how to use this quirky system with all the screens and special function keys.

Chuck gave in about 3 years ago and got a personal cell phone. His two colleagues resent the fact that Atlantic recently issued smart phones to the sales staff, but Chuck could care less - he fears that a company-issued phone would place more demands on his personal time, and wants to preserve that separation as long as he can.  Chuck owns a home computer, but his teenaged children are its main users.

On the rare occasions that he's done anything online (he thought he might give Ancestry.com a try), his children have had to help him with the website or browser. He hates feeling stupid and helpless. He's not much of a shopper, but when he is in the market for something, he prefers the comfort and familiarity of the in-store experience, and being able to see and touch whatever he's buying.  He has a personal email account but never checks it (which his sisters find extremely annoying) - he spends all day in front of a computer screen and that's enough.  His kids are on Facebook all the time. He hears about Twitter in news and entertainment media, but has no idea what that's about - probably a passing fad.