{"schemaVersion":"1.0","source":"The Workflow Finder","sourceUrl":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com","license":"Free to use with attribution and a link to the cited page","generated":"2026-08-28","workflow":{"title":"Research a Customer Persona from Scratch","slug":"research-customer-persona-from-scratch","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/workflows/research-customer-persona-from-scratch","description":"Build a research-backed customer persona in 90 minutes, using real community data, not guesswork, to sharpen your product positioning and copy.","difficulty":"Beginner","timeEstimate":"1–1.5 hrs","schemaDuration":"PT1H30M","expectedResult":"A detailed persona document with demographics, goals, pain points, buying triggers, objections, and direct quotes from real customers.","tags":["Research","Marketing","Product","Strategy"]},"steps":[{"position":1,"title":"Mine Reddit and Forums for Voice-of-Customer","instructions":"Use Perplexity to search relevant subreddits, forums, and review sites for your product category. Ask it to extract the most common complaints, desires, and phrases real customers use.","input":"Workflow inputs: the topic, goal, or raw materials the user is starting from.","output":"Handoff artifact consumed by Step 2 (\"Analyze Reviews at Scale\").","toolSlots":[{"slug":"perplexity","name":"Perplexity","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/tools/perplexity","category":"Research","pricing":"freemium","capabilities":["Web research","Source synthesis"],"hasApi":true}]},{"position":2,"title":"Analyze Reviews at Scale","instructions":"Feed 20–30 Amazon, G2, or Capterra reviews for your product category into Claude. Ask it to identify patterns in why people buy, what they love, and what frustrates them.","input":"Output of Step 1 (\"Mine Reddit and Forums for Voice-of-Customer\").","output":"Handoff artifact consumed by Step 3 (\"Synthesize Into a Persona\").","toolSlots":[{"slug":"claude","name":"Claude","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/tools/claude","category":"Writing","pricing":"freemium","capabilities":["Long-form writing","Code generation","Web research"],"hasApi":true}]},{"position":3,"title":"Synthesize Into a Persona","instructions":"Ask Claude to synthesize all findings into a persona document: name, job title, daily workflow, goals, pain points, and the exact language they use to describe their problem.","input":"Output of Step 2 (\"Analyze Reviews at Scale\").","output":"Handoff artifact consumed by Step 4 (\"Write the Messaging Framework\").","toolSlots":[{"slug":"claude","name":"Claude","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/tools/claude","category":"Writing","pricing":"freemium","capabilities":["Long-form writing","Code generation","Web research"],"hasApi":true}]},{"position":4,"title":"Write the Messaging Framework","instructions":"Use the persona to write 5 value propositions and 3 headline options using ChatGPT. Run them by the persona's actual language to ensure they resonate.","input":"Output of Step 3 (\"Synthesize Into a Persona\").","output":"Handoff artifact consumed by Step 5 (\"Validate with Research\").","toolSlots":[{"slug":"chatgpt","name":"ChatGPT","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/tools/chatgpt","category":"Writing","pricing":"paid","capabilities":["Long-form writing","Code generation","Web research"],"hasApi":true}]},{"position":5,"title":"Validate with Research","instructions":"Use Consensus or Elicit to find any research studies that validate or challenge your persona assumptions. Add key findings to the persona document.","input":"Output of Step 4 (\"Write the Messaging Framework\").","output":"Final workflow output: A detailed persona document with demographics, goals, pain points, buying triggers, objections, and direct quotes from real customers.","toolSlots":[{"slug":"consensus","name":"Consensus","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/tools/consensus","category":"Research","pricing":"freemium","capabilities":["Web research","Source synthesis"]},{"slug":"elicit","name":"Elicit","url":"https://www.theworkflowfinder.com/tools/elicit","category":"Research","pricing":"freemium","capabilities":["Web research","Source synthesis"]}]}]}