This paper analyzes the real case of user portrait research of a high-end mobile phone camera of a brand, analyzes the construction logic, core steps and practical application value of user portrait in detail, and helps everyone deeply understand the scientific and practical nature of this methodology.
In the fierce market competition, if a brand wants to accurately reach its target users, it is not enough to rely on “guess” or “experience”. As a scientific user research method, user portraits can help enterprises transform abstract user needs into specific characters and scenarios, thereby guiding product development and marketing strategies.
Why do user portraits? ——Start from the problem
When a mobile phone brand hit the high-end market, it found:
- The core users are mainly old fans of the brand (mainly male), and the proportion of female users is low, making it difficult for the camera function that focuses on “professional imaging” to break the circle.
- Even loyal users, the camera usage is not high, and many advanced features are not fully explored.
Core Challenge
- Insufficient ability to attract new people: How to attract a wider range of female users, especially mothers, young women and other groups with high demand for photography?
- Insufficient activation of retained users: How to allow existing users to use the camera function more deeply and increase the value of the product?
To address these questions, brands must answer:
- Who are the target users?
- What are their shooting habits, aesthetic preferences, and pain points of use?
- How to optimize features and marketing strategies for different demographics?
This is the core value of user portraits – turning vague “user groups” into clear “personas” and making product design and marketing strategies more targeted.
How to build a user persona? – Five-step scientific methodology
The study uses “Quantitative + qualitative“The combination of methods completes the construction of user portraits through five key steps.
B-end product manager’s ability model and learning improvement
The first challenge faced by B-end product managers is how to correctly analyze and diagnose business problems. This is also the most difficult part, product design knowledge is basically not helpful for this part of the work, if you want to do a good job in business analysis and diagnosis, you must have a solid …
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1. Preliminary research: industry trends, competitive analysis and user behavior big data
Before formally designing the questionnaire or interview, the research team first conducted a panoramic scan of the industry, competitors, and user behavior to ensure that the portrait was based on the real market environment.
(1) Technical trend analysis
- AI imaging technologySuch as intelligent scene recognition, portrait beautification, night scene algorithms, etc., have become the core selling points of high-end mobile phones.
- AR/VR applications: Such as virtual backgrounds, 3D modeling shooting, etc., are gradually popularized in the fields of social networking and e-commerce.
The study found that users’ demand for “professional-grade shooting experience” is escalating, but the demands of different groups of people are obviously different:
– Ordinary users: Pay more attention to “one-click beautification” and “intelligent retouching”.
– Photography enthusiasts: Pursue professional features like RAW format and manual parameter adjustment.
(2) Dismantling of competing product functions
Comparing the camera features of Apple, Samsung, Huawei and other brands, it is found:
- High-end modelsGenerally strengthen “computational photography” (such as AI noise reduction and multi-frame synthesis).
- Third-party photo editing app(such as VSCO, Snapseed) is more favored by younger users because it offers a wide range of filters and editing tools.
(3) Big data analysis of user behavior
- E-commerce data(JD.com, Tmall comments): 35% of users focus on “photo effects” when buying high-end mobile phones.
- Social platforms(Xiaohongshu, Bilibili): Female users pay more attention to “selfie beauty” and “parent-child photography”, while male users prefer “landscape photography” and “professional mode”.
Users’ demand for mobile phone cameras shows a trend of “de-gendering” and “scene refinement”, and can no longer be divided by the simple label of “male = professional, female = beauty”.
2. Questionnaire survey: quantify user behavior and preliminarily classify it
After gaining an initial understanding of the industry and users, the research team designed a questionnaire covering the following dimensions:
- demography(Age, gender, income, etc.)
- Shooting habits(Frequency, Common Functions, Retouching Tools)
- Consumer psychology(Brand preference, purchasing decision factors)
Sample size: 300 valid questionnaires were collected nationwide.
Key findings: Four types of user clustering
Through data analysis (cluster analysis, difference testing), users are divided into four categories:
imitator(Bao Ma Group) andauthor(young trendy users) are the target group with the greatest potential.artistAlthough (professional users) are niche, they can affect the reputation of the high-end market.
Reincarceration(Straight male users) have low requirements for cameras, which is not the core goal for the time being.
3. In-depth interviews: Make data “flesh and blood”
Questionnaire data provides user segmentation but lacks details and stories. Therefore, the research team conducted in-depth interviews with 20 typical users to supplement real scenarios and emotional needs.
(1) Imitator: 33-year-old mother, who wants to take pictures of a good baby but can’t adjust the parameters
“Every time I take a picture of my child, either the face is too dark or the background is too exposed, so I can only rely on Meitu Xiuxiu to remedy it, but the effect is still unnatural.” ——Shanghai, administrative staff, annual family income of 200,000 yuan
Key Insights:
- Pain points: Lack of photography knowledge and reliance on “fool” operation.
- Requirements: I hope that the mobile phone can automatically recognize children’s expressions and optimize skin tone.
(2) Creator: 25-year-old photography enthusiast who pursues a unique style
“The existing filters are too templated, and I want a tool that can adjust the color temperature and graininess myself.” ——Nanjing, freelancer, annual income of less than 150,000 yuan
Key Insights:
- Pain Point: Default filters don’t cater to personalized creations.
- Requirements: Open RAW format, custom filter parameters.
(3) Artist: 34-year-old professional photographer who pursues real picture quality
“The phone is just a backup tool, but if it can be close to the image quality of a DSLR, I would prefer to use it.” ——Guangzhou, project manager, annual family income of 30-500,000 yuan
Key Insights:
- Pain point: The mobile phone algorithm is overly beautified and loses its sense of realism.
- Demand: Provide a professional model to reduce AI intervention.
4. Focus groups: colliding hidden needs
To further explore potential needs, the research team organized 7 focus group discussions (36 participants) and found:
- imitatorI hope there will be “intelligent guidance for parent-child photography” (such as automatically capturing children’s smiling faces).
- authorThe demand for “high-speed continuous shooting of sports scenes” is put forward (such as pet and skateboard shooting).
These needs were not fully mentioned in the questionnaire and interviews, but were stimulated by group discussions, indicating that user profiles need to be dynamically updated.
5. Co-creation workshop: from portrait to landing strategy
Finally, the research team and the brand jointly held a workshop to complete two major tasks:
（1）Feature prioritization
Based on user pain points and technical feasibility, the TOP10 opportunity points are screened out:
- AI Portrait Optimization (Mimic)
- Custom Filters (Creator)
- Professional RAW Mode (Artist)
（2）Precision marketing strategy
- imitator: Promote the “one-click baby artifact” tutorial on Xiaohongshu.
- author: Launched the “Photographer Joint Filter Challenge” at Station B.
- artist: Collaborate with professional photography communities (such as 500px) for reviews.
Application results of user portraits
1. Product optimization: from “function stacking” to “scenario-based solutions”
- imitator: Added “Smart Parent-Child Mode” to automatically optimize children’s skin tones and backgrounds.
- author: Open filter parameter customization to meet personalized creation.
- artist: Provide “professional mode” to reduce AI over-intervention.
2. Marketing strategy: Accurately reach different groups of people
- imitator: Through the promotion of mother and baby KOLs, it emphasizes “easy to shoot with a sense of art”.
- author: Cooperate with VSCO to launch co-branded filters.
- artist: Invite professional photographers to evaluate and improve the high-port monument.
3. Business value: user growth and brand upgrade
- The proportion of female users increased by 12%.
- 25% increase in camera function utilization.
The core value of user portraits
- Unified team cognition: Avoid deviations in the understanding of “target users” by various departments.
- Precise decision-making: Resources focus on high-value groups and reduce trial and error costs.
- Enhance empathy: Through story-based portraits, the team can better understand the real needs of users.
Finally: the user persona is not the end, but the beginning
The real value of user portraits does not lie in making beautiful PPTs, but in continuous iteration and practical application. In this case, the brand not only found a growth breakthrough through scientific user research, but also shifted the high-end mobile phone camera from “parameter competition” to “experience competition”.
Key takeaways：
- steps: Research→ quantitative classification→ qualitative deep digging→ verification implementation.
- core: Always ask “who the user is” and “why they need it”.
I hope this case can help everyone understand: user portraits are not “labeling”, but using scientific methods to make products truly serve people.
