--- name: merchant-persona description: "Build a research-backed Salla merchant persona. Pre-seeded with Salla's merchant segments (Nano, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise) and Saudi/GCC market context. Slash command: /merchant-persona " --- # Merchant Persona Builder — Salla Platform You are building a Salla merchant persona grounded in the platform's actual merchant segments and Saudi/GCC market context. Personas here are not generic e-commerce sellers — they are specific Salla merchant types: the nano fashion seller on TikTok, the SMB electronics shop in Riyadh, the enterprise brand scaling across the GCC. --- ## Initialization 1. Read `knowledge/pm-context.md` for the PM's pillar context and merchant segment focus. 2. Read `knowledge/platform-pillars.md` for pillar-specific merchant pain points. 3. Check `knowledge/personas/` for existing personas to avoid duplication. 4. Check `knowledge/feedback/` for any merchant feedback that can inform this persona. 5. Check `knowledge/research/` for any existing user research. --- ## Step 1: Identify the Persona Type If the user passed an argument (e.g., `/merchant-persona smb-fashion`), use it as the starting point. Otherwise ask: "What type of Salla merchant do you want to build a persona for?" Options (based on pm-context.md segment focus): - Nano seller — first-time, side hustle - SMB — growing brand, team of 1-5 - Mid-Market — established brand, multi-channel - Enterprise — large catalog, dedicated ops - Specific vertical (fashion, electronics, food & beverage, services, digital products, crafts) - Or describe the merchant type in your own words --- ## Step 2: Clarifying Questions Ask these in one pass: 1. **What pillar interaction matters most for this persona?** (The feature area where you need to understand this merchant) 2. **Do you have existing research to draw from?** (Customer interviews, CS ticket patterns, NPS verbatims, Salla merchant data) 3. **What is the core PM question you need this persona to answer?** (e.g., "Would they pay for X?", "What's blocking their first sale?") --- ## Step 3: Research (if tools available) If **WebSearch** is available, search for: - "[Saudi / GCC] [vertical] small business owner challenges" - "Salla merchant review" or "تجربة سلة التجار" - "[vertical] e-commerce seller pain points Saudi Arabia" - Arabic-language forums and communities (Argaam, Mubasher, dedicated Salla Facebook groups) If **Slack MCP** is available, search for: - Merchant feedback and support ticket themes related to this segment in your CS channels If tools are not available, proceed with platform context from `knowledge/platform-pillars.md` and any merchant research in `knowledge/research/`. --- ## Step 4: Generate Persona ```markdown # Merchant Persona: [Persona Name] **Segment:** [Nano / SMB / Mid-Market / Enterprise] **Vertical:** [Fashion / Electronics / F&B / Services / Digital / Crafts / Other] **Created:** [Date] **Pillar relevance:** [Which Salla pillar(s) this persona is most relevant to] --- ## Meet [Persona Name] [Name in Arabic and English — choose a realistic Saudi name, e.g., "نورة / Noura"] > "[A direct quote that captures their mindset — in their own words, mixing Arabic if authentic. e.g., 'أبغى أبيع بس ما عندي وقت أتعلم تقنية' — 'I want to sell but I don't have time to learn tech'"]" --- ## Profile | Field | Details | |-------|---------| | **Age** | [Range] | | **Location** | [Saudi city / GCC country] | | **Business type** | [What they sell] | | **Monthly orders** | [Volume range] | | **Team size** | [Number of people helping them] | | **Time on Salla** | [How long they've been a merchant] | | **Tech comfort** | [Low / Medium / High] | | **Primary device** | [Mobile / Desktop / Both — note that 70%+ of Salla merchants manage primarily on mobile] | | **Language** | [Arabic only / Bilingual] | --- ## Context & Background [3-4 sentences. What is their business story? Why did they start selling online? What does their day look like? Where does Salla fit into their business?] --- ## Goals What they are trying to achieve with Salla: 1. **[Primary goal]** — [context] 2. **[Secondary goal]** — [context] 3. **[Secondary goal]** — [context] --- ## Frustrations with Current Experience What is painful or broken today — in priority order: 1. **[Pain point]** — [Specific behavior or failure mode. Reference platform pillars where applicable.] - *Salla context:* [Where on the platform this pain lives] - *Evidence:* [CS ticket theme / NPS verbatim / research finding] 2. **[Pain point]** — [Description] - *Salla context:* [Platform area] - *Evidence:* [Source] 3. **[Pain point]** — [Description] --- ## Behaviors & Patterns - **How they discover Salla features:** [App Store / social media / word of mouth / Salla emails] - **How they contact support:** [WhatsApp / help center / Slack community] - **When they're most active on Salla:** [Mornings / evenings / during Ramadan / before Eid] - **What would make them switch to a competitor:** [Specific triggers] - **What makes them a loyal Salla merchant:** [Specific reasons they stay] --- ## Jobs to Be Done Framed as JTBD statements: | When... | I want to... | So I can... | |---------|-------------|-------------| | [Situation] | [Action] | [Outcome] | | [Situation] | [Action] | [Outcome] | | [Situation] | [Action] | [Outcome] | --- ## Relationship with Salla Features | Pillar | Usage | Satisfaction | Key need | |--------|-------|-------------|---------| | Store Builder | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | | Checkout | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | | SallaPayments | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | | Salla Shipping | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | | App Store | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | | Analytics | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | | Loyalty & CRM | [Heavy/Medium/Light/None] | [High/Med/Low] | [What they need] | --- ## Saudi/GCC Market Context [Factors specific to their market situation:] - **Payment preferences:** [Mada / STC Pay / COD preference] - **Shipping expectations:** [Same-day / next-day / standard expectations for their region] - **Seasonal behavior:** [How Ramadan, Eid, or White Friday affects their business] - **Regulatory exposure:** [Any VAT/ZATCA complexity they face] - **Language needs:** [Bilingual catalog? Arabic-only customer base?] --- ## Opportunity Areas Based on this persona, the highest-impact opportunities for [pillar]: 1. **[Opportunity]** — [Why this persona needs it, estimated segment size impact] 2. **[Opportunity]** — [Why this persona needs it] 3. **[Opportunity]** — [Why this persona needs it] --- ## What NOT to Build for This Persona [Features or directions that sound good but won't serve this merchant well. Save the PM from misaligned work.] - [Anti-feature 1] — [Why it won't work for them] - [Anti-feature 2] — [Why it won't work for them] --- ## Research Questions to Validate [Open questions about this persona that should be confirmed in merchant interviews] 1. [Question] 2. [Question] 3. [Question] ``` --- ## Step 5: Save and Follow Up Write to: `knowledge/personas/persona-[name-slug].md` Suggest next steps: - "Want me to build an interview guide to validate this persona? → `/merchant-research`" - "Want me to map their journey through [your pillar]? → `/merchant-journey`" - "Want me to use this persona to sharpen an existing PRD? → `/refine-spec`"