Hi Gang,

Kind of a follow-up thread to Geoff Bryans comment ( http://successdoctor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=200 ) on personality in copywriting.

You know when you read some copy and you wonder if the writer had just lost his cat, dog, goldfish and his favorite cockateil has just lost all of his feathers . Truth is the writer doesnt understand the power of personality in writing!

How do you feel about it? Good, Bad and ugly, fire comments away.[/url]

Good point. In fact, I also believe that the issue is not so much the personality we choose to infuse our ads with but the personality of our prospect, and how "our" personality matches "theirs" in our copy.

Here's an except from an upcoming course I will be selling.

Once you've determined what kind of personality they are, it should also determine what kind of personality your writing should take. Everything can be answered by simply understanding and catering to your predominant market.

Some people like hypey copy, while others prefer cold, unemotional copy. Some people prefer short copy, while others prefer long. Some people drama, stories and testimonials. Others data, statistics and facts.

Does it all matter? Absolutely.

Why do some people like your copy while others hate it with passion? What makes one style of copy more favorable over another? Why does one person buy from one type of copy and not from another?

The style and length and approach you choose will not appeal to everyone. It never will. Even some of the best ads miss the mark with at least half of their target audience.

To me, worthless ads are the ones crafted so as not to offend anyone. Trying to be all things to all people is a death knell for most businesses. The more you try not to offend anyone, the more generic you become. And the more generic you become, the less you appear to understand your prospect and cater to his or her specific needs, goals, concerns, budget and unique set of circumstances.

By trying to be all things to all people, you must paint your copy with broad brushstrokes in order to appeal to everyone. Doing so is counterproductive and can even backfire. Why? Because you alienate most of your market. Sure, you may avoid offending a minority. But now you offend the majority -- albeit in a subtle, indirect and perhaps unconscious way -- because you appear as if you don't care.

Instead, it's best to cater to one predominant market, i.e., one predominant buyer personality.

Ads are distinctive. They're alive. They like pieces of art or like shows on TV. Each one has, as Alan said, a certain personality. And that personality may attract and repulse some people at the same time.

For me, the best ads are those that appeal to the majority, even to the detriment of the minority. It's not just because they're conducive to the greatest results but also because they offer more than just information. They also present that information in a way that is favored by the majority of one's target audience. It's presented in a way that the market feels the copy is centered on them.

As the say, "It's not what you say but how you say it."

Different people prefer different things. As the saying goes, "People don't care about how much you know, they want to know how much you care." Those who feel appreciated will feel that your copy is specific to their needs. But how do you show people how much you care?

The Four Buyer Personality Types

Over the years, scientists have categorized buyer personality styles in similar ways. While they may have labeled them differently, the methodology is basically the same.

The common goal is to separate personality styles into four common assertiveness and responsiveness levels. Each person is defined by a certain personality type based on their level of assertiveness and responsiveness:

1) High assertive, low responsive
2) High assertive, high responsive
3) Low assertive, low responsive
2) Low assertive, high responsive

Around 400 BC, Hippocrates, in his book, "Air, Water and Places," named these four personality types as "Sanguine," "Phlegmatic," "Choleric" and "Melancholic."

Behavioral scientist, Tony Alessandra, labels them as "directors," "socializers," "relaters" and "thinkers." But the most common labels we give them are: Expressive, Amiable, Driver and Analytical.

Here's a chart to show you:



Your market will fall more into one predominant category than any other. However, some clients often ask me, "What about the minority?" If your market consist of strong, identifiable differences between them, i.e., if you have more than one predominant personality type in your target audience, I submit that you can have a different salesletter directed at each different market -- it's market segmentation, pure and simple.

Even if it’s the same product.

For instance, a clever entrepreneur can take a product, package it, price it and sell it in two different ways to two different audiences on two different websites — and thus maximize sales from all potential market segments. Oftentimes, even creating their own competition.

What's Your Market's Buyer Personality Type?

Before I describe them to you, please remember that my descriptions here are generalized, and do not necessarily and precisely reflect these personality types. My goal is to offer some insight into how people make buying decisions.

Moreover, a person is not limited to one specific style. Keep in mind that the key word here is "predominant." A person will likely demonstrate one particular style more often than any other.

Here's a brief look at them:

Drivers care only for RESULTS. They are practical, impatient and time-sensitive. The Driver buyer is a person who usually is more concerned with is the bottom-line. For example, they want to know how long will it take to get your product, how will it benefit them and, of course, how much it costs.

They usually consist of bankers, sales managers, purchasing agents, businesspeople, corporate executives and so on. They don't care how to get from "point A" to "point B." They just want to know if you can get to "point B." Period.

Analyticals don't care much about results. What they want are DETAILS. They're interested in the specifications of your product. They might want to know what is its exact size, where and of what is it made, what are the ingredients, what kind of guarantees do you offer with it and what, precisely, makes it work.

Analyticals consist of scientists, developers, mathematicians, engineers, computer programmers, doctors and so on. They want specifications. They want information. Facts. Data. The more, the merrier. They're the types who prefer cold, hard information rather than hyperbole and stories.

Status is important to Expressives. They are more concerned with PERCEPTIONS, such as how they perceive things and how other people perceive them. They are mostly impulsive, colorful, ego-centric and spontaneous. For example, they're the ones who buy mostly for the sake of prestige of ownership or to boost their standing in the community, the organization or their social peer group.

Expressives include actors, teachers, musicians, artists and art lovers, graphic designers, directors, comedians, etc. They're perfectionists yet undisciplined.

Amiable buyers are not interested in results or details but in FEELINGS. They are emotional. They are normally those who deal with the public and care deeply about the relationships they maintain. They are humanistic. And they're the types of people who prefer testimonials and stories in copy. Highly sociable, they are good listeners, patient and very concerned about how they feel and how others feel.

For example, salespeople, entrepreneurs, home-based business owners, social workers, human resource personnel and so on are predominantly emotional.

How Do You Appeal to Your Buyer's Personality?

Depending on your type of industry or product, the style of your message should chiefly appeal to one specific style.

For instance, avoid lacing your copy with feelings when your audience, comprised mostly of Analyticals, wants specifics. Be objective and refrain from hyperbole or exaggeration.

While an Analytical will never have enough information, don't drown your visitors with needless details when they consist of Drivers. Be quick, pithy and straight to the point when dealing with practical buyers.

However, be sensitive and friendly when pitching to Amiables. Use stories, case studies and testimonials. Use hyperbole and focus on feelings. Take your time with them. Be warm and interactive.

For Expressives, talk about how the product will make them look good, boost their approval rating or get others to compliment them. Or focus on how the product will make others around them cringe in horror, green with envy or be humiliated. (They're the types, for example, who park a brand new luxury car on the street, intentionally, so that the neighbors can see them.)

Here's a real-life scenario.

A patient visits a dentist for an initial consultation. During the meeting, the Analytical will be preoccupied mostly with the details of dental work. Knowing precisely how much freezing will be applied, which specific teeth (and parts thereof) will be repaired and what kind of filling will be used are of enormous interest to him.

On the other hand, a Driver will want to know how long will the procedure take, how fast can he return to work after the procedure and how much it will cost.

But for the Amiable, things such as how painful will the procedure be, how happy they will their new teeth make them and how much will their improved appearance will please their spouse, friends or boss.

The Expressive, however, will be mostly concerned with how good will the teeth look (or make them look), how natural will they be and how attractive they will be.

Mike,

Yes, yes,yes.

You say ...

The sooner copywriters get that into their heads the more success will be seen.

This was one lesson I learnt early on. Ads, copy etc will always offend some. So what! We dont write for them. We write for the few or minority that are interested in the product. Ads HAVE TO offend some otherwise THEY DONT WORK!

Superb points Michel -- the best articulation of the concept I've seen. Interesting re concept of not trying to be everything to everyone ... many corporate-type sites try so hard to not offend anyone that they lack connection with any one segment, and have a vanilla, generic feel that doesn't pull sales.

I like your articulation of ideas re writing for a specific personality/personality profile and customer target ... excellent food for thought re implementing copy that hits the mark with the majority of targeted prospects. Having 2 degrees in psychology, I can relate well to your relating of personality types to copy styles.. great stuff!


Ken

Great stuff Michel - thank you.

I'd been wondering about this 4 personality types stuff, but this is a very good articulation of how to apply the concepts.

Finally, I feel we are getting real on here

I once heard a speaker (I wish I could remember who) talking about a conversation he had had with a senior fashion buyer for a major department store chain. This woman's job was to decide, many months in advance, what would be "hot" in the coming season so that advance orders could be placed for the right merchandise to move well in the chain's many locations.

This woman said something very interesting. "I buy two categories of clothing," she said. "I buy the stuff that I really love, and I buy the stuff that I really hate. In other words, I buy the stuff that moves me strongly. The stuff in the middle, that doesn't really evoke a strong response either way, I pass by. I know that the stuff that provokes a strong response will sell, even if I personally don't care for it."

GLB

GLB,

My sister should have taken this advice when running here Designer Clothing Boutique. Instead, she just stocked the stuff that she liked, and the company made losses year in and year out. Eventually my parents dismantled the whole thing (they couldn't even sell it as a going concern).

When they bought the store it was selling all sorts of things that my sister thought were "vulgar". However, even the daftest person might have noted that this vulgar stock was selling. So, of course, when she started selling her less "vulgar" stuff, the customers simply went to the myriad other boutiques in town where they could get their "vulgar" stuff.

I am also inclined to believe that some "heartfelt marketing" might have saved her store as well.

Michel that's good.

If your thesis is that it is possible to segment, then yes. It is possible. If we extend the discussion - really drill down a bit, we'll find that to segment in a way that makes the numbers work is less than common as segmentation is usually (mis)understood.

If we use an order or buy or response rate of 1%, often quoted as an industry average, it is tough to find a financially viable product-to-market model in the best of circumstances.

Further, out of those 4 personalities you outlined, two buying patterns will emerge. Those who are minority, but provide most of the margin and 'other'.

So, if we can cut the herd and pull those buyers by their predisposed sensitivity to upselling, cross selling and add ons, from across the personality types, then yes, segmentation may be a financially viable proposition in at least one instance. You won't draw buyers from all personality types, not that you proposed such a thing.

I submit that investing the additional resources necessary to obtain orders from the low margin rendering, secondary personality type, may not be worth the time, risk or energy in many cases, particularly when success comes at the back end. (This is just for discussion. I know you didn't mean to state that segmentation is the way to go in all cases, but you were simply saying that it is possible).

If your selects will cut the upper 20% of the secondary group from the rest, that would be the only way to limit your exposure to risk.

Still, I would first test the cost of increasing the frequency of purchases and dollar amount of purchases from the primary group, against the acquisition of buyers from the secondary group.

When all else is stripped away, marketing is about buying customers. So, the question becomes: "How much are you willing to pay and what quality of customer can or will you tolerate?" Or, "How efficient do you need to be?"

Segmentation implies: diminished returns on 1%, diminished returns on back end, the need to adapt original marketing rather than start from scratch on an entirely new campaign when the average opportunity cost running $8K to $12K for creative, testing and roll out).

There's an economy to scale to consider.

"Can" you segment successfully? Sure.

Does what I've just said explain the phenomena of acquiring additional sales when using Kennedy's 3 letter model? Is that model in fact, segmentation? Don't you suppose that the two additional letters mailed pick up buyers from the upper 20% (the most sensitive) from a secondary personality type?

Peter Stone

To reiterate, if you have two strong audience types -- i.e., large percentages -- of people that are easily identifiable and isolatable, segmentation is not only feasible but also profitable.

Look at AudioGenerator.com versus InstantAudio.com. Same product, two different websites with two different approaches. One appeals to the Amiable while the other appeals to the Driver (or Expressive). Both are impatient. The Driver will prefer the short, pithy copy, while the Expressive will love the long audio presentation that accompanies that copy.

Etc.

As for Kennedy's sequential mailing, this appeals mostly to "The Buyer Adoption Process" and somewhat to personality types. So yes, if your market does consist of a small minority of one personality type that's not as easily identifiable or as large as the preceding example, the sequential mailing to one segment only may be the best option.

Here's what I mean by "adoption:"
http://successdoctor.com/articles/article61.htm

Some people absolutely need to see an offer more than once before making a decision.

Oops! I edited while you were posting.


P