Why the 4 Buyer Modalities Are Totally Meaningless

As optimizers and business owners, you’re striving to better understand your audience. Who visits your site? What are they looking for? What will make them convert to paying customers?

To help answer these questions, buyer modalities were created to help categorize visitors and their purchase behavior. The only problem?

Buyer modalities are meaningless and personality models as a whole are extremely difficult to apply to online marketing and optimization.

What Are the 4 Buyer Modalities?

The concept of buyer modalities was first introduced by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg in Waiting for Your Cat to Bark. Since then, it’s become quite popular…

The Eisenbergs believe that every buyer can be categorized into one of the following four types…

1. Competitive Buyers – “What’s the bottom line?”
2. Spontaneous Buyers – “Why should I choose you now?”
3. Methodical Buyers – “How does your product work?”
4. Humanistic Buyers – “Who has already used your solution to solve my problem?”

According to the Eisenbergs, 5-10% of the population falls within the Competitive modality, 45% within the Methodical modality, 10-15% within the Humanistic modality, and 25-35% within the Spontaneous modality.

These modalities are, of course, based on the the four temperaments, defined by Keirsey…

1. Rationals (Competitive) – “Speak mostly of what new problems intrigue them and what new solutions they envision, and always pragmatic, they act as efficiently as possible to achieve their objectives, ignoring arbitrary rules and conventions if need be.”
2. Artisans (Spontaneous) – “Speak mostly about what they see right in front of them, about what they can get their hands on, and they will do whatever works, whatever gives them a quick, effective payoff, even if they have to bend the rules.”
3. Guardians (Methodical) – “Speak mostly of their duties and responsibilities, of what they can keep an eye on and take good care of, and they’re careful to obey the laws, follow the rules, and respect the rights of others.”
4. Idealists (Humanistic) – “Speak mostly of what they hope for and imagine might be possible for people, and they want to act in good conscience, always trying to reach their goals without compromising their personal code of ethics.”

The four temperaments go all the way back to Hippocrates and Plato, who proposed that everyone falls within four categories: iconic (Artisans), pistic (Guardians), noetic (Idealists), dianoetic (Rational).

According to Keirsey, there are four rings that make up a personality: concrete vs. abstract, cooperative vs. utilitarian, informative vs. directive, and expressive vs. attentive.

Concrete vs. Abstract

Guardians and Artisans are concrete and observant while Idealists and Rationals are abstract and introspective. That means Guardians and Artisans are more grounded, more down to earth… they tend to focus on the practical. Idealists and Rationals, on the other hand, tend to have their heads in the clouds… they’re more theoretical.

Cooperative vs. Utilitarian

Rationals and Artisans are more utilitarian in nature, meaning they pay the most attention to their own thoughts and are primarily concerned with what works. Guardians and Idealists are cooperative, meaning they pay attention to other opinions and value doing the right thing.

Informative vs. Directive

Each temperament has a role: informative or directive. There are those who communicate by informing others (informative) and those who communicate by directing others (directive).

So, each of the four temperaments is broken up into two. For example, there are informative Guardians (Conservators) and directive Guardians (Administrators). The result? Eight possible categories…

1. Operators (directive Artisans)
2. Administrators (directive Guardians)
3. Mentors (directive Idealists)
4. Coordinators (directive Rationals)
5. Entertainers (informative Artisans)
6. Conservators (informative Guardians)
7. Advocates (informative Idealists)
8. Engineers (informative Rationals)

Expressive vs. Attentive

Lastly, you have those who prefer overt action (expressive) and those who prefer covert action (attentive). Those who are expressive are often described as active and chatty while those who are attentive are often described as wary and watchful.

Each of the eight categories above can be divided by expressive and attentive, leaving us with sixteen possibilities:

1. Promoters (expressive Operators)
2. Performers (expressive Entertainers)
3. Supervisors (expressive Administrators)
4. Providers (expressive Conservators)
5. Teachers (expressive Mentors)
6. Champions (expressive Advocates)
7. Fieldmarshals (expressive Coordinators)
8. Inventors (expressive Engineers)
9. Crafters (attentive Operators)
10. Composers (attentive Entertainers)
11. Inspectors (attentive Administrators)
12. Protectors (attentive Conservators)
13. Counselors (attentive Mentors)
14. Healers (attentive Advocates)
15. Masterminds (attentive Coordinators)
16. Architects (attentive Engineers)

Thus, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Now, each of those sixteen possibilities is also covered by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which is arguably one of the most popular personality models available today…

1. Provider is ESFJ.
2. Protector is ISFJ.
3. Supervisor is ESTJ.
4. Inspector is ISTJ.
5. Performer is ESFP.
6. Composer is ISFP.
7. Promoter is ESTP.
8. Crafter is ISTP.
9. Champion is ENFP.
10. Healer is INFP.
11. Teacher is ENFJ.
12. Counselor is INFJ.
13. Inventor is ENTP.
14. Architect is INTP.
15. Fieldmarshal is ENTJ.
16. Mastermind is INTJ.

So, here’s a summary, in case that was all a bit confusing…

While the two personality indicators seem similar on a high-level, there are a few important differences. You can read about them in-depth here, but here’s a quick overview…

1. Myers-Briggs focuses on how people think / feel vs. actual behavior.
2. Myers-Briggs focuses more on introversion / extraversion.
3. Myers-Briggs sorts by function attitudes (e.g. thinking, intuitive, feeling, sensing) vs. temperament.

How This Is Currently Being Translated to CRO

Now, marketers and optimizers are taking all of the personality concepts above and applying them to conversion rate optimization. It’s slightly more complex than this, but here are a few examples for each buyer modality…

• Competitive
  1. They want to know your product is the best and will make them the best.
  2. Provide concrete proof and avoid exaggerated claims.
• Spontaneous
  1. Sales, discounts and time-sensitive offers pop.
  2. Clarity above all else; they want to move quickly.
  3. Make the call to action easy to find and simple to act on.
• Methodical
  1. Back up every statement, use solid numbers.
  2. Provide trust icons.
  3. Be as detailed as possible, be aware of your fine print.
• Humanistic
  1. Focus on social proof, show faces and actual customers / staff on your site.
  2. Allow interaction, user-generated content.

The Problem With Keirsey, Myers-Briggs & Others

BuzzFeed, ironically known for its ridiculous quizzes, decided to conduct an informal experiment. They asked four people to write down their date of birth, city of birth and favorite color. Then, Dr. Faryl Reingold privately gave them the results of their “personality test” based on the information they provided.

All four people read their personalized personality test results and then commented on how surprisingly accurate they were. One person described it as “spooky” and another said, and I quote, “The last line cuts me to my core.”

The truth? All of them were given the exact same results.

So Many Models to Choose From

There are a number of different personality models out there today and many are commercial. According to Vox, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator pulls in about $20M per year. But there are many other models, like DiSC.

Hell, some people claim to be able to sort you into a category based on which shape you “identify with best”.

Brian Cugelman of AlterSpark adds…

The History of Modern Personality Tests

Let’s take a big step back and look at the history. In 1921, Carl Jung hypothesized that people fall into a variety of types. However, he openly acknowledged that most people don’t fit neatly into just one type. He famously wrote, “Every individual is an exception to the rule.”

In 1945, Katharine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers, decided to run with Carl Jung’s hypothesis. Unfortunately, neither had any formal training in psychology and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was born.

In 1984, the Keirsey Temperament Sorted was introduced via the book Please Understand Me. It’s based heavily on the work of Isabel Briggs Myers and Carl Jung.

So, to be clear, buyer modalities are based on a hypothesis from 1921 that even the creator didn’t believe was completely valid. It’s been reshuffled by people who have no scientific background to generate revenue.

Those who aren’t making money off of it? Well, they have a pretty big bone to pick…

Still, They Remain Accepted in the CRO Industry

Still, marketers talk about the modalities as if they’re an absolute truth. Many will advise you to appeal to all of the buyer modalities. In an article for CrazyEgg, Angus Lynch of GetRooster.com had this to say…

Ultimately, it’s important to appeal to all 4 modalities within digital experiences, but some sites appeal more to certain buyer types.

What About Psychological Backfiring?

A major problem with appealing to all of the buyer modalities is psychological backfiring, which occurs when psychology is poorly applied and the exact opposite of the intended behavior is triggered. Brian explains…

In trying to appeal to all of the buyer modalities, you risk appealing to none. In the same article as above, Angus suggests…

Marketers should hypothesize the type of buyer making up the majority of their visitors, then test these hypotheses on landing pages, homepages, checkout pages, and exit pop-ups.

A better solution would be to conduct conversion research to find out who your visitors and customers are, and how they want to buy. No hypothesis, no buyer modalities needed. Why assume based on a vague psychological theory instead of just conducting the research? Easier is rarely better.

We’re Just Not That Different, Guys

Bart Schutz of Online Dialogue and The Wheel of Persuasion says it best…

The truth is a lot of people fall somewhere in the middle. Take the introversion-extraversion spectrum, for example. I would describe myself as an introvert, but do I fall to an extreme where I never (or even rarely) display extraverted traits? No. And likely, neither do you.

Brian agrees with Bart, adding that personality models need to deal with extremes…

While it feels nice to be able to fit neatly into a box, to identify with something like introvert or extravert (for example), humans aren’t that simple. More often than not, they are only slightly more or slightly less than the average. Personality tests and, thus, the buyer modality theory artificially push people to inaccurate extremes.

Are All Personality Models Meaningless?

According to both Brian and Bart, scientists favor the Big Five personality model. Essentially, the model says there are five factors of personality to consider…

1. Openness to Experience – How curious are you? Do you appreciate adventure? Are you creative? Are you imaginative and independent?
2. Conscientiousness – How organized are you? How dependable are you? How disciplined? How stubborn and obsessive?
3. Extraversion – How much energy do you have? How assertive and social are you? How attention-seeking are you?
4. Agreeableness – How compassionate are you? Do you value cooperation? How trusting and helpful are you?
5. Neuroticism – Do you feel negative emotions easily? How emotionally stable are you? Do you have control over your impulses?

Instead of being forced into an extreme, you’re rated on each factor. For example, your agreeableness rating might be 88% (leaning towards friendly / compassionate vs. detached / analytical) and your neuroticism rating might be 22% (leaning towards secure / confident vs. sensitive / nervous).

But even the scientific model is difficult to apply…

How This All Applies to CRO

So, the big question is how all of this personality talk applies to conversion rate optimization. In reality, it doesn’t apply well at all.

Both Brian and Bart question the validity of the science behind the buying modalities and discuss how difficult it can be to apply any personality model, even a valid and reliable one, to online marketing and optimization.

Instead of guessing which buyer modality your visitors fit into or appealing to all four, simply conduct proper conversion research. That will help you answer the same questions, albeit more accurately.

• Who are my visitors / customers?
• What are my visitors’ intentions?
• What demographics am I dealing with?
• What are my visitors’ objections and fears?
• Is your messaging aligned with what your visitors want to hear?
• Does your value proposition resonate with your visitors?
• How do they like to buy?
• What is stopping them from converting?
• What should I test?

Personality models have tricked us (to the tune of over $20M a year) into thinking we’re all vastly different people with vastly different wants and needs.

It’s true that some visitors will be more spontaneous than others and some will care more about social proof, for example. But you can’t put people in exaggerated personality boxes and claim to be able to predict their on-site thoughts / behavior.

Personality models, especially the buyer modality model, are not easily applied or a valid replacement for conversion research.

Conclusion

The buyer modalities are based on Keirsey’s temperaments, which are based on Myers-Briggs, which is based on Carl Jung’s work, who once said, “Every individual is an exception to the rule.” In short? They’re totally meaningless.

It’s scary enough to think that personality tests like Myers-Briggs are being used to predict career compatibility and success. Don’t let it dictate how you optimize your site, too.

The best thing you can do for yourself is:

1. Be aware that people make decisions and respond to persuasion in different ways.
2. Conduct conversion research to figure out what will work best for your site.

Using buyer modalities is like taking a shot in the dark at a target that’s constantly changing shape. [Tweet It!]