Motivate Customers to Buy Based on Their Brain Type

Founder of Innovators + Influencers

November 3, 2014 3 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Marketing your goods and services to specific brain types provides a unique and powerful technique for communicating directly to what motivates people. If they aren’t motivated to buy, odds are you won’t sell much. Focusing on brain types is a great way to make sure your marketing speaks to people in a way that ultimately boosts sales.

Controllers + Managers

This group want to be in control, and to be competitive with themselves and others. They want the best of everything. Status is important, so make sure to communicate how your products or services will help them reach their goals, gain prestige or save time and money. They will often share their experience, but only to close, trusted friends and colleagues. Use language that communicates achievement, luxury and status.

Innovators + Influencers

Unique experiences or whatever is new and interesting are what draw people with this brain type. They are early adopters and like being on the cutting edge. Communicate how your products or services are different and exclusive or provide an interesting and distinctive experience that they can share with others.

Innovators + Influencers naturally connect with a wide range of people and are comfortable influencing others to purchase goods or services, so be sure to provide them with easy methods to spread the word about your wares, including social-media profiles, refer-a-friend links and easy methods to add their own experience to your website or product listings.

Nurturers + Harmonizers

Play up close relationships and being included. They tend to buy and adopt products that are reliable and proven. When marketing to this type, be sure to provide lots of testimonials from other people like them. Demonstrate how your goods and services will make their lives easier, cultivate great relationships, build community and help others.

This group often don’t make purchasing decisions on their own -- relying on the suggestions of others and online reviews heavily before deciding to buy. Make sure this information is easy to find so that they are comfortable buying from you.

Systemizers + Analyzers

People with this brain type avoid risks and rarely try unproven products or services. They avoid being wrong, so offer money-back guarantees and trials of products and services if possible. They need proof, including case studies, testimonials and technical documentation that what you’re offering is reliable and safe to use. They are also very cost conscious and they will even use a spreadsheet to compare features and prices on similar products -- be sure to provide as much information as possible so that they can consider your products or services carefully.

Systemizers + Analyzers are typically very thorough in their investigation of a product, so they take time to make decisions, often visiting websites several times and reading all of your product data and online reviews by others. Make sure this information easily accessible to better market to this type.

Unless you sell a commodity product or service, it’s rare that your core customers will span across several brain types. However, if they do, you must weave each of their needs together to communicate your value. The bottom line: if your customers can’t see how a product is valuable to them, they won’t buy it.