There are four basic personality types in the world. Depending on who you talk to, they go by different names (Competitive / Choleric / Lion or Humanistic / Sanguine / Otter, etc.) Each of these personalities have uniquely dominant traits that effect how they research, shop, read and interact with your website. Profitable online businesses learn how to generate content for each of these personality types. Using four characters from the TV show Firefly (and Serenity, the movie that followed) this presentation will dissect each of these personalities, showing you the types of information they want and the specific information they need in order to become your customer. We'll show you how to write content that best resonates with each of these personalities, and how best to integrate it into your main website content pages.

1. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER
PERSONALITIES
HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT

2. AGENDA
 Understand the four personalities types
 Meet each personality & learn their traits
 Show how to write focused content for each

3. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Difference between a personality and persona
ABOUT PERSONALITIES
• Their Motivation
• What the visitor needs
• Why they are on your site
Persona
• Their Temperament
• How they navigate your site
• What they need to see or read
Personality

4. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
There are four personality types
ABOUT PERSONALITIES
Competitive
• a.k.a. Choleric or Lion
Spontaneous
• a.k.a. Phlegmatic or Golden Retriever
Humanistic
• a.k.a. Sanguine or Otter
Methodical
• a.k.a. Melancholy or Beaver

5. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Each searcher’s personality determines…
ABOUT PERSONALITIES
Type of information
they are interested in
How they seek out
information
Keywords they use Site’s they click on
How they navigate Their expectations

6. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Meet a Competitive
COMPETITIVE
Name: Malcolm Reynolds
Born: September 20, 2468
Title: Captain of Serenity
Occupation: Smuggler
Previous Occupation: Sergeant
Volunteered for the Independents
during the Unification War
against the Alliance
“…We've done the impossible, and
that makes us mighty.”

7. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Traits of a Competitive personality
COMPETITIVE
 Decisive: Knows what they want when they see it.
 Want options: Not a shopper, but wants to make a smart decision.
 Perfectionist: Knows what information he needs to make a decision.
 Goal oriented: On your site for a purpose. Wants in and out quick.
 Appreciates honesty: No fluff, no BS. Just be strait.
 Loyal customer: Earn their business, they’ll be back until you cross them.
 Hard to “sell”: Selling doesn’t work. Logic does.
 Dislikes inefficiency: Make your site EASY to use
 Impatient: Get them the information as quick as possible.
 Quick to abandon: If they can’t find it, they’re out

8. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
How to write for Competitive shopper
COMPETITIVE
Build credibility: Be upfront, even about downsides
Never make claims that cannot be substantiated
Demonstrate value without over-hype
All information is easy to find
Use links and calls to action

9. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Meet a Spontaneous
SPONTANEOUS
Name: Kaywinnet Lee Frye
AKA: Kaylee
Occupation: Ship Mechanic
“Up until the punching, it was a
real nice party.”

10. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Traits of a Spontaneous personality
SPONTANEOUS
 Follows trends: Fads are followed.
 Feeds on positives: Loves to read testimonials and reviews.
 Opinion-based buyer: Facts don’t matter as much as what others think.
 Sold by word of mouth: Actively engaged in social media.
 Turned off by negatives: Too many negative opinions kill any chance of a
sale.
 May suffer from buyer’s remorse: After-the-sale reinforcement is needed
to get them back again.

11. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Go beyond bland corporate mumbo-jumbo. Be fun
Captivating and emotional content
Lots of (skimmable) information
Display your unique value proposition
Ready access to customer reviews and testimonials
How to write for Spontaneous shopper
SPONTANEOUS

12. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Name: Zoë Alleyne Washburne
Born: February 15, 2484
Title: First Officer of Serenity
Occupation: Smuggler
Previous Occupation: Corporal
for the Independents during the
Unification War against the
Alliance
“We're robbing the place, we're
not occupying it.”
Meet a Humanistic
HUMANISTIC

13. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Traits of a Humanistic personality
HUMANISTIC
 Motivated by security: Wants to see guarantees, return and cancellation
policies.
 Benefit-Oriented: Needs to know what’s in it for them.
 Scared of making a bad decision: Don’t lock them in until they are ready.
 Needs assurances: Hold their hand through the sales process.
 Relies heavily on a leader: Build up positive reviews and testimonials,
preferably from known sources.
 Repeat buyer: Once comfortable, they’ll come back

14. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Links to trust signals
Demonstrate commitment and quality
Robust About us and testimonial pages
Reassurances via guarantees, policies and site security
Emphasizes the bigger picture (world, not self)
How to write for Humanistic shopper
HUMANISTIC

15. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Meet a Methodical
METHODICAL
Name: Simon Tam
Born: November, c. 2490
Title: Doctor
Occupation: On the lam for
rescuing sister after the
Alliance performed medical
experiments on her.
Previous Occupation: Surgeon
“If there's any fighting, drop
to the floor or run away. It's
okay to leave them to die.”

16. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Traits of a Methodical personality
METHODICAL
 Feature oriented: Understands the benefits if they know the features.
 Doesn’t like fluff: Be straight and honest.
 Factual based buyer: Back up your claims with sources.
 Engaged in content: More info means more knowledge.
 Skeptical: Convincing them is tougher than others.
 Needs specific, detailed information: There is no such thing as too much
information.

17. HOW UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER PERSONALITIES HELPS YOU WRITE INCREDIBLE CONTENT @StoneyD
Present hard evidence in an organized fashion
Write in an authoritative voice
Use graphs and tables, specs and other detailed “proof”
State your facts with little fluff
Don’t say anything that sounds too good to be true
How to write for Methodical shopper
METHODICAL

18. SUMMARY
Writing for the four personality types….
 Helps you create content for each visitor type.
 Helps your content meet the needs of your audience better.
 Accommodates the differing desires and goals of each
visitor while driving them to one goal: the sale.

19. THANK YOU!
Stoney deGeyter
President, Pole Position Marketing
e: stoney@PolePositionMarketing.com
t: @StoneyD