The 12 archetypes of customers

We people like to categorize everything, as it helps us to organize the information we perceive. This way it is easier to remember it and to use it. We people like to categorize people as it makes it easier to understand others and ourselves — that’s why horoscopes, Hippocrates temperament types and Myers–Briggs type indicator were, are and will be so popular. Even though everyone thinks he/she is unique, still there are some peculiarities we may share, aren’t there? It’s is something like music — every track is unique, but there are genres that unite tracks in categories.

Here is a short list that can help you to identify your type as a customer, and can give you a hint who your clients mainly are (according to the book “The Hero and the Outlaw” by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson, who adjusted 12 archetypes of Carl Jung to modern economics). So here’s what people look for:

1. The Innocent — purity, simplicity, trustworthiness
2. The Hero — quality, efficiency, superiority
3. The Everyman — familiarity, quality, thoroughness
4. The Nurturer — protection, safety, support
5. The Creative — authenticity, creativity-unlocking
6. The Explorer — adventures, intrigue, mystery
7. The Rebel — uniqueness, alternative to mainstream, originality
8. The Lover — glamor, pleasure, luxury
9. The Magician — knowledge, experience, customization
10. The Ruler — power, stability, authority
11. The Jester — entertainment, humor, playful atmosphere
12. The Sage — wisdom, authority, intelligence

Not that much information so it’s easy to pick your type, right? And that’s the point! Pick the values that look most appealing to you, right after you’ve read this list, without long thinking. If they are in different positions, decide what set looks best. Another good thing about getting yourself typified, is that it is the easiest way to find out for what kind of people your products/services are the most attractive. If we do the things that we love, they are going to be liked by people who are similar to us, aren’t they?

As for me, surprisingly I am the Rebel customer: when I see something popular, I tend to ignore it as I think it’s just another everywhere-advertised consumer good that has to be sold. I confess I’ve got a touch screen smart phone only in 2015, because Oleksandr has given it to me for Christmas, and because I’ve lost my favorite button phone ) And I doubt if I’ll ever get an iPhone, even though I admire people that behind Apple.

However, Oleksandr is the Sage type of customer, as he always searches for smarter decisions and relies on intellectual people and on things that have big impact. He convinced his mom to buy him a computer at the age of 11, and that time (2009) in Ukraine a desktop computer costed like a splendid wedding party for 100 people. It was tons of money that not that many families could spend for “toys”! Later on, he had his first success in programming, playing around with Linux kernel when he was 16. He was and is fascinated by the opportunities that open-source educational projects give to anyone who dares to take them, and by the progress that speeds up every other year. Regularly he learns new frameworks “just to see what they are”, and that is something that Rebel in me just don’t understand )

So what is your customer personality?