We all know how much everything is saturated with the feeling of the game today. What is there today – in principle, since the beginning of time, people have loved to play games. And in each game, people can distinguish certain behaviors. These models (in other words, psychotypes) are actively used in marketing to increase the profits of companies.
Today we will consider the main psychotypes of players according to Bartle.
Who is RichardBartle? Writer, professor, game researcher. And also co-author of one of the first multiplayer games MMO (MUD1).
Bartle has been actively studying the personality types of players in virtual worlds. He once asked a very correct question: “why do people come to games and what do they play for?”.
You can say here: “Psychology again, blah blah. Nothing interesting.”. Not at all, just the description of his psychotypes is very actively used not only in the areas of game creation, but also in e-commerce projects. Yes, yes … Marketers love to find the weak points of “ordinary users” and use them for profit.
So, as a result of observation, Richard Bartle identified the following psychotypes of players:
Killers are competitive people. In other words, players want to demonstrate their superiority over others, it is very important for them to be better than others and this is their motivation.
Careers. They have a very strong desire to influence the world. Highly appreciate power, opportunities. Unlike the former, they do not compete with others, but compete with the system.
Researchers are the third psychotype, for whom interaction with the world is important. Conquering the world is not their way, but to study it, understand its secrets, comprehend knowledge …
Social workers are the fourth psychotype, who cares not about the game, but about people and communication. They value popularity, communication, interpersonal relationships.
Now let’s think about how we can use this information in marketing.
Killer:
To a greater extent, they are destructive. Sometimes on the Internet, they are called “trolls”. The goal is to influence other people, find their pain points and put pressure on them. For what? Just out of curiosity. They can stir up a scandal from scratch in the comments. The goal of a killer is to gain power over a person, psychological influence and recognition. In games, they are ready to pay immediately for pumping strength, dominance, powerful weapons, strength, skills, characters.
So let’s give it competition mode.
The perfect toy for a killer is a point (rating) system. Moreover, ideally, the point system is not for goods, but for people.
Show that with the help of your product or service the client will be better than others, that this is an exclusive product available only to a few people and this product opens up super opportunities only for him and no one else. Expensive goods, ostentatious luxury, an emphasis on the fact that their house will be better decorated for the new year than their neighbor’s. In advertisements for an expensive smartphone, it is worth focusing on the exclusivity of the product, on the fact that this particular product / service will distinguish them from others, it will help them to be better and cooler than others, to show their power, strength, money. The downside of this category is only that of the coefficient. Their retention is quite low, but this is the most monetizable category. Also, please note that this is the ideal psychotype of a sales manager! For business, a very valuable psychotype, as far as it most effectively attracts attention and warms up the audience.
Careerists – the second psychotype:
These are the same people who go to hogs in games 🙂 to get 1 experience point to increase the rating. They love to collect resources and valuables.
Points, ratings, achievements are collected not in order to show how much they are superior to others, but for the sake of hoarding itself. The main goal is self-improvement. They want to be the master of the situation, and the rest is a means to an end.
The measure of progress for them in games is the fullness of the profile. In life, they struggle to get more value from a particular product. It does not matter what product, what service – only the benefit that he will receive in the end is important.
What careerists love:
– cumulative discounts
– additional functions during registration – personal account with an avatar, data.
– a reminder of the “abandoned cart” – in general, a dishonest trick against them. It’s like a call for immediate execution!
It is significant for them to spend time and get a reward. Easily involved in the game. So, for example, you can create a special form on the site “Take the test on the site and get a finished kitchen project” + during the test, give a discount for each answered question.
Put maximum emphasis on the benefits of buying a product or service. This is the type of client that buys everything you offer without hesitation, but for them, it is fundamentally critical that it promises benefits.
Real life examples: careerists are those people who at the checkout without hesitation will buy more goods in order to get a bigger bonus or discount. Uber taxi drivers are also a prime example of careerists (they are ready to work all day long to get good marks for the cleanliness of the cabin, comfortable ride, conversation, etc.).
This psycho type is well monetized and has a good LTV (retention rate).
Researchers:
The most important thing in the game for this psychotype is development, an interesting plot, talents, huge locations, a large amount of content, etc. Usually they pump one class of people, then the second etc. They are lovers of numbers and are constantly ready to compare data.
Researchers are the category of users who constantly compare themselves with others, compare the practical side of an object/product/service. They like to study a product or service as much as possible, they will also give a review about the latter as objectively as possible (as opposed to “killers”). Researchers thus help the business to refine the product in order to improve its quality.
It matters to them:
– the ability to compare products on the site;
– the presence of a comment with ratings (after all, the researcher prefers to read only useful reviews.);
– suggestions for exploring your product or site:
– site usability (are there filters in the product catalog or search, and it is also significant that your site be aesthetically beautiful). The last point can make you want to share your site on social media.
A small minus of this psychotype is the category that rarely pays. But, in games, they often pay for tips – that is, if they like the product, they will be ready to buy its sequel.
Researchers will purchase a product to study all the little things, weaknesses + then teach you and other people about it. But if the quality of your product suits them, they will buy everything to the maximum.
Go through all the stages of your funnels and ask if there is anything else?
Another disadvantage: they need to be explained why they need to go further down the funnel and buy a product.
Socialists:
Chats, forums, clans are the main features for social players.
They are very sociable and cute, like “hamsters”. And most importantly, these are people who (if they like everything) will recommend you for free.
What is important for social workers:
– likes, sharing, chats;
– rating reviews;
– links to social networks;
– online consultant (they love to talk about the weather);
– notifications, reminders.
For a social worker, events, forums, contests and everything related to mass interaction are a must.
In games, they pay for looks, skins, tattoos or hairstyles, etc., which can make them stand out from the crowd.
It is easiest to collect feedback from social workers. They are actively involved in communication, they can buy your webinars 5 times (although they can be approximately the same), go to your master classes en masse, and make contacts. And it’s all for the sake of communication, so invite them to participate in a private club and they are yours.
A very useful psychotype for social networks, groups and product promotion in general.
Please pay attention to the fact that a 100% psychotype of one category does not exist in real life. Usually we have a combination of types, which to a large extent can determine the behavior in games. But here, of course, one can argue.
