Resources: web psychology

The 3 types of buyers

Visitors (potential customers) with different types of goals will have different expectations when they get to a website.
It is important to determine which of those behaviours is the most important for your site profitability and focus on it.
 
Below, are the 3 types of behaviours you need to know of.
 
1. Trackers
Know exactly what they want. They use the web to track down specific information and are likely to use the search facility to find it.
Once they have found what they are looking for, they may need a little bit of persuasion or justification before purchasing/enquiring.
 
2. Hunters
Know what type of product they are looking for (e.g. sofa, camera) but haven’t decided yet on which specific one.
It is likely that they want some features, but are open to persuasion about other features.
Hunters need help, support and guidance to reach a decision. They might also need to justify the purchase to themselves before buying.
 
3. Explorers
Don’t even have a particular idea of the type of product they want. They have a shopping objective (e.g. buying a present), or just a vague idea (e.g. buying something that would look nice in a room).
Explorers are looking for ideas and inspiration. They will be interested in best sellers lists, promotions, etc.
 
Note that these are types of behaviours and not users.