Introduction
An important element of the trait theories is the notion of personality and how it affects the individual’s decision-making. Personality may be described as the underlying psychological traits that shape and reflect how a person reacts to his or her surroundings. Inner characteristics are the distinctive features and attributes, traits, factors, and behaviors that differentiate one person from another. This report will focus on exploring the benefits and issues of the trait theory approach and how marketing professionals can apply it to create better campaigns.
Personality also affects the response to a company’s promotional activities, as well as when and how customers consume certain items or services. Moreover, personality determines an individual’s product and brand preferences (Caliskan, 2019; “Trait theory in personality – Consumer behaviour,” n.d.). A marketer can develop efficient marketing tactics by linking personality traits with consumer behavior because they can appeal to the product characteristics that are most valued by a certain personality type.
Trait theory is an example of a multi-personality theory and one that explains the correlation of different personality characteristics. Trait theory is founded on specific assumptions, such as features that are unquestionably constant in nature and a small number of traits that are shared by the majority of people (Hermes & Riedl, 2021). An individual’s personality characteristics are derived from the qualities that they possess, making trait identification is critical (Hermes & Riedl, 2021). Trait theories are classified into two types: simple trait theories and general trait theories. Personality traits are “characteristics that are constant across time, and give the explanations for the person’s conduct” (Hermes & Riedl, 2021, p. 3300). They mirror people’s personalities and, as a group, establish our emotional, behavioral, and cognitive styles.
Since personality traits affect a person’s behavior and values, these factors also have an impact on purchasing decisions. Hermes and Riedl (2021) report that personality factors impact general online and purchasing behavior. For example, altruism and locus of control, which is the capacity to determine the result of a certain activity, for example, have been shown to improve confidence in crowdfunding. The consumer’s intention to join in crowdfunding was then affected by their trust in crowdsourcing. Hermes and Riedl (2021) report that traits impact general buying behavior and general shopping approaches. For example, bargaining behavior, purchasing for pleasure, and convenience shopping are some common motives people use. The Big Five is one of the central trait theories that predict materialism, which is the view that goods are important in life and excessive as well as compulsive spending. Furthermore, in a study by Hermes and Riedl (2021), the Big Five influenced privacy concerns and the confidence of people, which changed their voice shopping applications. Finally, clients with a higher level of empathetic care were more satisfied with online service providers and were more ready to assist other online customers.
Benefits and Limitations of the Trait Theory
Given the behavioral implications of an individual’s personality, targeted advertising significantly increases marketing effectiveness. Moreover, psychological factors such as a customer’s psychological distance from a product should be considered in online sales promotions and in combination with the Trait Theory approach(Beck, 2022). The new trend toward big data in retailing enables the personalization of services and products, as well as the identification and retention of key consumers. As a result, a retailer’s thorough understanding of the potential implications of individual factors—particularly personality traits—on retail purchasing decisions is critical.
The limitations of the traits theory are in the complexity of this approach, which makes it difficult to understand the exact patterns and overlaps in the way personality features impact purchasing decisions. Another disadvantage of trait theories is that they require personal observations or subjective self-reports. This issue necessitates people to be introspective enough to understand their own behavior, which is a rare quality. While these theories present information about how people may behave, they do not provide an explanation of why such behavior occurs.
Mayers-Briggs
Mayers-Briggs is another typology, alongside the Big Five, that allows separating people based on the four core characteristics. Pictures 1 and 2 in the Appendix show the fashion purchases made by my friend and me and help illustrate the differences in the way we make purchasing decisions. Mainly, my fashion purchase in Picture 1 is a bright scarf, which I bought spontaneously merely based on its appearance. Picture 2 is a sweater purchased by my friend with an INTJ personality type. This was a thought-out purchase that my friend planned, as she needed a new sweater, and he chose this item based on the clothes he already had to ensure that they would match.
Based on the Mayers-Briggs test, I am an ESFP, which prompts me to be an excellent holiday shopper. People with ESFP personalities are frequently regarded as spontaneous, resourceful, and extroverted (“Entertainer personality,” n.d.). They enjoy being the center of attention and are frequently referred to as “class clowns” or “entertainers.” The ESFP personality type is the polar opposite of the INTJ personality type (“Entertainer personality,” n.d.). Therefore, the comparison of my shopping habits and purchases and those of my friends can provide much insight into whether personality characteristics indeed affect the way people shop and make purchasing decisions. Evidently, marketers may use the information from the MBTI to better target consumers such as me and my friend. From the description of our shopping habits above, one can assume that we have very different shopping patterns and pay attention to different things when shopping.
The ESFP and INTJ personalities are very distinct when considering the trait theory, which explains the different choices of shopping for my friend and me. People of the INTJ personality type are self-assured, analytical, and ambitious in their actions (“Architect personality,” n.d.; Ahn & Kwon, 2020; “Explaining the difference,” n.d.). They have a strong desire to gain knowledge and are quite rational. Moreover, they are independent thinkers who are dedicated to finding solutions to different challenges. People of the ESFJ personality type, on the other hand, are known to be empathic, warm-hearted, and supportive (“Entertainer personality,” n.d.). They are frequently social butterflies, and their eagerness to connect with others makes them well-liked. They may want to help others regularly and honestly if they are acutely aware of their surroundings’ needs.
Mayers-Briggs personality typing is based on some opposing characteristics, such as sensing and intuitive thinking, which affect decision-making, as was illustrated in the example of a fashion purchase my friend and I made. One example of these differences is the approach to purchasing decisions and money management. Money is typically managed in very different ways by Intuitives and Sensors. Money is viewed as a notion or resource by intuitive as a means of providing richness to life (“Explaining the difference,” n.d.). They are more prone to round their budget figures up or down rather than calculate everything to the penny. They consider the chances and possibilities that money might provide. Intuitive Judgers seek assets with high prospective rewards. Intuitive-Perceivers are looking to spend their money on long-delayed dream projects. To Sensing-types, who are more concerned with the minutiae and details of how their money is spent and managed, both kinds might appear flippant.
Another opposing characteristic is thinking as opposed to feeling, under Mayers-Briggs. When it comes to money, Thinking types see it as a means to gain power and success (Talwar & Kaur, 2020). They see it as a tool to help them optimize their talents in life, and it isn’t especially personal to them. Feelers, on the other hand, may experience a great deal of financial remorse (“Explaining the difference” n.d.). They frequently perceive that it promotes avarice and see it more personally. While they regard financial success as a means to achieve their goals, they are also concerned about getting overly enamored with it. It is difficult to identify any significant distinctions in how these two inclinations manifest themselves when it comes to money. Both like to utilize the money to give resources, better their status, and encourage growth and development.
When analyzing the similarities and differences of these characteristics to the Big Five personality traits, one can notice some overlaps. While the MBTI assessment may be an effective technique of self-understanding at a given time, many in the Occupational Psychology field warn against using it and instead recommend the Five-Factor Model. The Five-Factor Model, sometimes known as the Big Five, is a personality assessment paradigm that assesses openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (“Explaining the difference,” n.d.). The fundamental flaw of MBTI is the volatility difficulties. This is because the findings are based on a spectrum instead of a confined binary (Storm, 2019). According to additional research from Barrett and Pietromonaco’s study, the Five-Factor Model “captures certain genuine traits of the individual that are manifested as patterns of perception in the context of people’s everyday lives” (as cited in Storm, 2019, para. 3) This enables the model to be utilized in job-fit testing and to compare two or more candidates. Hence, both approaches can be used for creating a typology of consumers; however, the Big Five has more evidence in support of it, as opposed to Mayers-Briggs.
Implications
The findings from the trait theory and the Mayers-Briggs personality test have several important implications for marketers. For one, the comparison of the ESFJ and INTJ personalities shows that there are substantial personality differences among people that can affect the way they make decisions, for example, what brands they choose and how they shop (“Trait perspectives on personality,” n.d.). Hence, to tailor to a specific group, for example, the INTJs, the marketers can focus on developing a convenient online store.
Picture 1 and Picture 2 in the Appendix show the fashion purchases my friend and I have made. As a marketer, I can tell that these purchases are made by two distinct personalities and, therefore, require a different approach when developing a marketing strategy to target these consumers. Research by Talwar and Kaur (2020) has shown that the Mayers Briggs typology approach can be used to differentiate between different characteristics that the consumer values. By using the typology of personalities, such as the Big Five or Myers-Briggs, marketing specialists can develop campaigns that are tailored towards the characteristics that are the most valued by the consumer, which should make these campaigns more successful. Moreover, this information can be used during the product development stage as the marketers understand what is important to the consumer and what the latter expects from a certain product. Different personality types not only have opposite values, but they also manage their finances and purchasing decisions in a different manner, which can also affect the promotional activities, especially for purchases that are relatively expensive (Beck, 2020).
Conclusion
In summary, this paper is a report on the Trait Theory and the analysis of the real-life application of this theory. The Trait Theory presents a summary of some of the core consumer characteristics that affect a person’s behavior. The Mayers-Briggs assessment offers an approach to classifying consumers into categories which also provides some insight into consumer behavior patterns. Additionally, the example of the fashion purchasing decisions made by me and my friend, who are ESFP and INTJ, respectively, illustrate why marketers benefit from utilizing the consumer typology. Our shopping patterns and ways of approaching decision-making differ substantially.
References
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Appendix
