Bryan Eisenberg's 4 Buyer Types is a framework that categorizes consumers into distinct groups based on the way they collect information online and make buying decisions.

The 4 types are:

  • Methodical: Detail-Oriented Analysts
  • Spontaneous: Adventurous Achievers
  • Humanistic: Creative Socializers
  • Competitive: Solution-Focused Achievers

As Eisenberg puts it,

At the most fundamental level, all people are motivated by a single, critical question: What’s in it for me (WIIFM)? Their dominant personality type strongly influences how they ask that question, perceive value, and consciously – or more typically, subconsciously – approach a decision-making task.

Web visitors look for cues that match their buying type. The presence of cues will attract them; the absence of cues will drive them away.