How to use Limbic Map test with Brainact in 5 steps?

What is the Limbic map and how to use it? Here’s a case study based on a Limbic Map survey for increased conversion with Brainact.

Chapter 1: What is the Limbic Map?

The Limbic Map theory was developed by Dr. Hausel and his colleagues. Its primary aim is to categorize customers based on their emotional values and desires, offering a simplified tool for marketers.

Humans are emotional beings, and every purchase or interest we have is driven by underlying emotional factors. Understanding these factors reveals why a customer is drawn to us and why they decide to buy. In essence, it uncovers the core reasons behind their choices. If we comprehend how a customer or potential client connects with us emotionally, we can figure out how to approach them, which aspects of our products or services to highlight, and how to persuade them effectively.

For those who cannot afford to conduct individual interviews with clients through research companies, this method can be applied at a very low cost on your own.

Below is a glimpse of the Limbic Map. This map contains 7 distinct personality types and a total of 66 emotional values.

Each personality type is associated with specific emotional values. To give a brief example: A person who falls within the “balance” area of the map tends to value security, safety, and nostalgia. This personality type takes more time to make purchasing decisions and places high importance on safety and social proof.

On the other hand, a person categorized in the “stimulant” area (top left) tends to act more quickly and independently. They are more prone to taking risks and are more inclined to spend.

Next, I’ll explain these 7 personality types and their emotional values in more detail, focusing on their preferences, dislikes, and fears.

Chapter 2: Fears, Desires, and Persuasion of Limbic Map Personality Types

1. Harmonizer Limbic Type

Highly social and family-oriented; low focus on status and advancement, seeking security

Harmonizer Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Friendship
• Flexibility
• Cordiality
• Trust
• Authenticity
• Home
• Nostalgia
• Security
• Safety
• Nature
• Sociability
• Sensuality

Harmonizer Limbic Type- Desires:

1. A secure and warm family environment
2. Genuine and trustworthy friendships
3. A natural and relaxed lifestyle
4. Strong connections to the past and nostalgia
5. Social bonds and a sense of community

Harmonizer Limbic Type – Fears:

1. Feelings of insecurity and danger
2. Loneliness and social isolation
3. Artificial and fake relationships
4. Unrest and stressful environments
5. Weakening family ties

Activation Methods:

1. Emphasize security and safety: Providing secure and safe environments is key to addressing their needs.
2. Build genuine and reliable communication: A warm, authentic approach will motivate these individuals.
3. Organize social and community events: Offering opportunities to form social bonds will capture their attention.
4. Highlight nostalgic and emotional connections: Focusing on the nostalgic aspects of products or services will strengthen their emotional ties.
5. Offer a natural and relaxed lifestyle: Products and services promoting a natural and comfortable lifestyle will resonate with them.

Potential Customer Profile:

These customers prioritize safety, family, and social connections. They value warm, sincere, and trustworthy relationships, seeking long-term security and stability.

Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Emphasize Safety and Security:
   • Highlight how deals and purchases are risk-free.
   • Offer warranties and support services to enhance feelings of trust.
2. Genuine and Reliable Communication:
   • Adopt a warm and personal communication style.
   • Strengthen relationships with consistent and reliable follow-ups.
3. Fostering Social Bonds:
   • Promote family-friendly campaigns and community-oriented projects.
   • Establish trust and loyalty within the community.
4. Long-Term Relationships:
   • Build sustainable, long-term collaborations with loyalty programs.
   • Keep customer satisfaction and trust as top priorities.
5. Nostalgia and Emotional Appeal:
   • Emphasize nostalgic elements of products or services.
   • Highlight family values and traditions.

2. Open-Minded Limbic Type

Openness to new experiences, appreciation for ease and tolerance, enjoyment of light pleasures

Open-Minded Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Poetry
• Dream
• Openness
• Fantasy
• Pleasure
• Humor
• Ease
• Tolerance

Open-Minded Limbic Type – Desires:

1. Openness to new ideas and differences
2. Imagination and creativity
3. A fun and enjoyable life
4. Tolerance and acceptance
5. A relaxed and peaceful lifestyle

Open-Minded Limbic Type – Fears:

1. Monotony and repetition
2. Intolerance and narrow-mindedness
3. Suppression of imagination
4. Stressful and tense environments
5. Rejection of novelty and diversity

Activation Methods:

1. Offer innovative and diverse products: Appeal to their love of novelty with creative and different offerings.
2. Encourage imagination and creativity: Highlight features that stimulate imagination and creativity in products and services.
3. Provide fun and enjoyable experiences: Offer relaxing and entertaining experiences to motivate them.
4. Promote messages of tolerance and acceptance: Emphasize diversity, tolerance, and acceptance in messaging.
5. Promote a relaxed lifestyle: Products and services that encourage peace and relaxation will attract their interest.

Open-Minded Limbic Type – Potential Customer Profile:

These customers are open to new ideas and value imagination, creativity, and tolerance. They prefer a peaceful and relaxed lifestyle.

Open-Minded Limbic Type – Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Highlight Innovation and Creativity:
   • Emphasize the uniqueness of your products or services.
   • Offer projects that encourage creativity and imagination.
2. Provide Relaxing Experiences:
   • Ensure the buying process is smooth and stress-free.
   • Offer user-friendly and enjoyable shopping experiences.
3. Messages of Tolerance and Acceptance:
   • Promote messages of acceptance and diversity.
   • Create campaigns that resonate with a broad audience.
4. Fun-Focused Campaigns:
   • Create campaigns with humor and light-heartedness.
   • Offer projects that highlight creativity and imagination.
5. Promote a Peaceful Lifestyle:
   • Offer products or services that promote peace and relaxation.
   • Provide solutions that reduce stress and promote comfort.

3. Hedonist Limbic Type

Constant search for new experiences, high individuality, high spontaneity

Hedonist Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Fun
• Art
• Curiosity
• Diversity
• Individualism
• Creativity
• Extravagance

Hedonist Limbic Type – Desires:

1. Continuous search for novelty and excitement
2. Interest in creativity and the arts
3. Individualism and originality
4. Seeking diversity and variety
5. Enjoyment of a spontaneous lifestyle

Hedonist Limbic Type -Fears:

1. A dull and monotonous life
2. Restriction of creativity and individuality
3. Uniformity and routine
4. Rejection of novelty and diversity
5. Lack of adventure and excitement

Activation Methods:

1. Provide new and exciting products: Offer continuously exciting and novel products to maintain their interest.
2. Encourage creativity and the arts: Emphasize the creative and artistic aspects of your products or services.
3. Highlight individuality and originality: Focus on how your products or services foster individuality and originality.
4. Offer diversity and variety: Provide a wide range of options to keep them engaged.
5. Deliver fun and spontaneous experiences: Capture their interest with fun, spontaneous experiences.

Hedonist Limbic Type – Potential Customer Profile:

These customers are constantly seeking novelty and excitement. Creativity, individuality, and fun are their main priorities.

Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Offer Novelty and Excitement:
   • Provide exciting, new products or projects.
   • Engage them with previews and exclusive invitations.
2. Promote Creativity and Art:
   • Highlight the creative and artistic elements of your products.
   • Organize campaigns related to art and culture.
3. Focus on Individuality:
   • Emphasize how your offerings support individuality and originality.
   • Provide customization options.
4. Offer Variety:
   • Keep them motivated by offering diverse products.
   • Provide enjoyable and fun experiences.
5. Encourage Spontaneity:
   • Offer opportunities for spontaneous decision-making.
   • Create limited-time campaigns or flash sales.

4. Adventurer Limbic Type

High appetite for risk, low impulse control

Adventurer Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Spontaneity
• Risk appetite
• Impulsiveness
• Rebellion
• Courage

Adventurer Limbic Type – Desires:

1. Search for high-risk and adventurous experiences
2. Taking spontaneous and impulsive decisions
3. Displaying courage and challenging situations
4. Breaking rules and rebelling
5. Living a life full of excitement and adrenaline

Adventurer Limbic Type – Fears:

1. A boring and monotonous life
2. Avoiding risks
3. Failing in situations requiring courage
4. Submitting to rules and order
5. Lack of adrenaline and excitement

Activation Methods:

1. Provide high-risk adventures: Offer high-risk and adventurous projects or activities to captivate them.
2. Encourage spontaneous decisions: Motivate them by offering opportunities for spontaneous decision-making.
3. Highlight courage and challenge: Emphasize the daring and challenging aspects of your products or services.
4. Offer opportunities for rebellion: Provide opportunities to break rules and rebel against norms.
5. Deliver thrilling and adrenaline-filled experiences: Attract their attention by offering exciting, adrenaline-packed experiences.

Adventurer Limbic Type – Potential Customer Profile:

These customers thrive on risk and adventure. Courage, spontaneity, and rebellion are essential to them, and they love making quick, impulsive decisions.

Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Offer High-Risk Adventures:
   • Present projects or activities filled with risk and excitement.
   • Organize adrenaline-filled campaigns.
2. Encourage Spontaneous Decisions:
   • Create opportunities for quick and impulsive decision-making.
   • Provide fast, practical solutions.
3. Focus on Courage and Challenge:
   • Highlight the bold and challenging aspects of your offerings.
   • Encourage daring campaigns and projects.

5. Performer Limbic Type

Highly performance-driven, ambitious, and focused on status

Performer Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Autonomy
• Victory
• Fight
• Power
• Fame
• Freedom
• Elite
• Status
• Performance
• Pride
• Honor
• Enforcement

Performer Limbic Type – Desires:

1. High performance and success
2. Gaining status and reputation
3. Attaining power and control
4. Freedom and independence
5. Victory and recognition

Performer Limbic Type – Fears:

1. Failure and defeat
2. Loss of status and reputation
3. Loss of power and control
4. Dependence and restriction
5. Lack of recognition and being forgotten

Motivational Strategies:

1. Emphasize high performance and success: Highlight how products or services can bring high performance and success to attract their attention.
2. Offer opportunities for status and reputation: Provide tasks and projects that will boost their status in career and social life.
3. Present opportunities to gain power and control: Show them how they can gain power and control, which will pique their interest.
4. Highlight freedom and independence: Emphasize how products or services can increase their freedom and independence.
5. Offer opportunities for victory and recognition: Increase their motivation by offering chances for victory and recognition.

Performer Limbic Type -Potential Customer Profile:

These customers are focused on high performance and success. Status, reputation, and power are important to them. They are ambitious and competitive.

Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Emphasize High Performance and Success:
   • Highlight the performance and success that products or services can bring.
   • Provide success stories and examples.
2. Offer Opportunities for Status and Reputation:
   • Provide tasks and projects that will boost their status in career and social life.
   • Offer awards and prestigious responsibilities.
3. Present Opportunities to Gain Power and Control:
   • Show them how they can gain power and control.
   • Offer leadership and management positions.
4. Highlight Freedom and Independence:
   • Emphasize how products or services can increase their freedom and independence.
   • Provide opportunities for independent work and decision-making.
5. Offer Opportunities for Victory and Recognition:
   • Increase motivation by offering chances for victory and recognition.
   • Create rewards, certificates, and recognition programs.

6. Disciplinarian Limbic Type

Strong sense of duty, low desire for shopping, attention to detail

Disciplinarian Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Efficiency
• Diligence
• Precision
• Logic
• Discipline
• Functionality
• Order
• Duty
• Asceticism
• Ambition

Disciplinarian Limbic Type – Desires:

1. Efficiency and effectiveness
2. Sense of duty and responsibility
3. Order and discipline
4. Attention to detail and precision
5. Functionality and logic

Disciplinarian Limbic Type – Fears:

1. Inefficiency and ineffectiveness
2. Lack of duty and responsibility
3. Disorder and chaos
4. Lack of attention to detail and mistakes
5. Illogical and non-functional solutions

Motivational Strategies:

1. Emphasize efficiency and effectiveness: Highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of products or services.
2. Encourage duty and responsibility: Offer projects that will boost their sense of duty and responsibility.
3. Ensure order and discipline: Provide products or services that ensure order and discipline.
4. Emphasize attention to detail and precision: Offer products or services that focus on detail and precision.
5. Highlight functionality and logic: Emphasize the functionality and logic of products or services.

Disciplinarian Limbic Type – Potential Customer Profile:

These customers have a strong sense of duty, are detail-oriented, and disciplined. Efficiency, logic, and order are priorities for them. They seek long-term and functional solutions.

Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Emphasize Efficiency and Effectiveness:
   • Highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of products or services.
   • Offer solutions that increase efficiency.
2. Encourage Duty and Responsibility:
   • Provide projects that boost their sense of duty and responsibility.
   • Adopt responsibility-focused approaches.
3. Ensure Order and Discipline:
   • Offer products or services that ensure order and discipline.
   • Provide structured and organized business processes.
4. Emphasize Attention to Detail and Precision:
   • Offer products or services that focus on detail and precision.
   • Provide detailed and precise solutions.
5. Highlight Functionality and Logic:
   • Emphasize the functionality and logic of products or services.
   • Offer practical and logical solutions.

7. Traditionalist Limbic Type

Low future orientation, seeking order and security

Traditionalist Limbic Type – Core Values:

• Justice
• Morality
• Hygiene
• Thrift
• Obedience
• Cleanliness
• Reliability
• Quality
• Loyalty
• Health
• Tradition

Traditionalist Limbic Type – Desires:

1. Order and security
2. Justice and morality
3. Health and cleanliness
4. Loyalty and commitment
5. Quality and reliability

Traditionalist Limbic Type – Fears:

1. Disorder and insecurity
2. Injustice and immorality
3. Health issues and lack of hygiene
4. Disloyalty and lack of commitment
5. Poor quality and unreliable products

Motivational Strategies:

1. Emphasize order and security: Highlight how products or services provide order and security.
2. Promote justice and morality: Offer projects and campaigns that promote justice and morality.
3. Emphasize health and cleanliness: Highlight the health and cleanliness aspects of products or services.
4. Encourage loyalty and commitment: Offer products or services that promote loyalty and commitment.
5. Highlight quality and reliability: Emphasize the high quality and reliability of products or services.

Traditionalist Limbic Type – Potential Customer Profile:

These customers are tradition-oriented and seek order and security. Justice, morality, and quality are important to them. They look for long-term and reliable solutions.

Business Deals and Purchase Processes:

1. Emphasize Order and Security:
   • Highlight how products or services provide order and security.
   • Offer safe and stable solutions.
2. Promote Justice and Morality:
   • Offer projects and campaigns that promote justice and morality.
   • Focus on ethical values.
3. Emphasize Health and Cleanliness:
   • Highlight the health and cleanliness aspects of products or services.
   • Provide hygienic and healthy solutions.
4. Encourage Loyalty and Commitment:
   • Offer products or services that promote loyalty and commitment.
   • Provide loyalty programs and long-term partnerships.
5. Highlight Quality and Reliability:
   • Emphasize the high quality and reliability of products or services.
   • Offer reliable and quality solutions.

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We made Brainact for Limbic map survey.

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Chapter 3: How to Apply the Limbic Map Theory?

As I mentioned earlier, each limbic personality type has different fears and desires. To persuade each limbic personality type, it’s necessary to highlight different features and benefits of a product or service.

Let’s look at how to address seven different limbic personality types when writing a headline that explains a digital product on a website.

The following example is from a project we did for the product Docuchat.

In short, Docuchat is an AI-powered tool that allows you to create a chatbot from your documents and interact with it.

In this example, we positioned the product as a tool that influencers or community managers can use to share their documents with their audience.

Now, let’s create different headlines for each limbic map personality type.

Harmonizer: “Stay connected with your community like never before with Docuchat’s personal chatbot – bringing your wisdom to their fingertips.”

Open-minded:  “Expand your community’s horizons with Docuchat’s AI-powered chatbot, sharing your unique knowledge and dreams with ease.”

Hedonist: “Experience the joy of effortless community-building with Docuchat’s fun and creative chatbot – no more time-consuming one-on-ones.”

Adventurer: “Ready for a new adventure in community building? Let Docuchat’s daring chatbot clone and scale your wisdom for you.”

Performer: “Elevate your community-building game with Docuchat’s high–performance chatbot – experience the power of scaling for more people .”

Disciplinarian:
“Maximize your efficiency and impact with Docuchat’s detail–oriented chatbot – perfect for the ambitious community builder.”

Traditionalist: “Ensure your community’s reliability and loyalty with Docuchat’s traditional and trustworthy chatbot”

Did you notice the highlighted sections in the headlines for each limbic map personality type? The product remains the same. However, it’s positioned based on the desires and fears of each limbic personality type, using specific keywords to resonate with the target audience.

Here’s why this is important.

You can’t motivate a “Traditionalist,” who values security and social proof, with the idea of excitement and adventure. The reverse is also true. A “Hedonist,” who focuses on fun, creativity, and novelty, fears stability. You can’t persuade a Hedonist with mentions of security or details, as these are the things they find boring or avoid.

Chapter 4: The Difference Between Limbic Map Theory and Rational Categorization

With the Limbic Map test, emotional values are not just supporters but even precede other factors.

Traditional categorization often relies on rational information, such as a customer’s country/location, age, gender, income level, or title. These are not insignificant details, but for beings driven by emotions, they are not enough.

When we categorize based solely on rational data, we might get the following result:

Let’s consider two different personas:

1. A 40-year-old woman living in the USA with an average income.
2. A 25-year-old man living in Thailand with a low income.

If we rely only on rational categorization, these two personas would never end up in the same category. However, the Limbic Map theory and emotional values allow us to ask:

What if these two personas share the same personality type, have the same emotional values, and connect with a product/service/brand through the same emotional factors? It’s possible. And when that happens, these two personas, who would normally not belong in the same category, are actually driven by the same emotional side.

The most remarkable thing the Limbic Map offers is this: if these two personas connect with our product or service through the same emotional values, we can use a similar approach or even the same message to persuade them.

Chapter 5: Case Study and Results about Limbic map

Here is a case study based on a Limbic Map test exercise we conducted for a product I provide consulting for.

We asked approximately 600 users to select the top three emotional values they associated with the product.

The results were as follows:

One-third of the users (30%) associated the product with the emotional value of “freedom,” while one-fifth linked it to “courage.”

In this study, where freedom and courage were the dominant emotional values, curiosity, creativity, sociability, and autonomy followed closely, each around 10%.

We can derive several insights from these results.

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We made Brainact for Limbic map survey/test.

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Here’s a brief summary:

• If a large portion of current users associate the product with freedom and courage, it’s likely that new potential users will also connect with these values.
• We should ensure that current users feel even more freedom and courage when interacting with the product.
• All marketing efforts should prioritize these values by developing strategies based on this list. For example:
  • Designing a website that emphasizes and evokes these themes.
  • Writing copy for the website that reinforces these themes.
  • Creating content and visuals for social media/advertising that highlight these values.

It’s important to emphasize again that understanding how current users emotionally connect with a product/service/brand will guide us in meeting their emotional needs, approaching them effectively, and persuading them more efficiently.

If you combine this theory with data, you become unstoppable.

Data shows us what works or doesn’t, but the real key is understanding why something works.

For example, let’s assume we’re conducting a classic A/B test. We test the color of a button on a landing page, and one version performs significantly better. While we now know which color works better, we don’t know why it performs better. This is where the Limbic Map marketing comes into play.

This is key for high-converting landing page copy.

As humans, we tend to act based on cognitive biases and are poor at predicting outcomes. We often create arguments to justify why one option worked—this is known as confirmation bias. Trying to reason backward from the results often leads us astray.

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