In determining whether someone is a NEO or Traditional, it’s easy to become confused by apparent conflicts or contrasts in their behavior and attitudes that seem to cross over from one type to the other. We often hear comments such as, ‘I think I’m a NEO, but I behave like a Traditional when it comes to getting the best deal from a telephone company or from a bank on a credit card.’
Determining whether you are a NEO or a Traditional requires a detailed assessment, so guessing can be counter-productive. That said, people will begin to form a generalized view of where their behaviors and attitudes lie. So, as apparent contradictions arise, remember they may well be just that: apparent. To take the example given above, a NEO behaves in exactly the same way as a Traditional when price is the only factor in a brand or product’s value proposition. Most telephone companies, credit-card providers and even marketers in the real estate field have allowed their products to be viewed simply as commodities offered at a price. And given that typically there is no emotion or involvement in a commodity purchase, both NEOs and Traditionals will behave in ways that are very similar. It’s only when desire, emotion, involvement or participation enters the transactional process that the stark differences between NEOs and Traditionals surface. Remember, price for a NEO is just the cost of falling in love.