Yes, everyone knows psychology plays a role in marketing.
Yes, you’ve heard it all before. Emotional triggers. Cognitive bias. Trust signals. The “why they buy.”
But if we’re honest, most of the marketing conversations around psychology have become bland.
It’s been reduced to lists of tactics. Headlines about scarcity and FOMO. That’s not real psychology.
Real psychology is how people justify their decisions when no one’s watching.
And when you start to see your ICPs through that lens, something unlocks.
You stop writing for “Heads of eCommerce” and start writing for how those people think.
You stop optimising funnels and start designing for belief.
Because an eCom manager at a £5M brand doesn’t think like one at £50M.
And both think very differently when the founder’s still in the picture.
Let’s break down the psychologies you’re really selling to.
1–10M Brands: The Builder Psychology
These are the doers.
They’ve built something from nothing and are still in the middle of building it.
They don’t want reassurance. They want speed.
They buy because they want to move faster without losing control. They see your product or service as a shortcut, not a strategy.
They’re not scared of mistakes. They’re scared of missing a window.
What works:
Tactical insights that make them feel clever for finding you
Founder-to-founder tone
Results that feel immediate and tangible
What doesn’t:
Overly polished language
“Trusted partner” messaging
Long-term ROI promises
They buy because it makes them feel resourceful. Your job is to make them feel like they’ve found something the big brands haven’t yet noticed.
10–50M Brands: The Operator Psychology
This is the stage where chaos gets expensive.
They’ve seen what happens when enthusiasm outruns systems.
They’re still ambitious, but now they’re cautious.
They buy to make the machine run smoother, not to reinvent it.
They want to know that what you’re selling works at scale, with real people, in real teams.
What works:
Operational case studies that go deep into process
Clear frameworks that show repeatability
Rational, logic-first copy that signals competence
What doesn’t:
“Hacks” and “growth secrets”
Founder storytelling
Anything that feels like a bet
They buy because it makes them feel competent.
Your marketing should speak to their sense of responsibility, not their ambition.
50–100M Brands: The Executive Psychology
Now it’s political.
Your buyer is protecting quarterly numbers, not chasing big leaps.
They’ve got a team below them and leadership above them. Every decision is visible.
Their biggest fear isn’t that your solution won’t work. It’s that it’ll make them look stupid.
They buy to de-risk outcomes. To prove control, not creativity.
What works:
Data-backed insights
Research and benchmarking
Language that sounds boardroom-ready
What doesn’t:
Scrappy creativity
Start-up energy
Claims that can’t be substantiated
They buy because it makes them feel secure.
They don’t want inspiration. They want certainty.
The best marketing here doesn’t sell opportunity. It sells safety.
When the Founder’s Still in the Picture
Founders change everything.
They’re driven by identity, not logic. They buy because something feels right, not because the spreadsheet says so.
They’re vision-first. Intuition-led. Emotionally attached to everything they’ve built.
You’re not selling services. You’re selling momentum.
What works:
Storytelling that reflects their ambition
Creative that feels cultural, not corporate
Language that makes them feel like pioneers
What doesn’t:
Functional messaging
Incremental change
Anything that sounds like process
They buy because it makes them feel exceptional.
Your job isn’t to persuade them. It’s to reflect their belief back, slightly amplified
The Standard Archetypes vs. Your Reality
These are helpful patterns.
But they’re still broad.
If you stop here, you’re guessing.
Because not every £20M brand behaves the same way.
Sometimes a £5M founder acts like a £50M exec. Sometimes a £100M brand still runs on founder psychology.
Every agency and SaaS company needs to dig into their own data, their own clients, their own buyer conversations.
Not to find what people need, but to uncover why they act the way they do.
That’s the psychology layer most ICPs ignore.
What are they scared of losing?
What would make them feel proud to buy from you?
What language makes them feel seen, not sold to?
If your ICPs don’t answer those, you don’t really know your audience yet.
Building Your Own Psychological ICPs
You can’t copy and paste this stuff.