4 Types of Customers: Who They Are and How to Connect with Them
Understanding the various customer types you might deal with is essential for developing a suitable business model that makes you money and an amazing brand experience that makes your customers happy.
Ben Mukoma
3 min read
4 Types of Customers
Understanding the various customer types you might deal with is essential for developing a suitable business model that makes you money and an amazing brand experience that makes your customers happy. You can modify your strategy to appeal to each type of customer's unique wants and preferences by learning what influences each type of customer's purchasing decisions.
Let’s talk about the customers first: convenience, price, relationship, and value.
Convenience is everything for these customers. They care about the ease of being able to purchase your product easily. They will even pay more for this. Make your goods or services as available as possible to them in order to engage them.
Cost is what matters most to price customers. They constantly search for the finest offer. Offer them attractive rates and offers to gain their trust. Yes, competitive prices draw them in and keep them loyal.
Personal connection is everything to relationship customers. If you recognize and cater to their requirements, you will earn their loyalty. Create a personal connection with them. Yes, be personable - not professional.
Value customers are all about getting the most for their money. For things with superior quality or more features, they are willing to spend more. And your challenge is to find out what they consider superior quality and what features they find valuable.
The ideal case is to create strategies (business, brand, and marketing) to engage with all types of customers. You see, they value different things and you can’t use the same strategy or tactics for all. The reality is that every successful business attracts only one main type of customer. It is pretty difficult being all things to all people. Even as an individual, you are really not for everyone!
The business that caters to customers that want convenience may wish to concentrate on developing a clear, straightforward branding design that is simple to use. Extended hours of business, online and mobile ordering, and many locations will work with them. And, the customer will be drawn to a marketing campaign that highlights how convenient the purchasing process is.
The business targeting price customers will maintain a low overhead, run discounts and sales, and think about matching competitors' prices. The branding must not look or feel luxurious – lest you confuse your audience. The marketing strategy will highlight the cost-effectiveness of a good or service.
To target relationship customers, the business can concentrate on fostering close bonds by providing individualized service, implementing loyalty programs, and communicating frequently.
The business targeting value customers will concentrate on emphasizing the special qualities and advantages of their goods and services, as well as their excellence and robustness.
So, if starting or changing direction, decide who you will want to target and build out an entire brand experience for this customer. Build your product for them. Price for them. Design for them. Market for them. You will, most definitely, attract other types of customers – and that is fine. They still trust you – and that is a win. Sell to them and find out why they still opted to come to you. Don’t be quick to change direction yet.
If you have been operational, go through your list of repeat customers. Why do they come back to you? Check their feedback. Ask them. See why they prefer you. You may have inadvertently targeted a specific customer type. If you like working with the type you find yourself in, double down and make their experience even better. If not, change direction and start attracting a different type of customer.
Remember, focusing on a price buyer does not mean your service can be crappy because you are cheap. Be a good human, regardless of which customer type you are targeting or receiving.
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