Dear Entreprenur
Who is a Customer?
A Customer is any person or organization who might have interest in buying, or has bought, products or services from a company
Customers are the most important part of a business as they are the people who use your services and products and judge their quality. Because of their importance to the continued existence of your company it is therefore not surprising that every business has a strategy for acquiring and retaining a customer.
Having a customer acquisition strategy starts from identifying who your customers are and today we examine how to relate with the different types of customers you will meet in the market place.
Let’s have a look at them:
REGULAR CUSTOMERS OR LOYAL CUSTOMERS:
These are responsible for 80% or more of your sales even though they may just represent 20% of your customers. Repeat customers are committed and valuable to your brand. The business that seeks to be successful must always focus on regular customers. So you will want to focus on them.
IMPULSE SHOPPERS:
These types of customers patronize you randomly and purchase on a whim. They most times don’t have an opinion about your brand but simply saw a product you offer that they like.
How To Convert: Impulse buyers are searching for a product that catches their eyes. They don’t have a particular product in mind when shopping. Rather they buy when the situation feels or looks like a great idea. To convert this type of customers you will need to constantly showcase new products and offerings . Another way of doing this is to be in their face by encouraging them to subscribe to your email newsletter, and follow your social media pages.
BARGAIN HUNTERS:
This segment of customers are frequent patronisers of your business but their decisions are based primarily on your discounts. And they also love to get the cheapest price on everything. Discount shoppers are the least loyal customer type and are less likely to purchase again
How To Convert: To convert this kind of customer to a regular you need to show them the benefits of your offering. Always good to have some form of deal going on for your products in other to capture their attention. You can also implement a loyalty program that will come with discounts and exclusive offers
WINDOW SHOPPERS:
This customer type represents the largest percentage of your business traffic but the lowest in revenue. These types of customers do not have a purchase goal but simply want a feel of the experience that you offer and if they are impressed they may return for a purchase. Whilst you don’t want to focus on this type of customer, their presence shows that they are at least interested in what you offer.
How To Convert: To convert them to regular customers you can offer them samples or free trials of your offer to help them make up their minds. You can also consider giving them a time limited deal to help push them to make a decision.
PARTING WORDS
Understanding the various customer types you’ll come across when running a business is key to providing quality and relevant service to each customer.
Not all customer types are valuable. So the goal should be to convert the various customer types into the most valuable one – regular customers. To convert Impulsive, Bargain Hunters and Window Shoppers into loyal Customers you need to innovate and enhance your sales strategies.
Use the tips listed in this piece to turn the various customer types patronizing your business into loyal customers.