10 Types of Customers and What They Need
Table of Content
- Understanding Different Types of Customers: The Essentials
According to Zendesk’s 2024 CX report, 80% of companies are planning to increase their investment in customer service. So why are companies refocusing on customer experience? Because it is one of the most important areas of a business that can increase revenue and profitability for a company. Businesses like yours need to understand different types of customers to offer the best customer service and beat out the competition.
By understanding different types of customers, you can offer to customize their experience through personalized customer service types. These can include multilingual support, AI chatbots, and tailor-made customer service. Pexly can take care of your customer service needs with its experienced team, leaving you to focus on growing your business!
What Is the Best Way to Identify Different Types of Customers for Your Business?
Did you know? A whopping two-thirds or 67% of customers who feel like a business cares for their emotional well-being will become repeat customers. This makes understanding your customers one of the most important tasks and the best way to achieve this is by identifying different types of customers.
Once you identify these customers, you can easily allocate resources to cater to their specific needs reaping the rewards such as a high ROI and brand loyalty. So what is the best way to segment customers and is that even possible? Let’s find out below!
Using Market Segmentation to Identify Different Types of Customers
Market segmentation can help you effectively understand different customer types and their buyer personas. The most common ones include:
- Geographic: In this type of segmentation, customers are categorized based on their area of residence such as their neighborhood, city, or country.
- Demographic: Here, different types of customers are segmented based on their age, gender, level of education, and income brackets.
- Behavioral: Interaction with the brand, shopping history, and product usage can also be used to categorize different types of customers.
- Psychographic: Customers can also be segmented based on their preferences, likes/dislikes, values, and opinions.
Pro-tip: Customer feedback on call, in-shop, or via mail can help you get meaningful information that you can use to segment your unique customer base.
Understanding Different Types of Customers: The Essentials
Enhancing customer experience was one of the top priority areas in 2022, according to McKinsey. While there are many ways of doing that, one tried-and-tested path is to understand what type of customer you are dealing with. This ensures that you are offering the right value to your customers while not wasting important business resources.
In the world of data, you can use different tools to gather meaningful insights about your customers. This includes surveying customers online (social media, emails) and offline (mail, phone, text) to collect valuable feedback. Just so you know, human beings tend to lose attention in just 8 seconds which makes phone calls an ideal medium to collect feedback from customers.
Similarly, by analyzing data gathered at point-of-sale (PoS) and feedback. These trends can help you understand different customer preferences for different segments. Likewise, market research such as interviews and focus groups can also help you understand customer insights.
By understanding different types of customers, you can personalize your customer experience strategy allowing you to attract and retain more clients. Let’s look at different types of customers and how to approach them!
1. Loyal Customers
Did you know the customer loyalty market is projected to increase to $24 billion by 2028 in the U.S. Having been a part of your customer base for years, the loyal customer is the joy of the sales department. Yet there is added pressure for the support team to be aware of and able to handle any specific needs this customer might have. Since they already have a preference for your company, loyal customers can be a way to foster organic marketing if you can get them to share their stories on social media.
When it comes to loyal customers, you need to be proactive. That means getting ahead of an issue before it escalates or even happens. And even if their issue isn’t completely your company’s fault, offering some discount or loyalty reward can be a great way to appease loyal customers and increase the likelihood that they will tell other potential customers about your business.
How to Approach Loyal Customers
Approaching loyal customers requires an active effort from business leaders. 86% of customers are more loyal to brands where they can participate in loyalty programs. Loyalty programs for loyal customers such as bonus points or exclusive awards can help engage loyal customers. Similarly, loyal customers can also be approached by positive gestures like personalized notes and gifts (for instance a small note or gift on their birthdays).
You can also approach loyal customers by saving their information in your databases and giving them priority in customer service or feedback. By offering customized types of customer service such as multilingual support you can also enhance your brand’s value for these loyalists. Pexly offers an experienced team of customer service agents that are perfect for retaining your loyal customers.
2. Impulse Customers
This is one of the more interesting types of consumers because they are quick to buy when something catches their eye, but aren’t always the best at reading the fine print. 73% of customers in the U.S. acknowledge that they make purchasing decisions impulsively. So in situations where these types of customers get a product that isn’t exactly what they thought it was, they might also be impulsive in calling customer support.
The impulse customer does sometimes have a legitimate support concern so initially, they should be approached as you would any other ticket. When dealing with such client types, be sure to keep in mind what they are most likely going to be looking for assistance with product use cases, warranty issues, and return policies. Therefore, you must show them empathy rather than trying to make the sale
How to Approach Impulse Customers
One way to attract impulse customers is to market limited-time offers to encourage quick purchasing by impulse customers. Likewise, flash sales – where product prices are reduced for a short time – can also help you approach impulse customers. You can also use alluring and eye-catching visualizations in-store and online to charm impulse buyers. Chances of purchasing by impulse customers also increase if the purchasing journey is easy with convenient checkout options.
Similarly, marketing online (social media) and offline (via phone or text) with convincing content can help you approach impulse customers more effectively. Impulse behavior is more common online where impulse purchases make up 40% of total purchases. This makes the use of social media and digital marketing assistance important types of customer service to attract impulse buyers and with Pexly’s professional social media support, your online presence is in good hands.
3. Discount Customers
Discount customers play an important role in turning over a company’s inventory. Therefore, discount customers are a key contributor to a company’s cash flow. This type of customer seldom purchases products at full price and shops around for the best markdowns. Discount customers are resilient to upselling, are usually the least loyal segment of customers, and generally move on when better markdowns are available elsewhere.
Discounts can also be used to attract more clients to your business with 86% of online customers willing to try a new business with a coupon. When working with such types of clients, it’s important to give them what they are looking for. If you are having a sale, consider sending them some promotional materials or be proactive and call them to share the news. This way you will be able to turn them into loyal customers.
How to Approach Discount Customers
A whopping 93% of customers use a discount code or coupon in a year, according to Statista. Hence, sending customized discount offers based on past shopping behaviors can help you target discount customers effectively. You can also extend this into a loyalty program and provide limited-time offers to discount customers who sign up for a discount program. Similarly, seasonal promotions such as off-season sales (fall/spring) or holiday sales (such as Christmas) can prove to be fruitful in reaching out to discount customers.
Another effective strategy to approach discount customers is to use bundle pricing where you can combine two or more products and make a bundle less costly. Moreover, you can also initiate a point card system that encourages customers to spend more to gain redeemable points. Several types of customer service can be offered to discount customers including AI chatbots and 24/7 call assistance.
4. Need-Based Customers
Need-based customers are driven by a specific need. In other words, they enter the store quickly, purchase what they need, and leave. These customers buy for a specific need or occasion and are hard to upsell. It is important to note that need-based customers can be easily drawn to other businesses with 66% of customers expecting the company to understand their needs, according to HubSpot.
When your agents are communicating with such types of customers, it is important to initiate positive personal interaction with this customer segment to retain them. Converting need-based customers to loyal customers is attainable with proper positive personal interactions.
How to Approach Need-Based Customers
One effective method to approach need-based customers is through logical marketing where you highlight features and benefits of a product to show what type of problem they can solve. Similarly, informative content like blogs, guides, and in-store audio can also highlight the potential usefulness of a product thus making it attractive for need-based customers.
More often than not it’s not what you say but how you say it that makes the difference. For need-based customers, you can rebrand potential items as customized solutions to potential problems that need-based customers might face.
Customer support is also considerably important as these customers want to make sure they are purchasing the right product. Having a well-informed, professional, and competent customer service team with diverse types of customer service can assure and inform needs-based customers effectively thus increasing the chances of a successful purchase. At Pexly, we offer personalized and professional customer support agents that can enhance the brand value of your business.
5. Wandering Customers
Wandering customers draws the largest amount of traffic to the company while making up the smallest percentage of sales revenue. According to one research, 60% of customers in America are prone to window shopping online. They have no specific need or desire in mind and are attracted by the location of the business more than anything else. These customers enjoy the social interaction of the shopping experience.
When working with wandering customers, we do not recommend spending too much time trying to appease this segment since this can draw away from the more profitable segments. Although this segment generates the least amount of sales revenue, providing insightful information about products to these customers can stimulate interest and ultimately result in a purchase.
How to Approach Wandering Customers
You may think wandering customers are difficult to approach and convert but with the right plan, these customers can provide high value. You can start by making the shopping environment cozier, brighter, and more attractive to retain these wandering customers for a longer time. Moreover, placing high-value items in prominent places can attract wandering customers to stay interested in your product offerings. You can even provide a demo of the best-selling items to grasp their attention and engage with the product one-on-one.
Creating unique product offerings that highlight the item’s value such as history, creation, and origin can also attract wandering customers. Giving away free samples by way of exploration can also lead to conversion for wandering customers. Moreover, AI chatbots are one of many distinct customer service types that can do wonders with wandering customers by offering valuable suggestions based on historical data and present interactions.
6. Researchers
68% of customers today believe that they are well-placed today compared to 5 years ago to make well-informed decisions. Researchers are the types of customers that will find any information they can about the product they are looking for and they will not hesitate to spend a lot of time doing it. For them, every detail is important. The good thing is that they know what they want and are willing to spend more money to get it.
When encountering researchers, it is important to give them exactly what they are looking for i.e. information. You can personalize customer service types to provide detailed information about products you are selling since these types of customers will grill you about even the most minute details.
How to Approach Researcher Customers
Approaching researcher customers can be achieved by being as detailed as possible in your product offering. For instance, you can provide a thorough description of your items including their features and benefits to attract research customers as 30% of customers tend to abandon their shopping experience due to poor product description. Similarly, you can also provide FAQs and use competent customer service agents to answer common questions that research customers may have regarding the product they are purchasing.
Curating engaging content such as comparison guides between different brands can signal to researcher customers that you care about their time and have confidence in your products. Nothing screams credible louder than customer reviews and testimonials therefore you can use these online as well as in brick-and-mortar shops to highlight client satisfaction. To demonstrate product expertise, you can also support research customers to connect with brand/product experts to understand more about the product and gain their trust. Sounds familiar? Apple does this with its Genius Bar!
7. Unsure Customers
These customers can range from “tire kickers” to people who are simply sitting on the fence. According to one academic study, unsure customers often feel mixed up and have negative emotions which can decrease your chances of a successful sale. They have a genuine need for a specific product and will react well to agents providing them with more information on making a good decision. The good thing is that unsure customers will come back to you if they had a good experience since they already know you offer quality products.
It is important to understand what’s preventing these unsure customers from making a purchase. This can be simply accomplished by asking them or putting their mind at rest with some sort of warranty or guarantee that their purchase is protected and you stand by your product.
How to Approach Unsure Customers
Unsure customers can be best approached through a friendly approach where you can listen to their queries and provide satisfactory replies. With every 1% increase in customer satisfaction, the retention rate increases by 5%. As these customers are unsure about their purchase decision, you can implement proactive customer service types to educate them through blog posts, detailed product outlines, and well-informed customer service agents. You can also approach unsure customers by highlighting customer testimonials and feedback which reflects your commitment to quality.
To make their purchasing decision easier, you can also offer them customized support to compare different products and make an informed decision. Likewise, you can reduce the unsure purchase part by promising a product-return policy and money-back guarantees in case their purchase falls short of expectations. With Pexly’s dedicated phone answering service you can address customers’ confusion like never before!
8. Lapsed Customers
There are different types of customers out there but they all have a specific time window for making a purchase. If you miss this time window, the customer will simply put off making the purchase and it will be really hard to activate them. Therefore, you want to avoid the lapsed customer at all costs.
Now, let’s say that a customer has lapsed. What do you do? Well, you will need to get proactive and contact them with relevant information. If you know the product they were looking for, consider calling them and inviting them back to make a purchase.
How to Approach Lapsed Customers
Lapsed customers can also be approached by taking a proactive approach and communicating with them. One research finds that there’s a 20 – 40 percent chance of selling to lost customers. For instance, sending personalized reminders (using their names) about coming back can positively reinforce your brand image in their subconscious. Similarly, you can attract them with targeted discounts that only last a limited amount of time. To retain lapsed customers, you can use several interesting customer service types including dedicated chat support, warm calling, and follow-up to catch their eye once again.
You can also engage them on non-discount topics such as by sending a company newsletter for customers highlighting the company’s new initiatives and commitments. These open communications can create a back-and-forth trust that can translate to a stronger relationship between you and the lapsed customer.
9. Unhappy Customers
These are the customers who are frustrated and unhappy about your service or the product that they bought. They usually received bad customer service and, in general, did not have a good experience with your business. These are the types of customers you want to avoid because they can tell their friends about their negative experiences and cause damage to your reputation.
On the bright side, 70% of unhappy customers are willing to try the business again if their problems are resolved. When dealing with unhappy customers, it’s important to be empathetic. Empathy is essential for understanding where a customer is coming from and for taking the conversation forward accordingly. For busy support teams, it can be tempting to jump to a solution as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this means rushing the customer through an explanation of their problem. And while this may be the fastest way to understand what’s going on, it’s not the most effective.
How to Approach Unhappy Customers
The best way to approach unhappy customers is by being honest and sincere. As a business leader, you need to demonstrate that you care for their feelings and want to genuinely make them happy. As the quote goes ‘customer is always right’ and you can easily talk to unhappy customers by offering an apology and actively listening to them. Acting quickly and finding a potential solution can also help heal wounds and start a new relationship with unhappy customers.
One problem with unhappy customers is that only 4% of them will ever complain to you directly, making it difficult to identify and address the issue. By using positive language and being professional, you can make great leaps in approaching unhappy customers and converting them. Moreover, by following up and asking for their feedback, you can also implement changes that reduce the probability of unhappy customers in the future.
10. Referral Customers
These customers have been referred to you by another customer who had a positive experience with your brand. According to Harvard Business Review, a referred customer is 18% more likely to stay with your business. These are great customers to have since they usually have high conversion rates and they will not be afraid of buying from you since they already received a positive reference from a source they trust.
If you get referral customers, it’s important to match their expectations. Remember, their friend told them about what a wonderful business you have and you want to live up to their expectations. This means that they will also tell their friends about their positive experiences and hopefully bring in new business.
How to Approach Referral Customers
To successfully approach referral customers, you can start by talking about the referral itself to build a connection. You can also personalize your approach based on the referrer’s background to create a more appealing environment for the customer. Similarly, you can honestly ask the customer about their expectations from your business to ensure standards are met.
As you may have heard ‘first impression is the last impression’, therefore creating a big first expression can also support you in approaching the customer. You can also offer promotions and discounts to create an exclusive environment among referred customers. Remember, 78% of businesses acknowledge getting more leads from referral marketing, making it one of the best strategies for lead generation. With Pexly’s experienced sales and marketing team, you can give your business a much-needed boost.
Summary
That’s a wrap! These are the ten different types of customers that you will face daily in your customer interactions. By understanding these unique customers, you can enhance your customer experience (CX) by providing personalized customer care and improving customer retention rates. Moreover, you can also tailor promotions and discounts to target specific customer types based on seasonality, prices, and competition.
This article covered the top 10 types of customers you may come across in your business. It is important to personalize your customer strategy depending on the customer type. For instance, dealing with a loyal customer and a lapsed customer requires quite different approaches. From discounts and promotions to follow-up calls and active engagement, each customer needs to be approached differently.
With Pexly, you can focus on your core business model while our experienced team takes care of your customer service. From customer care and tech support to sales and marketing support and social media assistance, Pexly offers customer experience solutions tailored to your business.
