What is a Customer?
As a follow on to my previous blog post (Defining “Customer Experience”), I wanted to focus my next two posts on defining the term “customer” and why it is important to understand them in order to deliver a good customer experience. This is probably elementary for many people but in my experience, I’ve encountered nuanced definitions and thought it might be helpful to share my viewpoint since my future posts will be premised on this interpretation. The majority of this content is catered to B2C, but I hope the overarching themes apply to the B2B space as well.
Customer Types
Broadly speaking, there are up to 4 types of customers (depending on your business). I noticed a lot of parallels between customers and dating so I tried to make this topic a bit more fun and relatable by drawing comparisons between the two.
Prospective Customer (aka Fish In the Sea)
Not the entire sea
Prospective or potential customers haven’t yet purchased a product or service from you but have shown interest. Before you raise those eyebrows (especially any Marketing readers), allow me to clarify. I am defining prospective customers in the realm of customer experience and am intentionally narrowing the scope to a subset of users that we have the ability to tangibly influence (not “target customers”). If we equate it to online dating, these would not be the people that swiped left on us and moved on, but instead, the people that took a chance and swiped right on your profile.
Interest can be gauged in many ways -- researching the best running shoe to wear for their first marathon, clicking a link to a 50% off coupon in a marketing email, or visiting a website or retail store after hearing about it in a podcast. By acting upon their interest, prospective customers have begun their journey to engage and interact with your brand. This is your window of opportunity to make a good impression, deliver an amazing experience, and convert them to a new customer.
What do they want?
The consumer shopping experience has tremendously evolved since the advent of technology. I’m sure many of you can relate to this scenario - my friend texts me to meet up for dinner tonight and I’m free. Now, we have to decide where to go. I open my Yelp app and search for restaurants in the Flatiron area because I’m too lazy/tired to commute far. I filter for 4-5 stars, $$, and open for dinner. I scroll through some pictures of food, read a few reviews, and decide on the French restaurant a few blocks away because apparently their steak frites is too good to pass up.
Consumers are more digitally savvy and will do their research before committing to a purchase. According to the eCommerce Foundation’s 2017 “United States Ecommerce Country Report,” 88% of consumers pre-research their buys online before making a purchase either online or in-store.
Your customers are looking to understand:
Your brand (Who are you? What’s your mission and vision? Who do you partner with? How are you changing the world?)
Your product (Why should I buy this? What value do I get? How much does it cost? Is it easy to use?)
Your service (Can I trust you? Are you reliable? Will you be there for me if something fails?)
Providing clear, consumable, and comprehensive education is critical at this stage. Step into the shoes of your customers and ask yourself:
What information would you want to know to make a decision?
Am I presenting that information in a clear and consumable way?
How can I reduce any confusion in my messaging?
Is this information consumable or would I feel overwhelmed receiving all this information at once?
Imagine what you might talk about on your first date. You’re trying your best to impress (assuming the date is going well) and convince them to go on a second date with you.
What should be your CX goals?
Your goal is to deliver an amazing experience to customers which will ultimately help drive customer acquisition and conversion. How might you do that by leveraging what your customers want? Examples may include:
Leverage customer insights/feedback data (via support tickets, top visited FAQ article, customer interviews/focus groups) to effectively and efficiently understand what content your customers want
Eliminate any chance of misinterpretation - ensure the information you’re providing is intuitive and accurate
Ensure any customer-facing messaging aligns with your brand’s style and voice
Present content in an engaging and consumable way on your physical (e.g. direct mailers, posters, packaging) and/or digital (e.g. website, mobile app, newsletters) products
Leverage your Customer Support Team, who interact with your customers on a day-to-day basis, as a powerful extension to your lifecycle marketing
Now, you may embellish on a few details (I am 5’2¾” but my license says 5’3”). Sometimes the minute details lead to greater confusion and raise more questions than bring clarity. That being said, it is important to set the right expectations. As companies, we have a responsibility to our customers to never lie or intentionally leave out information that you know YOU would want to know as a consumer yourself.
Ultimately, even if you didn’t manage to convince a particular prospective customer to do business with you, that doesn’t mean they can’t still serve as your brand advocate. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising. In a recent study by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and American Marketing Association, 64% of marketing executives indicated that they believe word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing. However, only 6% say they have mastered it. You always want to be top of mind for these influencers.
Stay tuned for my next blog post where I'll cover the remaining 3 customer types!