7 Common Types of Customers: Why you should categorize your customers

Customers come in many different forms.

And the more customers you have, the more you will notice the difference between all these types of customers.

Knowing the differences between these types will help you to better identify them and to better cater to their specific needs.

By catering to their needs, they will be more likely to move further through your purchase flow and generate more revenue for your business.

Without further ado, let’s break them all down.

Potential Customer

We’ll start with a couple of simple categories.

A potential customer is pretty self-explanatory. They are interested in your product or service but do not have the necessary information to make a purchase.

Captivating potential customers is all about providing them with the information they need to finally make a purchase. This can range from creating FAQ pages on your site to providing quick and efficient live chat support on your website.

The easier it is for potential customers to have their questions answered, the more likely it is that they will make a purchase.

Impulsive Customer

The Impulsive Customer is a different type of potential customer. But in this case, the impulsive customer doesn’t need a lot of information to make a decision.

This type of customer is making a decision on a whim, sometimes all they need is a quick answer to a short question (do you deliver to my country) or an easy check out process.

For example, to help these customers, make sure you’re providing them with an optimized checkout process. For example, you should provide multiple payment methods (Credit Cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) and a simple check out form.

New Customer

A New Customer is also quite self-explanatory. However, nailing your relationship with this type of customer could be the make or break of the relationship with your customer.

Make sure you follow up with new customers on how you could help them. But having a clear customer success strategy is the key to creating a valuable relationship with your customers.

After all, you wouldn’t want your new customers to buy something and never come back again.

Discount Customer

Discount Customers are a common one. These customers are always on the hunt for a deal or discount.

As a result, these customers are incredibly price-sensitive. Make sure that you’re keeping track of customers who only buy from you when you offer them a discount.

You can then advertise to them separately with special deals and discounts that are still ROI positive for your business.

Are you using a CRM to keep track of which of your customers are discount customers?

Loyal Customer

Loyal customers love your brand and its products. Not only do they repeatedly purchase your products and services, but will also engage with your business on the web, social media, via email and via other communication channels.

Loyal customers will be delighted by valuable loyalty rewards and customer success strategies.

When creating and implementing these strategies, listen closely to your customer’s feedback on how they feel about these programs. Remember that these are your most valuable customers and delighting should be one of your highest priorities.

Referring Customer / Advocate Customer

Referring Customers are pretty similar to Loyal Customers. However, they take their loyalty one step further by actively advocating for your products and services.

These are your “super-fans” and can be crucial in expanding your brand and introducing it to new customers.

Make sure you’re fostering valuable relationships with these customers by creating community forums, social media campaigns and other activities that help them build a closer relationship with your business.

Dissatisfied Customer

Dissatisfied Customers might not be the kind of customer that every business wants, but they might bring more value to your business than you might think.

For starters, Dissatisfied Customers can be turned into regular customers in most cases. All by integrating a strong customer support strategy that can tackle their issues quickly and efficiently.

When approaching these customers, their feedback is also crucial. As it can provide you insights on common issues with your product or service. You can then these insights to make improvements that get rid of these issues altogether.

Remember, Dissatisfied Customers come with an opportunity to create new loyal customers and get valuable insight on how to improve your service or business.

Why You Should Categorize your Customers

As you can see, categorizing your customers and creating specific strategies for each type can be the key to increasing your customer revenue.

After all, each type of customer has a different set of needs and expectations of your business.

But how do you make it all happen? A CRM can help you collect and store information on each of your customers, allowing you to categorize them according to their interactions with your business.Get started by reading our guide on what a CRM is and what it can be used for.