Customers are the lifeblood of your business, and they should be your focus from start to finish. You could do everything else perfectly and still fail because you didn’t understand them or why they might choose to start a relationship with your company. So, what are the different types of consumers?
The bad news is that there isn’t a widely adopted standard. The good news is that there are plenty of useful tips to pull from the information that’s out there.
So, before we begin, keep in mind that real people don’t usually fall neatly into a single type of consumer. They often have characteristics from a few and can actually move from one type to another.
Impulse Shopper
While these shoppers don’t have any direct purchasing goal in mind, that doesn’t mean they’re harder to sell to! They are easy to attract, but easy to lose. They are always making purchases, but that means they have less brand loyalty. It takes work, but turning impulse shoppers into loyal ones is a fantastic way to ensure your business has new and repeat customers.
- Connect with them through social media and a strong customer relationship.
- Offering repeat purchase promos can easily encourage them to buy more.
- Reach out often, nurturing them into becoming more brand loyal.
Loyal Shopper
This type of consumer has made a commitment to your business and has no intention of making a purchase (of a similar product) from any other company. Sounds like a sweet deal right? Well, it’s not all roses and rainbows, you also have to work for that loyalty. Earn their trust, and they’ll stick with you for a long time. Ignore them and they’ll jump ship.
- Don’t take them for granted.
- Find out why they choose to be loyal to your business.
- Offer additional solutions and products to help solve their problems.
Bargain Hunter
These shoppers are only interested in the best deals and the lowest prices. Encouraging brand loyalty is practically impossible unless your business has a long-term goal of being the lowest priced option.
- Don’t waste time trying to convert them to loyal shoppers.
- Upselling can often turn them away right off the bat.
- They’ll give you some sales when you’re offering a deal, but shouldn’t be the sole focus of your marketing efforts.
Need-Based Consumer
While anticipating the needs of your customer is always important, this is the main focus when it comes to need-based consumers. They are shopping to solve a (usually high stress) issue. If you can help them overcome their problems consistently, they will become loyal shoppers.
- Make sure you know exactly what the problem is. Getting that wrong will have them moving on.
- Address practical questions and concerns.
- Anticipating needs across multiple marketing channels can keep you top of mind when an issue arises.
Local Consumer
Shopping at one of the big brands just isn’t an option for the local consumer. They love supporting local and contributing to the growth of small businesses in their community. Do things right, and you can easily earn yourself another loyal consumer.
- Connect with them personally. They love getting to know owners and employees.
- Emotion plays a strong role in their decision-making process.
- Give them ways to recommend your business to other locals (and beyond).
As we said before, there are rarely hard lines between many of these types of consumers. Someone might be a local consumer shopping to fill a need or an impulse consumer who likes a good deal every once in a while.
Another important thing to understand is that these categories are simply a jumping off point. Understanding your potential customer takes a lot more work than just lumping them into a pre-set group. They are helpful, but they aren’t everything.
If you need some help, check out our other blog about creating a customer avatar.
A little overwhelmed? Don’t worry, that’s normal. How can you possibly be an expert in every single aspect of marketing while also starting your own business? Luckily, Siva is a marketing agency with a team of experts, and they’re here to help.
