Just to make it clear right from the beginning that the different types of consumers here does not refer to the consumers in the food chain i.e. herbivores, carnivores and so on. Here, we are discussing about those consumers who consume or use a product or a service provided by a company. Consumers are, obviously, the most important thing for a company, because consumers are the source of revenue for a company. So, in order to make successful sales to the consumers, companies need to understand the different types of consumers and their mindsets. If they deal with every consumer in the same manner, there sales revenue will fall drastically.
Types of consumers
Now that we have discussed the importance of understanding different types of consumers and dealing with them differently, we will be discussing the different types of consumers that a seller can face.
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Loyal consumers
Loyalty is given a lot of value by businesses because loyal consumers are the ones who make repeat purchases from your business and ask others to do so too. However, loyal consumers are a very small proportion of the entire consumer base a company has. Companies are required to keep the loyal consumers happy all the time and they can do this by giving personal attention to them, giving special discounts, providing personalized services and granting favors such as delivering the goods at home. Moreover, a new way to treat loyal consumers is the loyalty card.
Most of the retail and wholesale firms offer loyalty cards to their loyal consumers. These loyalty cards can help gain discounts. The accumulating points which can later be used for purchasing and receiving gift coupons on purchasing certain goods. Loyal consumers generate a large portion of a company’s revenue. All companies should try and keep them happy otherwise they might switch to one of their competitors.
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Discount consumers
The most efficient thing which can get consumers interested in your product is, arguably, the discounts. Discount consumers are the ones who are always looking for discounts. If you have a discount on your products, they will choose your products over any other companies’. Now, it can be said that majority of the consumers these days are discount consumers because everyone is looking for discounts. The best way to get these consumers is to offer discounts and offers to them. Moreover, designing deals for them such as ‘buy three get one free’ can also be extremely impactful.
A great incentive for this lot of consumers these days is the discount applications such as Bogo, Vouch 365 and so on. These applications can be bought by people and in return they get several discounts and ‘buy one get one free’ coupons. This way, consumers are happy because they are getting discounts. Companies are happy because they are being advertised and their sales are increasing too at the same time. Moreover, if the consumers like a company’s product, they will come back to buy more, but this time without discounts.
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Impulsive consumers
Impulsive consumers can be said to be the trickiest of them all. They are the ones who do not shop for the sake of shopping. When they come for shopping, they do not know what to buy or from whom to buy. This lot of consumers basically come shopping to relieve stress or for enjoyment with friends. These consumers make purchases if something amazing catches their eye. These consumers are extremely important for every business as they generate much revenue for the business. There are many people out there who go to malls just for enjoyment and window shopping.
Marketing to these consumers can be an extremely irksome job, because even they do not know what they want to buy, let alone the salesman. The key to successfully market to these consumers is by touching their emotions. Salesmen have to recognize what will make the consumer happy and act accordingly.
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Need-based consumers
These consumers buy goods and services in the case of need. These consumers are most vulnerable to exploitation, however, there should not be any exploitation as per the ethical codes. An example of this type of consumers is a person who needs a lawyer to fight a case for him. Now, there are different types of lawyers who deal with different kinds of cases. Just like this, service providers need to specialize themselves in a particular field. Marketing to the consumers happens via social media, websites and so on. Other examples of need-based consumers are a person who needs medicines urgently, a person who needs a hammer urgently from a hardware store and a person who needs a mobile phone charger urgently.
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Organizational consumers
Organizational consumers are the ones who buy goods in high quantity. The purchase can be for a business, educational institute, welfare organization, restaurants and so on. These consumers are mostly very strict for quality of the product, and do not compromise on quality. These consumers can be thought of as the most important consumers for a business. They buy goods in very high quantities and are the source of a major chunk of revenue generation for a business. However, these consumers are not available to retail businesses. They mostly buy goods from wholesalers to get discounts.
The fact that they buy in such great quantities gives them leverage over the sellers. Sellers do not want to lose them, obviously, and they tend to agree to the consumers’ wishes. The goods which organizational consumers buy can prove to be raw material for further production of other goods. They can be sold at a margin to other people. An example of organizational consumers is a supermarket that buys goods from individuals and sell them at a margin at their stores.
All these different types of consumers are important for the businesses and knowing about them can help businesses understand their mentality and provide them with what they want. Reading consumers’ minds is n art which very few salesmen acquire, and that art is what makes them extremely effective and successful.
