Look Who’s in Your Customer Base

Do you know who your customers are?  They can be identified by the relationship they have with your business.  They are either Promoters, Passivists, or Punishers.  Once you identify who’s who, you can accurately target your customer engagement to these specific customer segments.

Promoters are your fans and advocates who love doing business with you.  They purchase the most, they buy more, and they provide the bulk of your referrals.  Your Passivists can take you or leave you.  If a better offer comes along, they are the first to shop elsewhere.  Your Punishers are your customers who are your repeat complainers who like to tell others about the poor experience they had with you.

Our job is to take a look at our customer base and identify each of these customer segments.  Make a list of your Promoters and ask yourself how you are engaging this group.  They want to be in your VIP Club, they want special offers, they want to be part of a customer focus group.  Engage them differently and watch what happens.  They will be even more excited and motivated to tell others just like themselves that they should do business with you too.

There could be several reasons why your Passivists are not loyal.  Make a list of these customers, the ones who do business with you sporadically.  Find out why they haven’t been purchasing from you as they did before.  Determine which of their needs aren’t being met and fix what you can.

The third segment is your Punishers.  We’ve all had them.  They complain frequently and they return products often.  Get in front of these customers and have a conversation about their needs.  Often, you can convert these dissatisfied customers straight to Promoters if you can resolve their issues. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to let them go.  But take the high road.  If you know of someone else in your industry that would be a better fit, be willing to arrange an introduction.

Customer engagement includes knowing your customer segments. Your goal should be to identify these segments and follow this plan:  keep your Promoters engaged, fine ways to move your Passivists to Promoters, and move your Punishers to Promoters or move them out.