Customer Experience Video: Is There a Wrong Kind of Customer?

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One key element in managing the customer experience is managing the various types of customers you attract. Not all customers are the same…and I don’t mean physically.

In this great customer experience marketing video, Wharton marketing professors David Reibstein and John Zhang explain the effect different customer segments or types of customer have on a brand. But are there really the wrong type of customers for what you’re trying to achieve? Is our customer experience targeting the RIGHT kind of customer?

The Wrong Kind of Customer in Customer Experience?

In the study, the results found that there is a negative customer experience effect when your product or service becomes mainstream. Yes, you sell to more people, but your core, loyal customer base actually decreases.

In essence, as growth in mass increases, core customer loyalty decreases as these core customers see your brand as generic and not uniquely tailored to them.

CASE IN POINT: Porsche saw a decline in sports car sales after it entered the SUV mass market.

Managing the Customer Experience

[Customer segment focused brands] manage every part of its customer experience – design, sales staff and distribution are all very controlled.

-Rita Clifton, Interbrand

CASE IN POINT: Abercrombie & Fitch asked a Jersey Shore star to NOT wear their clothes.

It’s all about creating a customer experience.

Many of the products and services we use are now about our identity. Many small businesses, for example, won’t hire a coach or a consultant because, ‘that’s not the kind of organization we are.’ Wineries understand that the pricing of a bottle of wine is more important than its label or the wine inside. Price is the first thing that most people consider when they order or shop for wine. Not because of perceived value, but because of identity.

-Seth Godin

Most businesses want premium customers who are attracted to their brand, their products, their great customer service and most importantly they then become loyal ambassadors to the company. That’s because we too often try to establish customer experience with price, not value or service.

Product marketing expert, Paul Parish, agrees that customer loyalty creating customer experience comes down to marketing to the right type of customer.

Customer Experience Lessons from Successful Brands.

Successful brands know that the key is growing loyal, paying and dedicated customers and, crucially, understanding the costs of serving them. Create the right kind of customer experience targeting the right kind of customer that will drive continued growth.

Republished with author's permission from original post.

Flavio Martins
Flavio Martins is the VP of Operations and Customer Support at DigiCert, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise authentication services and high-assurance SSL certificates trusted by thousands of government, education, and Fortune 500 organizations. Flavio is an award-winning customer service blogger, customer service fanatic, and on a mission to show that organizations can use customer experience as a competitive advantage win customer loyalty. Blog: Win the Customer!

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