Customer

and End-Users
Te c h n o p r e n e r s h i p
Learning Objectives
• differentiate between the “end-user” and the
“customer”
• explain why it is important to identify the “end-
user”, “customer”, “stakeholder”, and “influencer”
• explain what “customer segment” means
• identify and differentiate among end-users,
customers, stakeholders, and influencers given a
particular problem-need combination
• segmentize people/enterprises associated with a
certain need

2
Customers
Customers play the most significant
part in business. In fact, the customer is Types of Customers
the actual boss in a deal and is
responsible for the profit for the ▪ Loyal customers
organization. ▪ Discount customers
Customer is the one who uses the ▪ Impulsive customers
products and services and judges the ▪ Need-based
quality of those products and services. customers
Hence, it’s important for an organization
to retain customers or make new ▪ Wandering customers
customers and flourish business.
Loyal Customers
• These types of customers are less in numbers but
promote more sales and profit as compared to other
customers as these are the ones which are
completely satisfied.
• These costumers revisit the organization over times
hence it is crucial to interact and keep in touch with
them on a regular basis and invest much time and
effort with them.
• Loyal customers want individual attention and that
demands polite and respectful responses from
supplier.
Discount Customers
• Discount customers are also frequent visitors but
they are only a part of business when offered with
discounts on regular products and brands or they buy
only low cost products.
• More is the discount the more they tend towards
buying.
• These customers are mostly related to small
industries or the industries that focus on low
marginal investments on products.
• Focus on these types of customers is also important
as they also promote distinguished part of profit into
business.
Impulsive Customers
• These customers are difficult to convince as they
want to do the business in urge.
• They don’t have any specific item into their product
list but urge to buy what they find good and
productive at that point of time.
• Handling these customers is a challenge as they are
not particularly looking for a product and want the
supplier to display all the useful products they have
in their tally in front of them so that they can buy
what they like from that display.
Need-based Customers
• These customers are product specific and only tend
to buy items only to which they are habitual or have
specific need for them.
• These are frequent customers but do not become a
part of buying, most of the times is difficult to satisfy
them.
• These customers should be handled positively by
showing them ways and reasons to switch to other
similar products and brands and initiating them to
buy these.
• These customers could possibly be lost if not tackled
efficiently with positive interaction.
Wandering Customers
• These are the least profitable customers as
sometimes they themselves are not sure what to buy.
• These customers are normally new in industry and
most of the times visit suppliers only for confirming
their needs on products.
• They investigate features of most prominent
products show least interest in buying.
• To grab such customers they should be properly
informed about the various positively features of the
products so that they develop a sense of interest.
Customer Needs
Customer needs are the named and
unnamed needs your customer has when
they encounter your business, your
competitors, or when they search for the
solutions, you provide.
Methods to Identify Customer Needs
▪ Focus Groups
▪ Social Listening
▪ Keyword Research
Focus Groups

Focus groups are a market

research technique in which you
collectively interview a small group
of people who represent your target
audience.
Social Listening

Social media listening is the

process of tracking and analyzing
what is being said about your
company or industry on social
channels.
Keyword Research

Keyword research can also give

you valuable insight into what your
customer needs from you, your
business and your product. If you
know how your customers are
searching online and more
importantly how they are searching
for your company and industry, you
can determine what they are looking
for.
Customer Needs
Customer needs are the named and
unnamed needs your customer has when Types of Customer Needs
they encounter your business, your ▪ Price
competitors, or when they search for the ▪ Quality
solutions, you provide. ▪ Choice
Methods to Identify Customer Needs ▪ Convenience
▪ Focus Groups
▪ Social Listening
▪ Keyword Research
Price

Price is how much a business

charges for its product or service.
Customers want a fair price when
purchasing a product or service.
Usually, low prices will draw in
many customers, although people
ultimately want value for money. It is
important for a price to match the
quality of the product or service that
the business is spelling.
Quality

Quality relates to the standard of

the product or service being offered.
Customers always expect some level
of quality, no matter how much they
pay for a product or service.
Generally, those paying a low price
will expect a lower level of quality
and those paying a higher price will
expect a higher level of quality.
Choice

Choice is very important – many

businesses have a range of products
and/or services available to suit
different groups of customers.
Customers have different needs and
desires when buying items they might
want different styles or sizes, or even
completely different products
altogether.
Convenience

Customers and consumers want

convenience and are often willing to
pay more for it. Convenience relates
to something being easier, quicker,
or generally less hassle for
customers.
How to meet customer needs?
Identify
- Identify what your customers need from you through keyword research, focus groups, or social listening

Distribute
- Distribute the information to relevant stakeholders in your organization

Create
- Craft product features or create content that speaks to your customer’s needs

Collect
- Collect customer feedback on how your efforts meet their exectations
Customers vs End-User
Customers and end-users can either be the same or different
people. A customer is the person performing the purchasing
transaction, product, or service. An end-user refers to the person
that ultimately uses a particular product.
Customers vs End-User
Customers and end-users can either be the same or different
people. A customer is the person performing the purchasing
transaction, product, or service. An end-user, on the other hand,
refers to the person that ultimately uses a particular product.

In this case, the end-users are babies and the

Baby Diapers
paying customers are their mothers .

Product Customer End-user

Customers vs End-User
Customers and end-users can either be the same or different
people. A customer is the person performing the purchasing
transaction, product, or service. An end-user, on the other hand,
refers to the person that ultimately uses a particular product.

In this case, the end-users are babies and the

Baby Diapers
paying customers are their mothers .

Possible end-users are photographers and camera

vendors. However, photographers may not want to buy
Mobile platform for selling cameras
the mobile app, while the vendors may buy it. Here,
the vendors can be both end-users and customers.
Stakeholders
There are individuals or organizations which are affected by or
affect an enterprise and are thus interested in the actions, policies,
plans, etc. of the enterprise. These include investors, employees of
the enterprise, shareholders, suppliers, fabricators, and government,
among others.
Influencers
There are also individuals and organizations whose knowledge of the
potential market (the “niche” of the solution or technology) can
influence target customers. These parties have no real interest in
solution to a technology or the party offering it. It is neither a customer
nor an end-user nor a stakeholder.
Customer Segments
Customer segments defines the groups of people or organizations
you aim to reach or serve. Every company needs profitable customers in
order to survive.

Types of Customer Segments

▪ Mass market
▪ Niche market
▪ Segmented
▪ Diversified
▪ Multi-sided
Mass Market
A mass market focuses on a large group of customers without really distinguishing
between different types of customers and aims to satisfy a set of broadly similar
needs and problems.
Niche Market
A niche market is quite opposite from a mass market, focusing on a very specific
group of customers.
Segmented Market
A segmented market is one in which you have multiple different groups of customers
with different sets of needs and problems. In this case you would provide the same
product or service with slightly different value propositions to meet the varying
customer needs.

The 4 basic types of market segmentation are:

1. Demographic
2. Psychographic
3. Geographic
4. Behavioral
Diversified Market
A diversified market is similar to a segmented except that it utilizes entirely different
sets of value propositions to cater to unrelated customer segments rather than just
slightly altering the product.

Multi-sided Market
Multi-sided markets serve interdependent customer segments. For example, a credit
card company interacts with both the card holder, and the merchants who accept
those cards.
Why Segment Customers?
Segmentation allows marketers to better tailor their marketing efforts to various
audience subsets. Those efforts can relate to both communications and product
development. Specifically, segmentation helps a company:
• Create and communicate targeted • Identify ways to improve products or
marketing messages that will resonate new product or service
with specific groups of customers, but opportunities.
not with others (who will receive • Establish better customer
messages tailored to their needs and relationships.
interests, instead). • Test pricing options.
• Select the best communication • Focus on the most profitable
channel for the segment, which might customers.
be email, social media posts, radio • Improve customer service.
advertising, or another approach, • Upsell and cross-sell other products
depending on the segment. and services.