Change Implementation Techniques for Forming Transitional Team, Creating Alignment, Maximizing Connectedness and Creativity
Technique 8.8 Customer Type
List your customers and rank them by type.
| Type*i | ||||||
|
Customers |
Loyal/apostle |
Mercenary |
Hostage |
Defector |
Angry |
Disappointed |
Notes
i) Individual customer satisfaction, loyalty and behaviour are linked, as shown in the table below
|
Customer type |
Satisfaction |
Loyalty |
Behaviour |
|
Loyal/apostle |
High |
High |
Staying & supportive; helping to attract new customers |
|
Mercenary |
High |
Low to medium |
Coming & going; low commitment |
|
Hostage |
Low to medium |
High |
Unable to switch; trapped |
|
Defector |
Low |
Low |
Leaving or left unhappy |
|
Angry |
Low |
Low to medium |
Are unhappy; feel cheated, ignored & humiliated; more visible than disappointed customers |
|
Disappointed |
Low to medium |
Low to medium |
Are unhappy; disengage; building "negative credits"; feel cheated, ignored & humiliated; lack confidence in the problem being resolved |
The classification of a particular customer should dictate how you treat them; the ideal customer is an "apostle" and at the other end of the scale is "disappointed".