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Customer Behaviour Styles
How Customers Behave - and How to Deal
with Them
Understanding Behaviour
In
the 1920’s William Marston developed the first Behavioural
Styles Model and hundreds of thousands of people have found them
to be really useful in describing how they and others behave in
different situations. It is possible to apply this model to the
way customers behave in buying situations. There are two
advantages to this –
1. You are nominating a customer’s behaviour, not their
personality. To accurately estimate a customer’s personality,
you would probably need to be a psychologist who can take them
through a series of interviews – not really an option! But
behaviour is visible.
2. You can see and hear it in the way they act. With
most customers you can fairly accurately estimate their style in
the first minute of contact. When you know that behaviour, you
know how they want to be treated and what they want to hear –
the greatest advantage a salesperson or customer service
professional ever had!
The 4 Styles
Most customers can be thought of as one of four behavioural
styles. In fact, they are probably a combination of two
different styles but to be useful in customer service and sales
– especially in situations where your contact time with
customers is short – it is best to just try to identify their
main style. The four styles can be thought of as Forceful, Fun,
Friendly and Fussy.
This sheet provides descriptions of the four basic customer
behaviour styles with suggestions about how best to deal with
them.
The Forceful Customer
The
Forceful Customer is a quick, decisive shopper. They are
confident that they will get the best deal. Less confident
friends ask them to shop with them and negotiate on their
behalf. They tend to be lively, animated, self-assured and may
speak a little louder than the average customer. They tend to
tell you what they want rather than ask for what they need.
Some hints for dealing with Forceful Customers –
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Don’t interrupt
them – they like people who listen when they’re talking.
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Realise it will be
very hard to change their opinion – most of the time it’s best
not to try.
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Focus on how your
product will do the job or solve the problem for them –
functionality is very important.
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Remember they
become impatient easily – avoid long stories and explanations.
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The Fun Customer
The Fun Customer is optimistic, outgoing and gregarious. You
will often see them shopping with friends. They are confident
they can get the best deal by using their charm. They are
talkative and express their feelings a lot. They are lively,
animated and a little loud like the Forceful Shopper, but they
are much more informal.
Some hints for dealing with Fun Customers –
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Remember they are optimists and
won’t appreciate it if you have to ‘cool down’ their
unrealistic expectations.
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Focus on the innovation and
creativity of your product/service.
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Remember that they
will spend extra to get something that will impress others
(although they probably won’t admit it).
The Friendly Customer
The Friendly Customer is polite, sociable and approachable.
They can sometimes appear a little shy and have a speech pattern
that requires longer pauses than most people. They are the
typical ‘Good Samaritan’ – going out of their way to help or
accommodate others. They want the best deal – like everybody –
but they probably won’t push for it because they don’t want to
put pressure on the salesperson. Like the Fun Customer, their
body language is relaxed and their face is expressive; but they
speak much more quietly. Unlike the Fun Customer, they don’t
like being the centre of attention.
Some hints for dealing
with Friendly Customers –
The Fussy Customer
The
Fussy Customer is thoughtful, precise and well-organised. They
can sometimes be seen as overly formal and impersonal. Like the
Friendly Customer, they speak more quietly and often have a
speech pattern with longer pauses. They will be well researched
on the product they are seeking.
Some hints for dealing with Fussy Customers –
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© 2005
Ryan+Associates Australia. Ryan+Associates Australia is a member of
Synergy Partners. |
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