6 Working with customers
Having explored the different ways to attract customers we will now look at how a business tackles the way it wants to approach its customers. We will look at the key questions to ask and use two of the case studies to demonstrate how the choice is made.
The key questions are:
- Who is the customer?
- What is the buying behaviour of the customer?
- What type of marketing should be used?
- How will the customers be attracted?
- What forms of social media are appropriate?
- How can feedback be used to promote the products?
Continuing to look at Bike-a-lot [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] first:
| Key question | Answers | Implications | |
| Who is the customer? | The customer may be the trainee or a sponsor of the trainee, possibly a parent. | Bike-a-lot will engage closely with consumers and if the customers are not the consumers, then the relationship between customer and consumer is likely to be very close. | |
| What is the buying behaviour of the customer? | This is likely to be dissonance buying behaviour where customers are buying a relatively low cost service but want to be certain they are getting the best value. | Customers are likely to be swayed significantly by comments and feedback from others. Personal recommendation is likely to play a big part. | |
| What type of marketing should be used? | This is consumer marketing but may include some social marketing. | Bike-a-lot needs to appeal directly to the consumer, presenting information clearly. The social marketing could be part of national campaigns, raising awareness in general and not directed at the local consumer. Social marketing may result in a degree of ‘earned social media’. | |
| How will the customers be attracted? | Advertising to raise local awareness, some sales promotion and e-commerce. | Customers need to know that the school exists and so the school needs to be visible. Customers are likely to want to gain information and make bookings easily. The business cannot accommodate a full time sales person so e-commerce is essential. PR events such as school and college experiences would raise awareness. Promotions such as discounts for further training or family members could attract loyalty and free taster sessions could remove some of the risk for customers who are undecided on the product or the supplier. | |
| What forms of social media are appropriate? | A Facebook and LinkedIn account to raise the profile of the school. The website is a key point of contact and the social media of consumers is desirable. | The Bike-a-lot website could be used to convey information to future and previous consumers. Information on social events, changes in the law and reviews of equipment could give previous consumers a reason to revisit the site. Encouraging consumers to share information about their experience on the website or their own social media could be helpful. | |
| How can feedback be used to promote the products? | Comments or a ‘stars’ system on the Bike-a-lot website. Registering for a trader rating site. | A feedback section on the website could be included but this carries the possibility of negative feedback. For consumers to trust the ratings they need to feel the posts are genuine and unedited. Negative feedback should be responded to and not deleted. | |
| Summary | Bike-a-lot provides a service that consumers may use several times but not frequently. A positive experience of training should encourage personal recommendations to family and friends generating a significant amount of business through social media. For potential customers with no direct social links the aim is to raise awareness through PR activities and advertising the name. | ||
Activity 7
Having reviewed the questions for Bike-a-lot, you will now answer the same questions for Red Bush Brewery.
Complete the table below and then click ‘save and reveal comment’ for some suggested answers.
| Key question | Answers | Implications | |
| Who is the customer? | |||
| What is the buying behaviour of the customer? | |||
| What type of marketing should be used? | |||
| How will the customers be attracted? | |||
| What forms of social media are appropriate? | |||
| How can feedback be used to promote the products? | |||
| Summary | |||
Comment
| Key question | Answers | Implications | |
| Who is the customer? | The customer is likely to be local shops, cafés or pubs. Customers at farmers’ markets or via the internet are also likely to be the consumers. | Two distinct forms of marketing required to attract businesses and individual consumers. | |
| What is the buying behaviour of the customer? | This is likely to be variety-seeking from both shops and consumers. | Whilst the hope is to get consumers buying the product out of habit, it is more likely that the specialist beer will be purchased for its unusual qualities. So these will need to be emphasised in the marketing. | |
| What type of marketing should be used? | There will be an element of business-to-business and consumer marketing. | For local shops to purchase the beer they will need to have a level of confidence that it will sell. Marketing will be directed at reducing risk and ensuring demand. For the consumer marketing it is the concept that they are purchasing something special. | |
| How will the customers be attracted? | Personal selling to the local shops. Farmers markets with distinctive branding. Use local news to emphasise the benefits of locally produced quality beer. Online offers through the brewery website. | Because the product is likely to be bought as an alternative experience, there are two tasks. Attract consumers in the first place and then to give them a reason for a repeat purchase. Emphasising the beer properties can attract the initial purchase through the novelty factor. For repeat purchases the product quality must be correct and consumers may be attracted by multi-purchase offers. Use of farmers markets could raise demand for local shops. | |
| What forms of social media are appropriate? | The brewery website can give information on the brewing process. Supporting or sponsoring local events or fetes could raise local interest. Taking part in local real ale events could raise awareness. | As an unusual local business, Red Bush Brewery could generate news stories based on local produce and local producers. Brewery experiences can attract interest and linked to the website generate sales. A competition based on how far the beer travels could be run where consumers send photographs showing where they have drank the beer. Prizes could be awarded for the furthest travelled or most extreme location. | |
| How can feedback be used to promote the products? | Comments or a ‘stars’ system on the web site looking at the different beers. | The brewery could use the rating system to help with production plans or to start a social media discussion. | |
| Summary | The Red Bush Brewery product is competing with a broad range of generic and similar products. It needs to build on the whole beer experience and involve the consumer in the experience otherwise alternatives will be purchased from a discount supermarket. The unique aspect of the beer is the local production and local experience, Red Bush Brewery need to bring this clearly into their interactions with the consumer. Selling to local shops will depend on demand, so the personal selling approach will be supported by consumers requesting the product. | ||
5.2 Using social media