Have you spent any time looking at the differences between your newest customers and the customers who have been with you for years or decades? I’m not speaking of age, but of their maturity.
Imagine asking your customers, “Why did y0u buy from us vs. every other option you had, including buying nothing?” A new customer is likely to say something like, “You offer the options we needed at a reasonable price,” and/or that your reputation helped them make the choice.
The “old” ones
However, the customer you’ve had for decades might respond that “you were the only one who had the product/service at the time.” While it’s possible that you’re still the only supplier, it’s unlikely that is the situation today. So why are these longtime customers still around?
If the product you provide has a recurring income component, or you sell something consumable that will be purchased repeatedly (food, a service, supplies, raw materials, etc.), ask your longtime customers an additional question: “I get that we were the first, but you still use us. Why? What’s kept you from switching to another vendor?”
While it’s great that they’re still around, their continued use of your solutions is not likely because you were the first vendor they bought from. The reasons they stick around are the same reasons that you might be able to flip a customer from another vendor. These reasons are also important for customer retention, so listen closely. Ask why when you get an answer. Keep asking why, if it makes sense. Dig deep on these answers — “anyone” can close a sale. The key is closing them and keeping them.
They get started differently
Another difference you might notice between new and longtime customers is their maturity as a user with your product/service. I don’t mean that they’re young or old. They might be new users, or they may be longtime users of a particular type of product, whether we’re talking about software, 3D printer resin, garlic, or fertilizer.
What I mean is that some of your customers are new or at least less experienced at using whatever you sell, and others are experts at using whatever you sell. The new customer might be experienced — having switched from another vendor. However, they could be inexperienced, having just gotten started with products/services like yours.
It’s important that you know which type of customer you’re dealing with. The onboarding with these two types of customers almost certainly needs to be different because of the difference in experience and skill/maturity with your product/service. The ability of the sales and support people assigned to these two groups needs to be considered — and you may need to break down the groups with more granularity beyond novice and experienced. A novice support or sales rep assigned to a very mature account might be a good learning opportunity for the rep, but it could be a disaster for customer retention unless you pair them with an experienced mentor for a while.
More than maturity
The differences between these two types of users include more than their product/service use maturity, but that maturity relates directly to the self-described needs of each group. Think about the questions and improvements you receive from customers with lower experience levels vs. the requests from mature customers.
Power users tend to ask for more refined features. You have to be careful how you implement these requests. If your product/service becomes so hard to use that novice users get stuck, it can impede your growth. People will gravitate to solutions that are easy to use and simple to get started. Novice customers don’t want to get mired in a swamp, particularly with a new supplier or a new product/service. High maturity customers don’t want a product that’s too simple to serve their advanced needs. It’s a careful balancing act.
A farewell
Columbia Falls started off the year with a tough loss — the passing of Karl Skindingsrude. It would be an understatement to say that Karl was an enthusiastic promoter of Columbia Falls, her people, and her businesses. It will be tough not seeing him emcee future Night of Lights and Heritage Days parades. Columbia Falls will miss his smile, his enthusiasm, and his service as Columbia Falls’ friendly unofficial ambassador. For me, his passing served as a powerful reminder of where home is.
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a strategic, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site, contact him on LinkedIn or Twitter, or email him at [email protected].