There are customers and there are CUSTOMERS! it can be very useful to know who you are deailing with so you can figure out the best way of working with them so they are influenced to purchase and deal with your organisation.

there are personality profiles, psyche profiles and marketing type profiles here is one we can explore.

1. Deal Makers,
2. Price Seekers,
3. Luxury Innovators
4. Brand Loyalists. 

There are other ways different ‘schools of psychology’ describe  these but for this is one way.

Lets start to build a profile of these and see what descriptors we can come up with to fill in the gaps (its one thing to have a title, and another to have the depth of understanding to make it useful). Some sales people run into the trap of imposing their own profile on customers, e.g. price seekers, just because  you might like to buy on the cheapsest price, does not mean all customers want to, so talking price only is of little value. Being able to relate and connect with the various buying types is therefore very useful.

Deal Makers - They want to negotiate – They want the thrill of pushing and pulling and thinking they have got good value for money – They may not want the latest release of an item because it might not have much bargaining power for them – They are not fussed about brands too much.

Price seekers - Is it the cheapest? – Will I have buyers remorse if I see it cheaper elsewhere? – Not interested in the latest technology, they know it’s expensive in teh start up phase of it coming on to the market – Brands are almost meaning less, its more of a back up to a ‘wise purchase’.

Luxury Innovators – “I only buy high end luxury items” – They buy the latest for its show off value – Price is often a secondary or lower value – they want their friends to notice – They know the top brands but are not loyal to any one of them they want the latest and the more luxurious it makes them feel the better!

Brand loyalists -  These guys stick to brands they love in all products – They belive they are getting value becasue they know that quality is important and the right brands seem to produce quality that lasts.

Using these profiles you could figure out the types of customers your offerings might attract and therefore how you might lure or influence them to buy from  you.