7 Different Types of Customers and How to Convert Them Effectively

All customers are unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to converting them. 

It can be easy to see this as a problem to overcome, but we're here to put a more positive spin on it. Think of these unique attributes as new opportunities to improve your conversion rates. 

By identifying different types of customers, you can learn more about them and develop better marketing and selling techniques that target even the most reluctant buyer.  

In this article, we’ll break down seven different types of customers and give you the strategies to convert them.

7 different types of customers and how to convert them effectively

When identifying different types of customers, it can help to look at the customer journey and sales funnel. Where a person is in their buying experience is a good indicator of the type of customer they are and how you can reach them. 

Converting customers can be as easy as implementing AI customer service to boost your customer support game. You just need to know who they are and what they expect.

For this guide, we’ll use these tools as a roadmap to identify and target different customer types most effectively.

1. Interested customers

Interested customers are in the awareness and consideration stage of their journey.  

They might be doing research on you, browsing your website, reading online reviews, and comparing prices across different stores. They might even have signed up to your mailing list or downloaded a free software trial. 

They’re interested, but they’re not quite ready to purchase yet.

How to convert them

Interested and curious customers have high expectations, and your job is to woo them. With this in mind:

• Keep your prices fair and competitive.
• Showcase the value of your products through your website landing pages. This might be the first thing a potential customer sees when they come to your website, so add positive reviews and FAQs to help them along.
• Ensure your online store is easy to navigate and doesn’t contain too many irrelevant ads or annoying popups. This can help you combat issues like high traffic but low conversion rates.
• Streamline your checkout process and offer multiple payment methods.

If you have someone’s contact details through an email sign-up or free software trial, you can also:

• Send a welcome email.
• Create regular engagement by offering newsletters and educational emails relevant to your industry.
• Offer personalized discounts for first-time purchases.
• For software customers, send helpful onboarding content such as user guides and FAQs. 

Regular engagement, proving the value of your products and services, and a streamlined browsing experience can help guide customers along the consideration stage.

2. Unsure customers

Unsure customers are interested, but they’ve gotten sidetracked somewhere in their journey. They were in the consideration stage, and they have yet to make a purchase from your business. 

An unsure customer can take a few different forms.

• They’ve clicked through to your website, browsed, and then left, never to return
• They’ve added items to a cart and then abandoned it
• They’ve signed up for something and never re-engaged 

So you were on their radar, but they’ve moved on.

How to convert them

Converting an unsure customer is all about re-engagement.

• Re-target people who’ve visited your website and left by placing a cookie in their web browser. When they visit other websites, ads for your products will show up on those pages.
• You can send abandoned cart emails that prompt a customer to check out or offer a personalized discount as an incentive.
• Send re-engagement emails to people who’ve signed up for something and dropped off. 

Strategies like re-targeting and re-engagement can remind an unsure customer about what your brand has to offer.

3. New customers

New customers have left the consideration stage and have made their first purchase. They have the potential to become repeat customers, with opportunities for cross and up-selling. They can also become loyal brand advocates.

How to convert them

Now, your job is to keep converting them. You want to turn new customers into repeat and loyal customers. 

• Send a welcome to thank you email for their first purchase
• Streamline the browsing and purchasing process to make the experience as simple as possible.
• Focus on improving customer satisfaction by providing an excellent customer experience, be it via aestheticwebsite design or stellar customer service.
• Keep customers informed about the process by sending a confirmation email, updates about shipping, and accurate delivery times.
• Direct service customers to onboarding material and FAQs.
• After they’ve received their products, encourage customers to leave reviews, complete experience surveys, and engage with you further.

Cloud modernization and website or app testing can ensure you’re providing a positive shopping experience that will turn new customers into repeat customers.

4. Repeat and loyal customers

Loyal customers purchase products from you and don’t consider going anywhere else. These are active customers who value your brand and what it offers them. They’re not necessarily brand advocates—not yet—but they are loyal to you.

How to convert them

It’s all about maintaining that conversion by cultivating engagement and rewarding customer loyalty. If you can turn loyal customers into brand advocates, even better. 

• Keep them engaged with regular emails containing content they might be interested in. 
• Offer loyalty incentives such as a rewards program with regular discounts and offers.
• Use social media to encourage loyal customers to become more vocal and join your community.

Repeat customers who benefit from that loyalty are much less likely to switch to other brands. 

5. Advocating customers

These are similar to loyal customers but even more enthusiastic about your brand. Customers who become brand advocates will refer you to friends and family, sing your praises on social media, and engage with you frequently. They offer powerful social proof that your brand can be trusted.

How to convert them

You already did, so it’s important to go further with advocating customers by proving that you value their ongoing support and feedback. You want to encourage and reward their advocacy. 

• Engage with them on social media by responding to, sharing, and liking their posts about you.
• Offer them referral incentives such as a discount for bringing in friends and family.
• Create a loyalty program.
• Offer surveys and take feedback seriously to show advocating customers you value their opinions. 

Brand advocates are one of your most powerful marketing tools, so make sure your conversion strategy includes them.

6. Lapsed customers

Lapsed customers are people who have purchased from you in the past but haven’t in a while. You have their contact information, but you don’t have their business right now.

How to convert them

You need to think about why these customers leave. They might have found a cheaper product elsewhere, been enticed by another brand, or simply become busy with day-to-day life.  

The thing to remember is that they’re primed to return, given the right incentives.  

• Send re-engagement emails to remind lapsed customers you’re still around.
• Send personalized discounts and offers to encourage them to come back.
• Ensure personalization in your communication to add a personalized experience and start rebuilding that lapsed relationship. 

You already have a relationship with lapsed customers, so re-converting them can be easier than converting new customers. 

7. Dissatisfied customers

Dissatisfied customers run the gamut, from complaints to your customer service team to angry social media posts lambasting you to their followers. They have purchased something from you, and they aren’t happy with your products or services. 

Angry customers can become a real problem. They will leave you negative reviews, spread bad sentiment, and generally become the opposite of a brand advocate. 

How to convert them

It sounds obvious, but disgruntled customers can be difficult to convert. Here’s the good news: unhappy customers can be a blessing in disguise.

Angry customers can convert, and how you handle them can bring other customers with them. If potential customers are conducting research into your brand, they’re bound to come across reviews and social media posts. You can use this as an opportunity to showcase your brand’s dedication to customer experience. 

• Ensure your customer support is top-notch so that any outreach is resolved quickly and with empathy. Learning how to do call forwarding right to get customers to the support they need is part of this.
• Respond to negative reviews online with transparency and sensitivity. If a review is unfair or contains misinformation, correct it tactfully. If a review is fair, apologize and promise to fix the problem.
• Reach out to unhappy customers via email or phone call to apologize. This personal touch can go a long way to bringing them back. 

Think of disgruntled customers as an opportunity to be humble, rectify mistakes, and create more conversions in the process.

How to convert different types of customers

A customer’s unique attributes and experiences are opportunities to increase conversion rates. By understanding different customer types, you can target them more effectively by meeting them where they are in the customer journey. Insights into your customer also allow you to add personal touches to customer outreach and personalize the customer experience. These factors increase their likelihood of conversion and improve your overall conversion rates.

​​​​​​​Start identifying each different type of customer and put these conversion strategies to good use to improve the customer experience and grow your business.