TYPES OF CUSTOMER

TYPES OF CUSTOMERS (According to Loyalty &

Satisfaction)

• Apostles
• Terrorists/Defectors
• Mercenaries
• Hostages
 1.Apostles
• In most of the cases, a loyalist customer is one
who is completely satisfied & keeps returning to
the company.

• Within the loyalist camp are individuals who are

so satisfied, whose experience so far exceeds
their expectations, that they share their strong
feelings with others.
 2.Terrorists/Defectors
• Defector’s ranks include those who are more than
dissatisfied, quite dissatisfied and neutral.

• The ‘merely satisfied’-many more than most managers

realize, defect too.

• These could be highly satisfied customers who have

encountered failures.

• But as articulated through the service recovery paradox,

when a company has strong processes in place to redress
such customers' needs better, most of them can be
converted into highly satisfied customers.
 3.Mercenaries
• Another customer who can make a company’s life
miserable is the mercenary.
• This individual defies the satisfaction-loyalty rule.
• He may be completely satisfied but exhibits almost no
loyalty.
• These customers are often expensive to acquire and
quick to depart.
• They chase low prices, buy on impulse, pursue fashion
trends or seek change for the sake of change.
 4.Hostages
• Such customers either belong to the
companies who operate in a monopolistic
environment or they are habituated to a
particular brand and demonstrate inertia in
brand switching.

• Often these customers experience the worst a

company has to offer and must accept it.