Table of Contents
What is Customer Orientation?
Customer orientation means how the customer’s preferences are possessed or in what areas of business the customers are conscious.
A customer can be cost-oriented, value-oriented, or technology-oriented as discussed below:
Cost Oriented Customers
The customer focuses on low-cost products and is ready to compromise on efficacy, performance, and quality. If a problem arises with the product, they blame the supplier instead of blaming themselves as they have selected the cheap product.
They try to get problems fixed by the local vendor as the product is a low–cost one. These vendors work with marginal profit, so accountability is low. What they do is not quality work as they are not the actual manufacturer of that particular product and may lack many aspects in repairing the machine.
In case the machine fails again, these customers blame the original supplier and he is then reimbursed. In some cases, these customers are ready to buy second-hand products and expect them to perform as a new ones.
Hence the suppliers should focus on strategies that are not only performance or quality-driven but also self–driven, otherwise, they will find themselves in payment problems for which they have to put extra effort and cost of recovery of payment from these customers.
Value Oriented Customers
These types of customers prefer efficient and high-performing products rather than low–cost ones. They are aware that in a long run it would be a profitable deal. They believe in one-time investment and repair-free benefits in the future.
These customers tend to maintain a healthy relationship with suppliers as they are satisfied customers.
Technology Oriented Customers
These types of customers are interested in making use of the best technology good quality and performance. They feel that using the latest technological products, they can sustain in the dynamic environment.
Suppliers who are developing a new technological product can do business by capturing these types of customers. They also have a tendency for experimenting with new things and do interact with people of the same nature.
The suppliers are helped by them in creating new referrals and increasing the business. These customers are also satisfied customers and end up making worthy relationships with suppliers.
It is important for the supplier to study the orientation of the customer. It will help them to identify specific customer needs and transact accordingly. They can develop strategies to grab customers by fulfilling their aspirations and turning them into satisfied customers.
What is the importance of customer orientation?
It is important for the supplier to study the orientation of the customer. It will help them to identify specific customer needs and transact accordingly. They can develop strategies to grab customers by fulfilling their aspirations and turning them into satisfied customers.
