Two Types of Customers

A great debate came up in our house this year regarding how businesses get customers. A little back ground: I have worked in advertising for the last 8 years and my wife works in Public Relations. The debate began one night after dinner followed by a little TV of our favorite recorded shows. Somehow, since the invention of the DVR, I seem to have lost control of the remote. My wife’s a strong advocate for what she likes to call “efficient TV watching” so she likes to fast forward through all the commercials. I, on the other hand, appreciate some commercials like an art. I mean who doesn’t love a talking baby, or gecko, or oven mitt for that matter? So my argument is if we fast forward through all the commercials how will I know what car to buy, cereal to eat, or movie to see? She calmly replies, “Just ask someone or research”. (This is when my head explodes.) To clarify, I am not an easy sell, but the wife is. I view advertising almost like a job interview; the company has a certain amount of my time to tell me why they are better than their competitors and why I should choose them. My wife loves to talk with people. She’ll look at reviews and make her decision based on what other people say about the product or “word of mouth” advertising.

There are two types of customers the risk taker and the researcher. The risk taker is the type of customer who pays attention to advertising and does not mind trying something new because it looks, sounds, or smells great. The researcher is the customer who waits until they know a little more about something. They will wait to see if the product or service is accepted by others before they try it. Which began the debate of which is better for a company: advertising (paid audio or visual promotion) or public relations (paid or free word or mouth)? The conclusion is that one isn’t necessarily better than the other. In fact, without one it would be very difficult to have the other. Without the risk taker taking a chance on a product or service there would be no one for the researcher to analyze, no reviews, and no ratings except for industry award companies. So to all you marketing and advertising budget makers: include a good mix of advertising and PR for your 2012 budgets. Take it from us, the Risk Takers and Researchers in the world.