ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with different types of customers and, especially, how best to negotiate with different types of business buyer. In consumer goods markets surveys have revealed the main types of customers: value-conscious, low price, bargain hunters, brand loyal, impulsive, recreational, confused and those that don’t like shopping at all. Different sorts of customer need different marketing and promotion strategies such as the hi-lo policy for value shoppers and every-day-low-price for low price shoppers.
In B2B transactions the number of different customer types is more limited: relationship buyers that value an ongoing relationship with the supplier, price buyers that want the lowest price and may qualify several suppliers so they compete for business, value buyers that weigh price versus value, “poker players” that might be relationship or value buyers masquerading as price buyers to try to get a quality product at a low price and power buyers that have market share that gives them power to dictate terms. The common advice is to nurture relationship buyers, offer value buyers options at different prices and to offer poker players and price buyers a minimum specification and make sure that extras come at a price.
