Do You Have Customers Or Consumers?

Customers Vs. Consumers.

What’s the difference? Sometimes nothing, sometimes everything.

Customers are the people who purchase your product or service. Consumers are the end users who use or “consume” your product. Sometimes, they are one in the same, but if they aren’t - you have a particular marketing dilemma on your hands. Knowing if you have a customer that is different than your consumer will save you a lot of time and energy when creating your marketing strategy, channels and messages. 

A good example of a market that has customers and consumers is the engagement ring market. Who is their primary customer? The person proposing. Who is their primary consumer? The person being proposed to. Grooms are the purchasers - the customers. Brides are the consumers - the ones who use the product. (Although, according to a Wedding Wire survey, brides are picking up the tab 20% of the time.) Jewelry stores must cater to both groups in very different ways because each have specific things that are important to them. The person doing the proposing wants a good price, financing options, an easy transaction and a return policy in the event their future spouse says no. The person being proposed to wants a beautiful ring, the best quality and long term care of the ring from the jeweler. That’s why most engagement ring television commercials will show you a big, beautiful, shiny ring while talking about finance options, they must address both their customer and consumer.

Children’s toys are another example. Most children’s products will need to please two markets: children and parents. Parents purchase toys for kids who use and play, essentially consume them. Kids want their toys to be fun while parents want toys to be safe and educational. These two groups are very different and each will require their own special messaging.

Have you seen an Aflac commercial lately? Have you noticed they always tell you to "ask your employer about it"? It’s because you would be the consumer, and the employer would be the customer. They want your buy-in to convince your employer that it’s something they should purchase internally for the company.

Digital media makes it easier than ever to get hyper-focused on your target market(s) so you can deliver the perfect message to each. However, the first step is to know if you have more than one target market in the first place. 

Once you find out if you indeed have customers who are different from your consumers, creating a customer profile for each should be a priority. You will need to find out what is most important to each group in order to craft the most effective marketing message.