Who Is the Customer Under ISO 10002?

Who is the customer under ISO 10002?

• Current customer: individuals to whom the organisation sells on an ongoing basis and who buy its goods or services regularly.
• Prospective customer: candidates the organisation engages in sales conversations but has not yet sold to.
• Former customer: individuals or organisations that purchased in the past but are no longer active customers for various reasons.
• New customer: individuals or organisations buying the organisation's product or service for the first time.
• Target customer: individuals or organisations the firm has identified as likely buyers of specific products.

Creating a point of difference in the customer's view, and earning loyalty, starts with analysing and understanding the customer.

• Who is the customer?
• What are their goals?
• Which factors shape their purchase behaviour and decision-making stages?
• Which factors keep customers loyal?

Holding detailed information about customers is one thing; putting that information to effective use is another. This is a question of how well the organisation has adapted its operations to the data. Some organisations achieve high product quality and run effective service operations but still miss their sales targets because they do not analyse customers well. Others understand their customers but lack the infrastructure to deliver the service those customers expect.

The new customer is more independent, more active, and more valuable than customers of a generation ago. They are more independent because globalisation has produced a wider range of products and services, and the spread of the internet lets customers access product information quickly and at low cost. They are more active because society has grown more informed and confident over time. Customer engagement with the market has deepened, and with the influence of media, and the internet in particular, customers now seek information on virtually every topic of relevance to a purchase.

The result is a more discerning consumer base. The traditional customer / seller dynamic has moved toward mutual gain and shared growth, and customers show up at the point of sale as active participants. The new customer matters more because they have far more alternatives than customers in previous generations. Small details, such as being unknown to the organisation or being asked for information that was already provided, can be enough for customers to walk away. What customers expect is complete, defect-free service. In this environment, collecting and analysing customer information effectively has become one of the organisation's most valuable competitive advantages.