A New White Paper: The Buying Personality You Court Determines Loyalty

Whetstone Edge partners William D. Todor, Ph.D. and John I. Todor, Ph.D. have released a new white paper that discusses the psychological principles underlying committed, loyal and profitable customers as well as the business strategies to put these principles into action

Pleasant Hill, Calif. (PRWEB) August 9, 2006

The Whetstone Edge, LLC, a customer-centric strategy consulting firm announces a new free white paper “The Split Buying Personalities of Customers.” The paper discusses the psychological principles underlying committed, loyal and profitable customers as well as the business strategies to put these principles into action. This paper can be downloaded for free for a limited time (http://www.TheWhetstoneEdge.com/personalities.pdf).

“Customers use one of two distinct buying personalities when making purchase decisions,” says Managing Partner, John I. Todor, Ph.D. “The indifferent personality comes into play when customers are looking for utility. In this mode, customers are looking for the best trade-off between price and convenience and are inherently not loyal.” However, “when customers are engaged in either the buying or consumption experience, they derived emotional value that leads to greater desire and commitment.”

Senior partner, William Todor, Ph.D. contends that “businesses want profitable customers with high lifetime value, customers who are not focused on price.” He adds, “Unfortunately, most companies have been pressured by globalization and rapid commoditization of products to adopt sales and marketing strategies that encourage customers to shop on price and shop around. These strategies bring the indifferent buying personality into play.”

The white paper explains how small to medium sized businesses can differentiate themselves and avoid competing on price. According to The Whetstone Edge if a company wants to compete for the indifferent buying personality, it needs to be like Wal-Mart, the cost-efficiency leader in the industry. On the other hand, courting the engaged customer personality take the issue off of price. Engaged buying is intrinsically and emotionally rewarding to customers. This leads greater customer desire and higher lifetime value. John Todor summarizes, “When customer experiences are engaging, customers will scrimp elsewhere to enable them to splurge on these experiences—they are willing and eager customers.” In contrast, “When the situation sparks the indifferent buying personality, customers either attempt to avoid buying or take a win-lose, adversarial stance.” Understanding the underlying principles is important to CRM and Customer Experience Management strategies.

About The Whetstone Edge, LLC

The Whetstone Edge, LLC (http://www.TheWhetstoneEdge.com) helps clients build customer equity and increase profits by delivering compelling customer experiences. Its methodologies are bases on the integration of research on customer behavior and the practical realities of the marketplace. The principles have authored two books on the customers as well as numerous articles. Their speaking, executive coaching and consulting clients range from small independent business to multi-national enterprises.

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