Types of customers around the world - results of a worldwide survey

Education and promotion makes us less friendly and more demanding as customers, though not particularly more logical. Women change the most. The most friendly customers are college educated women but the most demanding are post-graduate women.

Types of customers around the world

Press release - for immediate release
from managementlearning.com Ltd

http://www.managementlearning.com
david@managementlearning.com

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www.managementlearning.com, the free web site for learning about management, has just released the interim results of its research into types of customer all over the world. The global membership of www.managementlearning.com has completed a questionnaire as part of the learning about customer service offered on the site.

The results show that education and promotion makes us less friendly and more demanding as customers, though not particularly more logical. Women change the most. The most friendly customers are college educated women but the most demanding are post-graduate women. The most logical customers are post-graduate men.

Women tend, on the whole, to be more friendly and less logical than men as customers but there are just as many demanding (or "lordly" as the research calls them) female customers as male customers.

The higher we rise in the hierarchy, the less friendly we are as customers but, again, not particularly more logical. Supervisors are the most friendly while senior managers by far the least friendly and the most demanding.

Very early indications are that (a) Denmark and Bulgaria customers are more friendly (b) the most lordly customers are likely to be found in China and Guyana and (c) Israel and the Philippines may contain the most logical customers.

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Data

(1) Percentage of respondents - female/male

Friendly   
Females - 30.96
Males - 26.80

Logical
Females - 39.55
Males - 43.71

Lordly
Females - 29.48
Males - 29.49

(2) Percentage of respondents - by education level

Friendly      
School educated - 35.89   
College educated - 29.57
Graduates - 30.07
Post Graduates - 25.28

Logical
School educated - 36.33
College educated - 43.07   
Graduates - 40.36
Post Graduates - 41.72

Lordly
School educated   - 27.78
College educated - 27.36
Graduates - 29.58
Post Graduates - 33.00

(3) Percentage of respondents - by management level

   Friendly      
Supervisors   32.81      
Junior Managers   30.61      
Middle Managers   28.77      
Senior Managers   23.87      

Logical

Supervisors   38.19   
Junior Managers   40.22   
Middle Managers   41.72   
Senior Managers 40.33

Lordly

Supervisors   29.00
Junior Managers   29.17
Middle Managers   29.51
Senior Managers   35.80

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The research on the data by country is still in progress but very early indications are that the most friendly customers are to be found in Denmark and Bulgaria and the least friendly in Korea and Mexico. The most lordly customers are likely to be found in China and Guyana and the least lordly in the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria. The most logical customers seem to be in Israel and the Philippines. Among the countries with lowest number of logical customers are New Zealand and Romania. www.managementlearning.com stresses that these are only very early indications.

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Restricting the data to countries for which www.managementlearning.com has better data, the breakdown is as follows:

   Friendly   
UK        30.71
US        30.58   
Canada     30.44   
Australia 23.20   
India        23.20   

Logical

UK      37.59   
US      42.83   
Canada   39.33   
Australia   43.80   
India      43.20   

Lordly

UK      31.71
US      26.58
Canada   30.22
Australia   33.00
India      33.60

The USA contains the least lordly customers and American customers appear to be among the most logical. Perhaps surprisingly, UK customers see themselves as more friendly than Australian and Indian customers, who see themselves as more logical and lordly.

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If you require a full breakdown by sex and by education or by sex and by management level or if you wish graphs, please email david@managementlearning.com. Graphs will be emailed as attachments. Please email us with any questions. (Data by country will be released when the research has developed further.)

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Please feel free to use the research data and the background data. We would appreciate it if you would be kind enough to mention the site and quote its URL
http://www.managementlearning.com

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Background follows:
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(1) Types of customer
(2) How to manage types of customer when they are upset
(3) About http://www.managementlearning.com

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(1) Types of customer

Lordly customers

Lordly customers like to be treated as special and important. How they are treated is often just as important to them as what they are buying. They are impatient. They will refuse to wait in lines or queues, even if it means not buying what they want. Their time is valuable. If they have questions they want them answered right away. They are status conscious and like to be seen to be powerful and up to the minute. They do little research before they buy and often buy on impulse. They treat staff as just there to serve them and have little interest in staff's feelings or problems. They are not afraid to complain and can do so loudly. They are not interested in the systems that shops may have. They believe that rules are made for other people!

Logical customers

Logical customers are interested almost exclusively in what they are buying. They are after the best deal and expect staff to be able to answer technical questions logically and factually and to be experts in what they are selling. If problems arise, they want a properly detailed explanation of what will be done. They retain receipts and often the external wrapping so that they can return faulty goods according to the system. They take note of special offers but they never buy on impulse. They usually study the consumer magazines and check prices in different places before they buy. They ignore the fact that staff are people. They will put up with indifferent service to get what they want at the right price. If they complain, they may well invoke the law!

Friendly customers

Friendly customers see buying as just another human inter-action. They prize friendliness and like it when people use their name. They like the warmth of a welcome and a smile. They prefer small shops and hotels where they can become known and where they can more easily get to know the staff. For them, the way that the purchase is sold is almost more important than the product itself. They like to think of staff as friends and they are willing to help out if staff have problems. They will often make decision based upon the staff's recommendations. They are influenced by people they like, particularly their close friends and trust others to give them good advice. They hate to complain and feel badly, and personally, let down if things go wrong. They can have very high standards of behaviour.

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(2) Handling customers who complain

Lordly customers

Smile and nod. Listen carefully. Demonstrate that you take what they are saying to be important and that they are important. Do not talk about rules and procedures. Give them the impression that you will take care of things as far as you can go within your authority and that you will take responsibility for their case higher up the line if necessary. Use shorter sentences and words like "I understand! Yes! I'll get right onto it! Leave it with me!" Do not be subservient but not over-personal either. Give the impression of efficiency and speed - and of giving personal service to them as an individual.

Logical customers

Listen intently and show concentration on your face with a slight frown. Demonstrate that you are taking it all in. Take notes. Ask questions that are relevant in a calm but thoughtful manner. Again make notes. Give them the impression that you are working things through thoroughly and ensuring that the system will produce the correct result for them. Do not speak quickly. It's OK to appear to pause for thought. Create a plan that you can explain to them for what will be done. Gain their logical acceptance of this plan.

Friendly customers

Listen compassionately. Use a lot of body language. Demonstrate that you are in sympathy with their feelings. Get them talking by asking sympathetic questions and respond to their emotions. Make them feel that you appreciate their feelings. Act as if you have become a friend. Use words such as "Oh dear! I can see how you feel. We really must do something to help you here. It's been really nice talking to you. Please come back and talk to me if you have any other problems." Get them involved in the problem solving by inviting them to help you.

(3) About www.managementlearning.com

This is what Harvard Business School has said about the site:

"Learning for free at your own pace and in your own time" is the motto of this intelligent and easy-to-use site with the devilishly long name. The site covers a variety of topics from motivation to corporate culture to team building. Its design is simple and clear, with logical cross-links that lead to related topics and references, making for efficient navigation. The glossary is a handy starting point for learning about unfamiliar concepts. The recommended books and Classic Books identify the most influential works in management research. Exercises in self-discovery and knowledge will help you learn more about yourself and evaluate your management skills. Finally, the Hall of Fame highlights the works of researchers, educators, and practitioners who have taken management studies to the next level.

Contact Dr David West david@managementlearning.com