154 Marketing Dynamics Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Benefits Sought Many customers choose the same products, but often for entirely different reasons. One customer may want a computer with high processing capabilities for gaming. A second customer may want a computer with a large amount of RAM to edit videos. A third customer may only want a computer to check e-mail and social media. All of these customers are buying a computer, but each seeks a different benefit from the product. Usage Rate The usage rate is how often a customer buys or uses a good or service. Usage rates are classified as heavy, moderate, light, and nonuser. • A heavy usage rate means the person buys the e product often. • A moderate usage rate falls somewhere e between heavy and light. • A light usage rate means the person rarely buys e the product. • A nonuser usage rate means the person never e buys the product. Marketers send different messages to people based on how often they buy the product. Buying Status Buying status describes when a customer will buy a good or service. The most common categories are potential, first-time, occasional, and regular. • A potential customer is one who has not bought r the product, but is thinking about it. • A first-time customer is one who has bought the r product once. • An occasional customer is one who rarely buys r the product. • A regular customer is one who buys the product r often or on a predictable basis. Marketing messages can vary depending on a customer’s buying status. Brand Loyalty Loyal customers are generally the source of most sales for a business. Following the 80/20 rule, 80 percent of total sales for many businesses tend to come from 20 percent of the customers. As a result, marketers often segment the market based on degree of loyalty. For example, airlines have frequent-flyer programs to reward customers who often fly on that airline. These programs give customers free tickets or other merchandise after flying a certain number of miles with an airline. Many businesses, both large and small, use loyalty programs to increase sales. LO 9.1-3 Customer Profi le Once marketers have divided a market into segments, they choose which segments to target for marketing purposes. The segments are analyzed to determine which ones have the most sales potential. One or more segments are selected and a customer profile is created for each segment. A customer profile is a detailed description of the typical consumer in a market segment. The profile includes geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics about the typical customer. An example of a customer profile is shown in Figure 9-2. For example, some businesses may decide to sell luxury items that appeal to people with high incomes and specific values. Marketing research can determine which areas of the country have the highest average incomes. It can also deter- mine other traits of the people likely to buy luxury goods, such as their attitudes, values, occupations, or education level. The customer profile developed for luxury items would reflect all of these variables. Accurate customer profiles help determine the best promotional strategies. By knowing who is most interested in a company’s products, promo- tional dollars can be used wisely. Instead of hoping that mass marketing efforts will reach likely customers, the good or service can be promoted specifically to those within the target markets.