Do you know who your customers are? Chances are, you’ve got a range, from the customer who wants exactly what’s advertised in the latest Creating Keepsakes to the shopper who asks for things you’ve never even heard of! Some are bargain hunters, others don’t care how much an item costs—as long as it’s the latest thing on the market.

There are four standard types of customers: The Early Innovator, the Adaptor, the Mainstream Customer and the Lagger. Each one has different shopping habits and needs, and each one represents a different percentage of the marketplace.

Identifying your customers is a vital step in determining how much time, effort and money should be invested in marketing to the different types—and by figuring out which customers you serve most often, you can figure the most effective ways to market to them. Let’s take a look!

The Early Innovator

The Early Innovator has the inside edge on the newest, hippest and trendiest products—long before anyone else. (She knew about slide mounts, mica and amber bottles long before they started appearing in the magazines.) For her, shopping is a treasure hunt, and she loves to discover a new item before anyone else. She doesn’t depend on instructions or samples as much as other types of customers—for her, part of the fun is playing with the products to discover their possibilities.

How to market to her: Here’s the good news: This customer is constantly seeking out new products. She’s not affected by price—rather, it’s the passion for her craft that keeps her shopping. She’s also not brand-influenced, and will test and try new or different brands. Here’s the not-so-good news: She’s also searching for the newest products, techniques and ideas from your competition—especially the internet.

This customer considers herself to be cutting edge, and will react positively to any marketing that touts the word “new”. If you have this type of customer, a section filled with avant-garde products signed as “Artsy New Treasures” will attract her. For product offerings, ask your Early Innovator customers what they’d like to see. Buy wide, and buy shallow so you can stock a variety of SKUs without a huge cost investment.

How many Early Innovators? The Early Innovators are the smallest group of customers, comprising less than 5% of the total customer base.

Adaptor

The Adaptor is the Early Innovator’s kid sister. Like the Early Innovator, she’s not influenced by brand names; unlike the Early Innovator, she relies more on word of mouth references from friends. Price is somewhat of an issue, though she’s still not a bargain hunter. Product availability is not a big motivating factor: she will do some searching at different stores and online, but not as much as the Early Innovator.

How to market to her: Because she’s influenced by word of mouth references, take a cue from the chain bookstores and post Staff Recommendations next to your books and products. Have staff members choose a favorite; the employee writes up a brief description of the book and a few details about why she likes it on a 3”x5” piece of paper. An example: Jodi’s Staff Pick: Making Designer Scrapbook Pages from Hot Off The Press. I love learning about other scrappers’ styles, and this book covers four very different looks: Realistic, Sophisticated, Artsy and Paper Engineering. After reading it, I felt more confident about finding my own scrapbooking style! The book teaches how to use patterned paper, collage, shabby chic and altering pre-printed tags and embellishments too, and includes information on basic design elements. Jodi then signs her name on the recommendation and posts it by the book (decorating and laminating will make it durable and eye-catching).

How many Adaptors? The Adaptors are the second-smallest group, totaling about 10% of the customer base.

The Mainstream Customer

The Mainstream customer makes up the largest percentage of consumers anywhere. Neither an innovator nor a Lagger, she fits right in the middle of the customer population—the mainstream.

How to market to her: The Mainstream Customer is price sensitive, so a product’s cost and value are two important factors that weight her buying decisions. She’s risk averse, looking for proven product with a recognizable brand name and solid reputation for quality. Friends, magazines, teachers and other experts influence her buying decision.

Packaging is very important to the Mainstream Customer. She wants to see, and if possible, touch the product before she buys it—product that’s shrink-wrapped with insufficient explanatory text or visuals will stay on the shelf. Product with ideas, text, instructions and sample project ideas will increase the value for the Mainstream Customer.

She’s also sold on quality and brand names, so promoting your product by company will help her find the items she’s looking for—and more. Small signs that list the features and benefits of each company’s products are especially effective. For example: “Paper Pizazz® from Hot Off The Press is color and theme coordinated, comes in a protective packaging with sample ideas or by the sheet. Top quality at a great price!”

Another important factor for this customer? Product availability. She loves the chain craft stores because they’re open when she wants to shop: weekends and evenings. Take a look at your store hours—are you open on Sunday? What about 7:00 on Tuesday night? The craft chains are. Even if you can’t stay open late every night of the week, consider one or two nights, then promote it as a customer service benefit.

How many Mainstream Customers? The Mainstream Customers make up the largest segment of the population: about 40-60%.

The Lagger

The Lagger is the polar opposite of the Early Innovator. Slow to pick up on trends, she finds a brand she’s comfortable with and sticks with it. Tried-and-true is better than hip and cool—in fact, Early Innovators and Adaptors would consider this customer to be pretty boring! References are her biggest motivator, and she’ll count on the experts’ opinions to guide her when selecting products.

Like the Mainstream Customer, the Lagger needs product packaging with clear instructions, sample ideas and as much explanation as possible. Blessed with less imagination than the other customer groups, she’ll need creative assistance in order to be successful with the product. A package of paper, for example, must have samples, text and information to guide her.

And like the Mainstream customer, the Lagger also counts on ready availability. She’s shopping at the craft chain store, because there’s one in her neighborhood that’s open when she wants to shop; it also has low prices and product packaged for the populace, not just the few Early Innovators.

How large is this demographic? The Laggers make up the second-largest segment of the population, right behind Mainstream, at 30%.

Now what?

What can you do with this information? You’ve probably identified some of your own customers from the profiles above. Do the demographic percentages shown above match your store’s percentages? They probably do—there are simply more Mainstream customers in the world than there are Early Innovators. Now ask yourself: how many of my customers fall into these groups?

“We love to sell to the trendy Early Innovators,” says Hot Off The Press President Paulette Jarvey. “However, the majority of our customers are Mainstream, so we focus the majority of our marketing dollars and efforts on them.” Jarvey adds that HOTP’s strength is to bring techniques and crafts from the Early Innovator stage to the Mainstream customer. “We want to take the mystery out of those innovative techniques—our goal is to make altered books, collage, book making and shabby chic scrapbooking accessible to the average crafter.”

Jarvey advises retailers to put their investment with the majority of their customer base. “You personally might be an Early Innovator—but if the majority of your customers are Mainstream, then your buying should reflect the desires of this customer rather than your own personal tastes.”

Early Innovator. Adaptor. Mainstream and Lagger. Each type of customer is worth your marketing investment. The question is, what’s your niche, and where are you placing your marketing emphasis?