Transactional customers* are philandering floozies.
You thought that just because you promised great service, top selection, and competitive pricing that it meant they’d be exclusive to you?
Oh honey. Bless your heart.
They never promised to be true to you. That wasn’t part of the deal.
Unfortunately, to a transactional customer, business is a one-way street.
The moment you’re out of stock, unavailable, or your competitor is having a sale, they get the rovin’ eye.
What’s a business person to do?
Well, if you’re determined to keep them in your life, (which I have mixed feelings about, but it’s your business) then there are three things.
First, accept the reality that they’ve got choices, and if you wanna keep them around you’re gonna have to work for it.
Second, learn to love them as they are. Sure, they step out on you from time to time. But doesn’t that just add to the excitement?
Third, their wandering nature makes them easy to steal from your competitors. In this business soap opera, you get to play Jolene.
Funny. Now that I’m looking at it, keeping a transactional customer is the exact opposite of a healthy personal relationship.
But that makes sense. Because after all, transactional customers are philandering floozies.
Relational customers, on the other hand, are all the things transactional customers aren’t. But that’s a story for another day.
– Zac Smith, VC
*Customers can be broken into two categories; transactional and relational. In a gross oversimplification, Transactional customers tend to be price-sensitive, and relational customers tend to shop based on, well, their relationship with you.
