The Customer

Pyramid
Lisa Berzett
Customer Pyramid
Platinum Segment Characteristics

 Typically, the platinum segment consists of the

most loyal customers.
 These customers aren’t overly concerned with
product price.
 These customers are concerned with value and
quality of the merchandise they purchase.
 They also are the heaviest users of the products.
 These customers are the most likely to invest in and
try new products.
Platinum Segment

 Most businesses keep their platinum customers by

offering incentive programs.
 Store specific credit cards

 Discounts based on the amount of spending

 Frequent shopper programs

 Special customer services

Gold Segment Characteristics

 The gold segment differs from the Platinum

segment because most gold segment customers
are more price sensitive.
 Gold segment customers don’t purchase as much
as platinum segment customers.

 Gold segment customers aren’t as loyal to one

retailer and will go to competitors if the price is
right.
Gold Segment

 Retailers that would like to turn gold segment

customers into platinum segment customer have a
couple of different options.
 Frequent shopper programs

 Return customer discounts

 Price matching
Iron Segment Characteristics

 Iron segment customers most likely are not loyal to

any one retail business.
 These customers are very price conscious and will
shop many places to get the best price.
 These customers are not likely to spend much at
any one store.
 Iron segment customers don’t deserve any special
treatment because of the small amount of business
they provide to a single retail business.
Iron Segment

 Turning an iron segment customer into a gold

segment customer is very difficult.
 Some ways that this might be accomplished include
the following:
 Price matching

 Sales on specific merchandise

 Advertising

 Comparable merchandise at discount prices

Lead Segment Characteristics

 Lead segment customer are the “problem”

customers.
 These customers are the most likely to actually cost
a business money by being customers.
 Lead segment customers demand a lot of attention
for very little spending.
 In this segment, abuse of return privileges are very
common.
Lead Segment

 The lead segment has been a nuisance to retail

businesses for years. Because of this many retailers
have implemented different programs to dissuade
the lead segment customers.
 Tighter return policies

 Associates who have specifically been trained to deal

with these “problem” customers

 Charging for services that most lead segment

customers are abusing.