Types of Customers: 4 Basic Client Classifications 2025
In this article, we will explore the different types of clients in sales and how understanding client typology helps marketers interact with their audience.
Who is a client?
Determining the type of client is the process of segmenting the target audience based on common characteristics, preferences, behavior, and other factors. Identifying the types of clients involves the following steps:
- First, gather data about the clients. This can include demographic data (age, gender, location), purchase history, interests, and interaction history with the company.
- Segment clients into groups based on a common characteristic. For example, by age, gender, income, or behavioral factors.
- Analyze each group and identify the types of our clients. Assess purchasing behavior, feedback, research results, and other data.
- Develop strategies for working with different types of clients. The strategy may include personalized marketing, differentiated product ranges, pricing features, referral programs, and other promotional methods.
- Implement strategies and track their effectiveness.
When determining client types becomes useful:
✅ When you need to increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns;
✅ When you need to refresh branding and positioning;
✅ When you need to work on personalization;
✅ For managing your product range;
✅ For proper pricing;
✅ For demand forecasting;
✅ When you need to build better relationships with clients.
4 Basic Client Classification
Let's examine which aspects of the product different types of clients pay attention to.
Visuals
These clients evaluate the product through visual perception. Such clients are attracted by bright images, design, colors, high-quality photos, and stylish visual concepts. It's important to know that visuals easily notice details that might indicate poor product quality.
How to Identify: Visuals say things like: "Beautiful…", "Ugly…", "Can I see all of them?", "I’ll look myself.", "I see."
How to Interact: Use visual materials — photos, videos, diagrams, maps, infographics, attractive product displays, bright price tags, color-coordinated selections, to create a cohesive visual image of the product.
Quizzes from Marquiz, unlike ordinary surveys and forms, look stylish and catch the client’s eye visually.
Quizzes from Marquiz, unlike ordinary surveys and forms, look stylish and catch the client’s eye visually.
Additionally, inside the constructor, there is a tool for visualizing the advantages of the product — Marquiz Pages, a landing page within the Marquiz constructor that warms up incoming traffic using photo and video content.
Auditory
Audials perceive information through hearing. Such clients evaluate sounds, melodies, and voices. In communication, it is important for them to hear the manager's speech — they pay attention to the tone of voice, manner of speaking, and oratorical skills.
How to Identify: They often use phrases like "Let's talk," "I heard that…," "They told me that…," "It’s noisy here," "Strange sounds," etc.
How to Interact: Present the product confidently, without hesitation, using persuasive arguments and counterarguments. Listen attentively. Use audio and video formats for brand promotion.
In Marquiz Pages , you can add videos, for example, showing how a hairdresser performs a haircut and allowing the audience to listen as he explains his work.
Vertical Videos Can Be Added to Landing Pages, Just Like on Social Media
Kinesthetics
Kinesthetics evaluate products based on tactile sensations. For such clients, it is important to feel the product's texture, temperature, softness, hardness, and other tactile qualities.
How to Identify: Kinesthetics tend to want to touch the product, hold it in their hands, and during conversations, they may mention phrases like "comfortable," "pleasant to the touch," "warm," etc.
How to Interact: Demonstrate how the product works. Invitations to tastings, test drives, and product presentations work well here. It is also useful to offer samples, demo versions, and product samples so that the client can try the product and form a personal impression. 👍 You can invite a kinesthetic client to a trial session through a quiz on your website or social media.
Discretes
These clients are also known as digitals. These are people who use the internet and a multitude of gadgets. They are accustomed to large amounts of information, so it is important for them to know literally everything about the product: specifications, technical details, dimensions, features, reviews, and more.
How to Identify: They often use phrases like "logically," "the main thing is that it works effectively," "what are the specifications?" "how does it function?"
Types of Perception Influence Impressions of the Product
For example, when visiting a café:
- A visual will talk about the stylish interior.
- An auditory will mention the pleasant, relaxing music.
- A kinesthetic will remember the soft sofas.
- A discrete will appreciate the balanced taste of the coffee.
Discretes are active clients who find it easier to figure things out on their own rather than communicate with others. Even if a friend recommends a particular product or service, they will still study the specifications and gather information themselves.
Categories of Clients in B2B Sales
In the business sector, especially in B2B sales, clients are divided into several categories depending on their size, industry specifics, needs, and methods of interaction.
Large Partners. These are large corporations or key players in the industry. They often require individual and customized solutions. Example: When a large technology company signs a contract with a supplier, they demand special solutions that consider the specifics of their business processes.
Less Significant Buyers
Medium or small companies can afford to be more flexible in their decisions. They often look for more affordable products in terms of price, implementation, and other factors.
Example: A small restaurant chooses a contractor based on the principle of "necessary and sufficient" to maintain a balance between quality and price.
Old-School Customers
Companies that prefer conservative and traditional solutions. They are very cautious about adopting new products.
Example: Companies in the manufacturing sector fear that purchasing new equipment will lead to further expenses on software updates, additional purchases, etc. Therefore, they are very reluctant to make changes and take a long time to decide.
Individual Entrepreneurs
Individual entrepreneurs value simplicity and accessibility of the product. For them, it is important to offer a solution that helps save time and resources.
Example: A company orders plastic windows for office renovation. They need a quick installation, a clear contract, and a good discount on wholesale.
How to Work with Different Types of Customers on the Digital
Working with different types of clients in internet marketing requires a flexible approach. Here are several ways to organize advertising campaigns and attract various clients:
Collecting Information and Analyzing
We launch a quiz, look at the analytics based on responses. We try different approaches based on our hypothesis about who our clients are according to their profiles. Quizzes help to detail the portrait of the target audience. This is especially important in the B2C segment, where it's difficult to categorize buyers into one specific type due to the diversity of their preferences.
Setting Up Targeting for Different Audiences
We set up targeting that takes into account the interests and preferences of different types of clients.
Try A/B Testing
We conduct A/B tests to determine which elements of advertising and content are most effective for our type of clients.
To Make a Quiz-Based Advertising Campaign More Effective, You Can Test Creatives for Different Types of Clients.
It Is Important to Study the Psychological Aspects of Customer Motivation, Build and Test Hypotheses.
☝ How to Set Up A/B Tests in Quizzes, We Explain in Our Knowledge Base
Use Marketing Quizzes
Quizzes can help identify the type of client and offer them the most suitable products or services. Through questions, it becomes easier to understand the needs and interests of the audience. Regardless of the type of client you serve, marketing quizzes can become a powerful tool for improving your sales. Register in the Marquiz panel and create your first quiz.
FAQ
How does the client type affect the communication scenario?
Visuals — are people who perceive most of the information through their vision. The correct method of work: slides, photos, videos, catalogs, product demonstration.
Auditory — people are those who mainly receive information through the auditory canal. The correct method of work: conversation (the more confident the tone of voice and the speech of the specialist, the greater the chance of convincing such a client to buy the product).
Kinesthetics — are people who perceive most of the information through other senses (smell, touch, etc.) and through movement. The correct method of work: give the person the opportunity to use the product in practice.
Digitals — are people who perceive information mainly through logical comprehension, using numbers, signs, and logical arguments. The correct method of work: numbers, graphs, tables, statistics.
What types of clients are most common in the B2B segment?
Innovators (Independent creative individuals)
Example: When a company releases a new model of kettle with new cool features, innovators stand in line to be the first to buy it.
Romantics (Intellectuals)
Example: Romantics will buy a ceramic electric kettle with Khokhloma patterns.
Conservatives
Example: An electric kettle for a conservative should be reliable, solid and timeless. Of course, a domestic one is better, according to all requirements.
Hedonists (pleasure lovers)
Example: A hedonist will like an electric kettle that boils water up to 80 degrees to brew delicious green tea. Yes, the price is twice as high, but it's worth it.
Careerists (purposeful pragmatists)
Example: They will choose a kettle that boils water twice as fast.
Imitators (conformists)
Example: They will look for a kettle like the one from Pinterest.
Ascetics
Example: An electric kettle uses too much electricity. An ascetic will choose a kettle for boiling water on the stove or with a thermos function to conserve boiling water.
