With a huge flow of new aspects in terms of digital marketing, marketers are trying hard to build a brand identity through fans & customers.
Fans & customers are one of the major foundations of a brand. But people often get confused, as per where exactly the difference lies.
Knowing your audience is one of the prime responsibilities of any marketer.
So whether you are an expert or a newbie or someone who is curious about marketing, this article is definitely going to help you!
Customer
A customer is basically anyone who is interested in your product. He is someone, who is ready to buy your product just because he is interested in the product, not particularly your brand as such.
A customer can also be someone who may not buy from your brand all the time, he may just speculate your product.
Fan
A fan, on the other hand, is someone who is genuinely enthusiastic, loyal about your brand.
He is more of a loyal customer, who actually prefers your product or brand may refer your business to others as well.
He is a die-hard follower, they will buy your products repeatedly.
One of the major differences between a fan & a customer is loyalty.
A fan is loyal to a particular brand. For instance, imagine this. You are someone who lives on his own & you love the food of Swiggy. You order 5 days out of 7 in a week from Swiggy.
Now, while scrolling your social media, you come across some discount offers from Zomato. You scroll through their page & order something. You like the food. You like their service.
However, the next day you go back to Swiggy & for the same restaurant you ordered from Zomato.
This shows that you are a loyal fan of Swiggy. Even though you liked the food you went back to Swiggy to search for the same food you ordered on Zomato.
You are a customer of Zomato but a fan of Swiggy.
Which one is important for a brand?
To be honest, it really depends on your type of business.
If you are brand who wants to build a niche audience or a social media influencer you want to focus on building a fan base.
Like for example, a brand like Bewakoof, they focus on building a brand. They have a set target audience, mainly people from 16-24 years, students, professionals or entrepreneurs who can either be financially stable or not.
Whereas, for a brand like Club Factory, or Amazon, they focus on customers. They are a huge marketplace, which sells a massive variety of items.
They do not need to focus on building followers really, as there are a lot of one-time-buyers.
So you choose your audience.
However, a lot of brands are focusing on turning their customers into fans.
If you are one of them, here are few ways you can do that:
- Be Authentic– you may start by getting inspired by someone else’s business model, but if you are thinking of building a niche, authenticity is very crucial. People want to see a brand true to themselves.
- Be Consistent– especially with your customer service. You need to be connected with your audience through SMS, Email, live chats, posts & so on. Consistency breeds familiarity and familiarity inspires trust.
- Be Approachable– a fan needs to connect with you or your brand. Apple is ranked as the top company for customer service because their staff is trained to “enrich lives” by “deepening and restoring relationships.”
- Build Trust– a brand takes a lot of time to earn a customer’s trust. A customer with immense trust turns into a fan. You need to show your fans enough love to be able to be a part of their life where they refer you to their friends.
There you have it. Now that you have a clear idea about a fan & a customer, you can decide which one is right for you.
For blogs related to other interesting aspects of marketing, read here!
Want to build your brand identity through digital marketing? We at Skyram Technologies will help you to get the right customers or build a fan base for you! Whatever you prefer. Connect with us here to get a detailed idea of our services!
