Amtower's Prospect Marketing Pyramid -#CX

In the early 1990s I expanded my consulting to go after BtoB catalogers and introduce them to the then lucrative world of BtoG. These were still the early days of the government charge card (then IMPAC card, not SmartPay) and for established brand catalogers, this was a ripe new territory where there will still nice margins.

I got to work with some really great companies and even hosted my own B2G Catalog Summit for six years, from the late-1990s until the early 2000s.

I also spoke at several BtoB events, met several well-known experts in BtoB, and stumbled across a concept called the “prospect pyramid.”

The idea was simple: those who could possibly buy your product were “suspects” (bottom of the pyramid), but they probably didn’t know you.

The next level up was “prospects”, those who knew you but were not yet buying from you.

The next level was “buyer”, probably a one-off buyer who may or may not return.

Then there were “customers”, those who bought from you on a regular basis.

One variation of the pyramid had another level, “advocates”, customers who bought regularly and talked about you favorably.

Around the time I discovered the pyramid I had a very bad in-store experience with Best Buy, and I have not set foot in a Best Buy for well over 20 years. I still tell the story at some conferences.

So it occurred to me that there was at least one other level at the bottom of the pyramid- the “burn victim” – someone who disliked your company so much that when anyone mentioned it, they become apoplectic. We all have those stories. My latest burn victim story is Nike, where customer service does not exist…don’t get me started.

There were companies on the other end of the spectrum as well, companies that I love to buy from as their products are good and the service is above and beyond.

Nordstrom was mine at that time. I was switching from conventional business attire (I wore three piece suits with matching braces and ties) to the all-black, no tie look that has become part of my brand in GovCon. Most of you don’t remember me in non-black. Anyway, I had this guy in Nordstrom who’d call me when anything in my size (I am not an easy fit) came in. And I would only buy from him.

I became a Nordstrom apostle and I gave others the business card of my Nordstrom guy. So at the top of my pyramid we have apostles, those who love your company and proselytize on your behalf frequently.

The pyramid became part of my half-day workshop, Government Marketing Best Practices, which became a book in 2005. The prospect pyramid description is on pages 39-44 if you happen to have a copy of Government Marketing Best Practices.

The entire customer experience (CX) movement has been re-vitalized recently, but it has been with us for quite some time. The work of JoAnna Brandi, Jeanne Bliss, and more recently Martha Dorris all emphasize the importance of the customer experience. Vic Hunter’s 1997 gem, Business to Business Marketing- Creating a Community of Customers, had a huge influence on my thinking.

But like I write in Best Practices, your pyramid should not simply focus on those who buy from you, but also others in your sphere of influence: media, vendor partners, employees and former employees, investors, anyone with whom you interact.

Your conduct, how you treat all of those around you, impacts you directly or indirectly, now and in the future.

For each of us, everyone we interact with falls somewhere on our own prospect pyramid, the one people measure you by. When your name comes up, what do people think or say?

I wish I could say that I’ve always treated everyone well so that they would at least be near the top of my pyramid, but sadly that is not the case.

What I do now, though, is try to treat each person I deal with, regardless of their market status, with courtesy and respect, and I try to help when I can.

Customer experience is about getting people to remember you and your company in a positive, preferably very positive, light.

Where do you fit in the prospect pyramid?