Who is YOUR customer?
That used to be a simple question to answer in the old days. Nowadays - especially when dealing with Web 2.0 solutions - the question becomes a little more complex.
Nowadays customers are very seldom possible to define as only one person or entity. You need to define your customer even further by defining the customer roles. The B2B-industry have been doing it for years, now it is up to B2C to embrace the same issues.
In B2B you have several customer roles, which when defined will help you in the sales/communications process. You have the one ordering the product/service, you have the one using the product/service and you have the one paying for the product/service. Each of the roles must be addressed during the sales process. Old news for B2B-agencies, rather new news for the B2Cs .
Next time you are in the process of introducing a new product or a new service, think about the customer roles. If you don’t find a solution, feel free to contact one of the consultants at nielsenandcompany.com.