Lesson 13: Customers and Stakeholders

Lesson Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:

  • Understand who customers and stakeholders are
  • Explain the importance of customers in a business
  • Identify types of customer behaviour
  • Understand how businesses use customer information

Overview

Every business exists because of its customers — and is influenced by its stakeholders.

To succeed, organisations must:

  • Understand customer needs
  • Analyse customer behaviour
  • Balance stakeholder interests

This lesson focuses on how businesses interact with and respond to customers and stakeholders.

1. Who are Customers and Stakeholders?

Customers

  • People who buy or use a product or service

Stakeholders

  • Individuals or groups affected by a business

Examples of stakeholders:

  • Customers
  • Employees
  • Investors
  • Suppliers

👉 Key idea:
Customers are stakeholders — but not all stakeholders are customers.

2. Importance of Customers

Customers are important because they:

  • Generate revenue
  • Influence business decisions
  • Help shape products and services

📌 Customer behaviour and purchases guide what businesses invest in and improve.

3. Customer Behaviour

Customer behaviour refers to how people:

  • Choose products
  • Make buying decisions
  • Interact with brands

The four main types are:

  • Habitual buying behaviour
  • Variety-seeking behaviour
  • Dissonance-reducing behaviour
  • Complex buying behaviour

4. Understanding Customer Profiles

A customer profile includes:

  • Demographic data (age, gender, income)
  • Behavioural data (buying habits)
  • Preferences and interests

📌 Businesses use this data to better understand and target their customers.

5. Why Customer Understanding Matters

Understanding customers helps businesses:

  • Improve products and services
  • Personalise marketing
  • Increase customer satisfaction
  • Build loyalty

👉 Simple truth:
The better you understand your customer, the better you serve them.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you learned:

  • Who customers and stakeholders are
  • Why customers are critical to business success
  • Different types of customer behaviour
  • How customer data is used
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