The customer base of a merchant is like an iceberg floating in the water. Among them, the part floating on the water is the loyal customer base that is visible in daily operations and supports the store’s performance; the invisible part below the iceberg includes a large number of potential customers, interested customers, and transaction customers. The four levels of the customer iceberg model are as follows. Potential customers: Potential customers are divided into high-potential customers and low-potential customers. Low-potential customers passively contact store products through various channels. Although high-potential customers have not had direct communication with merchants, they will actively enter the store to browse. The potential customer base is related to the merchant’s promotion efforts.
Interested customers: Interested customers refer to customers who have added purchases, added to favorites, and inquired.
Transaction customers: Transaction customers refer to customers who have placed sample orders in the store but have not formed repeat purchases.
Loyal customers: Loyal customers refer to customers who have made stable repeat purchases in the store.
Customer operations guided by the iceberg model are a process of actively and proactively transforming potential customers into loyal customers.
Application of the iceberg model
An important application of the iceberg model is customer stratification. It allows merchants to identify key customers and promote customer conversion. It combines customer stratification with transaction stages to further determine their purchase intentions and determine customer follow-up strategies based on their purchase intentions. For example, after-sales issues of loyal customers require one-on-one precise follow-up and efficient and immediate response.