{"id":48797,"date":"2021-07-13T17:42:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T15:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/non-categorise\/what-is-a-potential-customer-definition-of-a-potential-customer\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T10:11:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:11:58","slug":"what-is-a-potential-customer-definition-of-a-potential-customer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/prospecting-2\/what-is-a-potential-customer-definition-of-a-potential-customer\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a potential customer? Definition of a potential customer"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"48797\" class=\"elementor elementor-48797 elementor-6639\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7491c3e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7491c3e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20f7cab elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"20f7cab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Definition of a potential customer<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e174fa2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e174fa2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"446\" data-end=\"633\">A <strong data-start=\"449\" data-end=\"469\">potential customer<\/strong> is a person or organization who could eventually buy your products or services. They have a probable interest, but have not yet made a purchase. He&#8217;s not a customer (yet).  <\/p>\n<p data-start=\"635\" data-end=\"791\">This term is often used as a synonym for <a href=\"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/prospecting-2\/what-is-a-prospect-prospect-definition\/\">prospect<\/a>, but it remains broad and sometimes vague.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"635\" data-end=\"791\">In fact, a potential customer can mean :<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"792\" data-end=\"1037\">\n<li data-start=\"792\" data-end=\"875\">\n<p data-start=\"794\" data-end=\"875\">someone who already knows your company and is thinking of buying,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"876\" data-end=\"1037\">\n<p data-start=\"878\" data-end=\"1037\">or someone who <strong data-start=\"898\" data-end=\"941\">simply shares characteristics<\/strong> with your current customers (same sector, same issues, same socio-demographic profile).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That&#8217;s why marketing and sales professionals prefer to use more precise terms, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/prospecting-2\/what-is-a-lead-lead-definition\/\">lead<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/prospecting-2\/what-is-a-suspect-definition-of-a-suspect\/\">suspect<\/a> and prospect, to qualify the degree of maturity of a contact. <br>During each phase of the potential customer&#8217;s familiarization with the company, he or she can evolve in the company&#8217;s eyes, so that it approaches him or her at the ideal moment.<\/p>\n<p>As soon as a potential customer makes a first purchase, his status changes: he becomes a <strong data-start=\"1354\" data-end=\"1364\">customer<\/strong>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-faec067 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"faec067\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a71dd72 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a71dd72\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Types of potential customers<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-55ee274 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"55ee274\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"1411\" data-end=\"1480\">There are two main categories of potential customers:<\/p><ul data-start=\"1482\" data-end=\"1915\"><li data-start=\"1482\" data-end=\"1690\"><p data-start=\"1484\" data-end=\"1690\"><strong data-start=\"1484\" data-end=\"1515\">The &#8220;cold&#8221; potential customer<\/strong>: corresponds to your target, but has not yet expressed any particular interest. Example: a company entering your market, but not yet familiar with you. <\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"1692\" data-end=\"1915\"><p data-start=\"1694\" data-end=\"1915\"><strong data-start=\"1694\" data-end=\"1725\">The &#8220;hot&#8221; potential customer<\/strong>: has already shown signs of interest (contacting us, downloading a brochure, attending a webinar, etc.). This profile is often ready to move towards a purchasing decision. <\/p><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ba1fce9 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ba1fce9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d932391 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d932391\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/moovago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/fiche-prospect-vierge-pdf.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-44692\" alt=\"blank prospect form pdf\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moovago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/fiche-prospect-vierge-pdf.jpg 600w, https:\/\/moovago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/fiche-prospect-vierge-pdf-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" title=\"Moovago, application commerciaux, CRM, ERP, PGI, GRC\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bf4ccfb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"bf4ccfb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d3b721 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6d3b721\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Download our ready-to-fill form<br>for your potential customers!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-71d1e74 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"71d1e74\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our prospect sheet helps you collect and organize key information about your potential customers: sector, segmentation and interactions. Simplify your day-to-day sales follow-up. <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc45ed8 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"dc45ed8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dpopup%3Aopen%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6NDY4ODUsInRvZ2dsZSI6ZmFsc2V9\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Download your practical PDF file<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f5e77e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5f5e77e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Who are your potential customers?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88c3359 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"88c3359\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"1961\" data-end=\"2072\">Not everyone can be a potential customer. To be one, a person must meet certain criteria: <\/p><ul data-start=\"2073\" data-end=\"2375\"><li data-start=\"2073\" data-end=\"2157\"><p data-start=\"2075\" data-end=\"2157\">have an <strong data-start=\"2084\" data-end=\"2104\">identified<\/strong> or latent <strong data-start=\"2084\" data-end=\"2104\">need<\/strong> that your product\/service can solve,<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2158\" data-end=\"2208\"><p data-start=\"2160\" data-end=\"2208\">have a <strong data-start=\"2174\" data-end=\"2184\">budget<\/strong> adapted to your offer,<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2209\" data-end=\"2286\"><p data-start=\"2211\" data-end=\"2286\">belong to your <strong data-start=\"2230\" data-end=\"2253\">prospecting zone<\/strong> (geographical or sectoral),<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2287\" data-end=\"2375\"><p data-start=\"2289\" data-end=\"2375\">be in a <strong data-start=\"2302\" data-end=\"2324\">favorable context<\/strong> (timing, urgency, active search for a solution).<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-07ebd91 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"07ebd91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"2377\" data-end=\"2399\">\ud83d\udd0e Case in point:<\/p><ul data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2670\"><li data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2536\"><p data-start=\"2402\" data-end=\"2536\">For a <strong data-start=\"674\" data-end=\"711\">wine and spirits supplier<\/strong>, potential customers are restaurateurs or wine merchants who have already tasted the products at a tasting and are considering placing an order.<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2536\"><p data-start=\"2402\" data-end=\"2536\">For a <strong data-start=\"872\" data-end=\"905\">medical equipment manufacturer<\/strong>, potential customers are clinics that have expressed a specific need for equipment and have budgeted for the purchase.<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2400\" data-end=\"2536\"><p data-start=\"2402\" data-end=\"2536\">For a <strong data-start=\"1037\" data-end=\"1070\">farm machinery salesman<\/strong>, potential customers are farmers who have expressed an interest in a specific model for the coming season.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87c20f8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"87c20f8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3de3511 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3de3511\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Why identify potential customers?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc5d12e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cc5d12e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"2727\" data-end=\"2787\">Identifying potential customers is a key step in :<\/p><ul data-start=\"2788\" data-end=\"3098\"><li data-start=\"2788\" data-end=\"2861\"><p data-start=\"2790\" data-end=\"2861\">target your sales actions on the most relevant contacts,<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2862\" data-end=\"2935\"><p data-start=\"2864\" data-end=\"2935\">tailor your communication to their specific needs,<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"2936\" data-end=\"3031\"><p data-start=\"2938\" data-end=\"3031\">optimize your marketing efforts and avoid wasting time on unqualified profiles,<\/p><\/li><li data-start=\"3032\" data-end=\"3098\"><p data-start=\"3034\" data-end=\"3098\">maximize your chances of converting real customers.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ea9b562 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ea9b562\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"2377\" data-end=\"2399\">\ud83d\udca1 One effective method is to analyze your <strong data-start=\"3148\" data-end=\"3169\">existing customers<\/strong>: why did they choose you? What problems have you solved for them? These answers will help you define a typical profile and better identify your potential future customers.  <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e35ea12 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e35ea12\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-start=\"1961\" data-end=\"2072\">A <strong data-start=\"3378\" data-end=\"3398\">potential customer<\/strong> is therefore a person or company who <strong data-start=\"3443\" data-end=\"3467\">could become a customer<\/strong>, but hasn&#8217;t yet taken the plunge.<br data-start=\"3508\" data-end=\"3511\">The challenge for your company is not only to identify them, but also to qualify them and accompany them through to purchase.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Definition of a potential customer A potential customer is a person or organization who could eventually buy your products or services. They have a probable interest, but have not yet made a purchase. He&#8217;s not a customer (yet). This term is often used as a synonym for prospect, but it remains broad and sometimes vague. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[597],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prospecting-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48799,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48797\/revisions\/48799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moovago.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}