Five Types of DIY Customers

In the world of codesign, cocreation, and coproduction, customers can play many different roles. When I use do-it-yourself to explain these concepts, people tend to equate that with one or two types of customers (the first two in my list below). However, I see that there are five general types of do-it-yourself customers.

• Transactionals are those who like to perform everyday transactions themselves. They use self checkout at the grocery store, eat at the buffet, and book travel online.
• Traditionals are what we typically think of as do-it yourselfers in terms of home improvement, gardening, financial management, auto repair, and so on. These are the people who frequent Home Depot, Smith&Hawken, Charles Schwab, and Kragen Auto Parts.
• Conventionals acquire tangible self-contained products that are enablers for doing things themselves. For example, a Viking stove facilitates the do-it-yourself task of gourmet cooking. A snowblower enables one to clear the snow from the driveway.
• Intentionals engage in do-it-yourself experiences to customize goods and services to their specification. Think Build-A-Bear® Workshops and Nike iD.com online design center.
• Radicals take do-it-yourself to new extremes. Like the gentleman who re-wrote the operating system for his Lego® Mindstorms robot.

(Copyright 2005, Honebein Associates, Inc.)