Behind every sale is a customer, but they’re not always your product’s end user. The person who buys your product and the person who ultimately enjoys it may be different. The end user’s wants and needs ultimately drive sales, and for this reason, it’s critical to give them a positive experience.
While you might often hear the term end user in information technology contexts—computer software, security organizations, or online banking services—end users are just as crucial in ecommerce. Here’s what an end user is, how they differ from a customer, and how to ensure their satisfaction.
What is an end user?
An end user is the person who uses a product or service, not necessarily the one who buys it (i.e., the customer). For example, parents may be a toy company’s customers, but their children are the toys’ end users. Understanding end users’ behavior, needs, likes, and dislikes is essential for effective product development and marketing.
End user vs. customer: what’s the difference?
The terms “end user” and “customer” may seem interchangeable, but there’s an important distinction. Although the end user may be a customer, a customer may not always be the end user.
For example, if you sell software, online services, or technology, there’s a possibility you’re selling to a company, and the employees will use your product or service. Another example is gift baskets: The customer typically buys the basket for someone else. If you sell goods to resellers or dropshipping companies, they may be your customer, but not the person ultimately using your product.
That said, there are many cases where the person purchasing is also the person who uses a product or service—like someone buying clothes or ordering food for themselves. Customer feedback via surveys and reviews, as well as behavior analysis, can help you determine who your end users are.
How to improve the end-user experience
- Learn who your end users are
- Help end users visualize their lives with your product
- Identify small details that delight
- Eliminate pain points and make the experience seamless
- Offer comprehensive help and support
Building and iterating products with the end user in mind can lead to better reviews, more sales, and products that meet the needs of your intended audience. On the Shopify Masters podcast, Chris Sherman, CEO of Island Creek Oysters, shares the importance of understanding both your customers’ broader lifestyles. He emphasizes how acknowledging their overall lifestyle and the small features that enhance their experience with your product or service is key.
Here are steps from for evaluating your own business’s intended end user, drawing on insights from Chris and the Island Creek Oysters team.
Learn who your end users are
One way to understand your end user is through a user persona, a detailed profile representing your typical end user based on research and real data. This is different from a buyer persona, which focuses on the customer. The data you collect can vary from minute details like their location or purchasing habits to broad concepts, like their lifestyle patterns or aspirations.
Chris found that understanding his end users went beyond buying behavior.
“There is this incredible global coastal lifestyle that we really try to tap into that is about living well, enjoying the ocean, appreciating it, taking care of it, eating responsibly, but eating well, and living well as a result,” he says. “That is as much about wine and food as it is about how you’re spending your time.”
Help end users visualize their lives with your product
Use your marketing to paint a picture: How does your product benefit your end users? How does it contribute to the lifestyle of their dreams? For Island Creek Oysters, this meant positioning their product as part of an aspirational lifestyle—whether that involves fine dining or a deeper connection to the outdoors.
“You don’t see a lot of food companies that are producing and marketing food high up in the value chain,” Chris explains. “That’s been most successful for us: creating a scene and allowing people to kind of put themselves in that moment, which lets them understand how to incorporate the product into their life or their aspirational life.”
The brand’s oysters would be just as at home in a high-end restaurant as on a camping trip, and its content bridges this divide.
Targeted marketing, personalized messaging, and products aligned with lifestyle aspirations can help your end users envision how your offering could improve their day-to-day. If you can help them understand their own needs—and how your product satisfies them—you’re one step closer to making a sale.
Identify small details that delight
Make receiving and using your product effortless and delightful. These don’t have to be enormous shake-ups. Sometimes, the most meaningful changes for the end user come from small, thoughtful details in the process—such as frustration-free packaging, accurate tracking information, or a simple setup.
Chris says a small tweak to the packaging instantly created peace of mind for recipients.
“We have monitoring in each package to make sure that when the end user gets it,” says Chris. “They can check to make sure that the temperature has been maintained.”
This is essential for perishable goods and boosts satisfaction and trust.
Apply these aspects to your own business by discovering your end users’ expectations and where competitors fall short.
Eliminate pain points and make the experience seamless
Identify the pain or friction points arising from when your user engages with your product or service, and dig into them. What makes them stop using your product? What’s their biggest frustration? What makes them switch to a competitor?
If your end user is also purchasing your service or product, get to the bottom of why, for example, they abandon their browsing or checkout, or what prevents them from becoming a repeat customer. After answering these questions, you can develop solutions to create a frictionless customer experience.
For instance, if you discover end users find shipping costs too high and go elsewhere, build them into the product cost. Offer transparent “all-in” pricing—something Chris did and saw an uptick in sales—or test free shipping thresholds.
Offer comprehensive help and support
End users typically are the ones to seek help from customer service if something goes wrong. They’re also likely to understand the product better, researching tips, tricks, optimizations, and various ways to use the item or service. Offer them help and support.
For example, if you run a skin care or beauty brand, you may want to share the best ways to use your products for optimal results. Consider sharing hacks about ways to use the product that your end user might not think of. It’s always best to beat your end user to any questions they may have with informative content and FAQs.
That said, it’s a good idea to have a great end user support system in place if they do come to you with concerns or questions.
What is an end user FAQ
What is the difference between a customer and an end user?
An end user is the person who will interact with and use your product or service the most. They are the last step in the sales process. A customer may purchase your product, but they may gift it, resell it, or purchase it for someone else to use, meaning they aren’t always the end user.
How do you create good experiences for end users?
To create a great experience for an end user, it’s important to learn how they’re using the product, what problems it solves for them or what enjoyment it brings. Likewise, it is good to know if there are any pain points around using, maintaining, or obtaining the item or service. Knowing the persona of your end user can help you better tailor your offerings.
What is the definition of end users?
End users are the consumers who use your product or service, even if they are not the buyer. An end user could receive the product as a gift from a customer, for instance, or employees could be the end users of a service that their employer purchased. End users are sometimes the customers, but not always.
