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The customer or client is the most important part of any business. A business cannot survive without customers or clients. A business always strives to provide the best possible service or product to its customers or clients.
Businesses should understand the difference between a client and a customer. There is no doubt that customer vs client is an important distinction to make because it can help you understand who your target market is.
This article will describe the client vs customer differences, definitions, and characteristics.
Who is a Customer?
In business, a customer is a person or company that uses a company’s goods or services.
A customer is the recipient of a good, service, product, or idea – obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier. This could be to fulfill a want or need, acquire wealth, or make a social statement.
The activity’s or service’s benefits are clear enough for the consumer to perceive them and include aspects such as the price and quality of what is bought. As part of marketing management and business operations, the consumer can be an individual or business consumer.
Characteristics of Customers
The characteristic of a customer is a vast topic. However, if you are planning to build a customer relationship management (CRM) system, you need to know the basic characteristics of your customers.
The CRM system will help you gather and store information about your customers.
In order to make the best use of your CRM, it is imperative that you have an excellent understanding of your customers’ characteristics.
1. They Might Come and Go Pretty Quickly.
For example, let’s say that you’ve been running a coffee shop for quite some time. Before you know it, you’re getting business from a couple of hundred regular customers, who come in every morning before they rush off to work.
Maybe they even have a daily order that they never change. It’s always a mocha with whipped cream, then maybe some croissants or a pastry, and it adds up to a couple of hundred dollars every day.
This is a great situation to be in. You know exactly what your customers are going to order because they always order the same thing. They even sit in their favorite booth or chair, right smack in the center of the shop.
It’s not just a source of income; this is basically guaranteed money that you can count on. But it might not last, particularly if things change for the customer.
2. They Are Here for Convenience.
Convenience is a ‘maturity’ concept that is less tangible than other consumer value concepts such as ‘safety’ or ’emotion’.
For the customers, convenience related to physical access to the store and easy payment methods. Additional convenience features are assortment and speed of service.
The combination of these elements has an enormous impact on the convenience value concept and its impact on the customer decision process.
Convenience is the main quality of customer service they seek. The sooner they can perform the action they want, the more convenient the service is. The quicker they get what they want, the happier they are.
A company should make every effort to complete the task as quickly as possible, even at the expense of losing some other benefits of the service.
3. They Are Very Straightforward With What They Want From You.
These customers don’t dance around or beat around the bush when they want something from you. They say it in one sentence without worrying about how it sounds or how much it costs.
They just say what they want and expect you to honor their requests without hesitation or argument-without actually having any desire of being your friend perse.
One of the most important characteristics of most customers is the desire for quick resolution of their case: 94% of customers want to resolve their legal cases as quickly as possible. This is against only 5% who prefer a delayed resolution.
Who is a Client?
This can have different meanings, depending on the type of business or organization you are looking at.
For instance, if you are a web design company, your clients would be the businesses you work with. If you are an animal shelter, your clients would be the people who adopt the animals out of your shelter.
A client is anyone who receives services from a business. A client can be a person, group, or organization.
Clients can receive services in many ways:
- A client is not the same as a customer. A customer might be the client receiving services, but a customer is more than just a single one of these “clients”.
- A client may not always be the direct recipient of the service that the business provides. For example, schools provide education to students, but it isn’t the students directly who are clients of the school, rather it is their parents or guardians.
Characteristics of Clients
You’re probably going to have to create a bunch of these different pieces that kind of talk directly to each one of those client personas.
That way, even if you’re going to have all these different pieces, you know exactly how you’re going to be speaking to them and what the things are that are going to be important for them and what’s not.
1. Their Expectations Are Realistic.
Clients who are engaged, committed, and have realistic expectations of the budget will have a better experience. A realistic expectation is something that the clients can afford to pay for and be happy with at the same time.
Take for example if your clients come to you with a project of creating a logo for their business, it’s not realistic for them to expect a $1000 logo for a small local business.
A $100 logo would be more realistic because it’s affordable and delivers an equivalent value that they are expecting.
2. They Highly Trust Your Expertise.
They highly trust your expertise in their business area, and they want you to guide them into making the right decision.
Your clients are the ones who will suffer the most if the wrong decisions are made. This is why they want you to walk with them throughout their project.
Your clients want things to be done right because they want to build a long-lasting relationship with you and your company. This is why they trust you and what your company stands for.
What Are the Differences Between Client and Customer?
When it comes to a business relationship, there is a lot of confusion about who’s a client and who’s a customer. First, it’s important to understand the differences between the two. A “Client” is someone who uses your services on one or more occasions, or a “Customer” is someone who purchases from your business on a recurring basis.
There are two common approaches that are used in marketing communications: one is to talk to prospects and the other is to talk to customers.
Marketers often confuse the two, causing them to waste time and money on prospects that are not ready to buy. This can be minimized by understanding each type of relationship with your customers better.
What Are the Similarities Between Client and Customer?
Both clients and customers have wants and needs. Both need to be handled in a manner that is respectful. Both have time constraints and need information in short, concise forms. Both are expecting you to give them helpful advice.
Both want to be entertained, informed, and able to purchase from you quickly. Both are like a company that demonstrate professionalism. And, both need to feel that you care about their individual needs.
1. Internal Similarities
Clients and customers are both people. People are complex and have their own problems. However, all customers and clients need a proper solution to their problems. They both have money. That’s where you come in.
2. External Similarities
Both clients and customers need a voice. A client or customer can be dissatisfied with the service you provide. A customer can also be dissatisfied with a product or service that you offer them.
They both will talk about their dissatisfaction on Facebook or Instagram, Yelp, or Rate-A-Doctor. Clients need to talk to you when they’re unhappy, but so do customers.
What both have in common:
- Both want something from you.
- Each can be a challenge
- Each can give you an opportunity for personal growth.
- Both will keep your business running.
The most important thing to a business is its customers or clients. Without them, there would be no business! This is why it’s so important to nurture your relationships with your customers or clients.
If you want your business to succeed, you need to start valuing your customers and making them feel like they are truly valued. Only then will they continue to do business with you and help you grow your company.
