BusinessAccent.com: Man, mind, marketing, money and manners » Business Face-off http://businessaccent.com Find articles, tips, stories and free resources on business, management, ethics, accounting, marketing, and online money profit making success. Thu, 27 May 2010 04:30:26 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 What is the difference between a client and a customer? http://businessaccent.com/2009/07/27/what-is-the-difference-between-a-client-and-a-customer/ http://businessaccent.com/2009/07/27/what-is-the-difference-between-a-client-and-a-customer/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:41:16 +0000 Admin http://businessaccent.com/?p=919 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> clients-customersI have already written hundred of articles on this site. Most of those articles tackle about business and marketing which also relatively discuss a client and a customer. If you have been following my articles, especially those that talk about marketing, you will notice that the term client and customer have been used interchangeably. Unless a reader has a deep marketing savvy, he can easily distinguish the two. But we cannot assume that all the readers here are business gurus. So to assure that everyone will be enlightened, we will try to illuminate the confusion by bringing the two into a face-off.

Client Customer
1. Buys goods or services 1. Buys goods or services
2. Has a continuing business relationship 2. Don’t necessarily have a continuing business relationship
3. Under the protection of another person or organization (sellers or providers) 3. Not necessarily under their protection
4. Originated from the Latin word “cliens” which means dependent or follower 4. Originated from the English word “customs” which means a practice or a habit
5. Seeks advices 5. Do not usually seeks advices
6. Required to follow given advices 6. Not required to follow advices
7. Can hardly shift to another provider 7. Can easily shift to another provider
8. Difficult to replace 8. Easy to replace
9. Stays for a length of time 9. May come and go
10. Known by a company 10. Usually not known by a company
11. Will have a significant effect on a company if he or she will leave 11. Will not have a significant effect on a company if he or she will leave
12. Mostly has a contract 12. Usually don’t have a contract
13. Included in the long-term marketing plan of a business person or organization 13. Included in their short-term marketing plan
14. Usually inherited by professional service individuals or organizations (e.g., law firms, banks, construction firm, CPAs and accounting firms) 14. Usually inherited by trading companies (e.g., grocery stores and shopping malls) and other service firms like restaurants and hotels.

I hope my readers can now distinguished those two important characters in the marketing world whenever they read any of my business articles. Aside from the two, there are also other groups of people that play an important role in the market. They can be shoppers (who visit a store and may eventually buy or not buy a product), consumers (who consume or use goods or services but may pay or may not pay for them), and buyers (who purchase a product). Thus, a consumer may consume a product which has bought by another person. These persons – client, customer, shopper, consumer and buyer, have similarities to each other. They also have unique characteristics that distinguish them from each other. But for business individuals and organizations, no matter how they are similar or distinct to one another, they must equally be given what we call… value and care.

If you have some serious reactions, suggestions and additional insights about the topic, please feel free to make a comment below.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

]]> http://businessaccent.com/2009/07/27/what-is-the-difference-between-a-client-and-a-customer/feed/ 9