Client, Customer, Consumer: What's the Difference? - Have ...

Client, Customer, Consumer: What's the Difference? · Client Someone who uses the professional services of an individual or company. · Customer A person who buys ... Home»News»Client,Customer,Consumer:What’stheDifference?Client,Customer,Consumer:What’stheDifference?byTimBerry9CommentsThewords“client”,“customer”and“consumer”areoftenconfusedforoneanotherandusedinterchangeably(especiallythefirsttwoterms).Manybusinessesdon’tdistinguishbetweenthethreeanddon’treallyneedtoeither.Whetheryouareonatightscheduleandhaveunusualcargo,oryouneedmultipleshipmentsatacost-effectiveprice–thenUNITHAIcanmakeithappen.UNITHAIisoneofthetoplogisticscompanyinThailandthatareexeriencedwithoversizedcargoandtransportation. However,ifyoulaunchedastartuporifyou’vebeenrunningasmallbusiness,andneedtoplan/determineyourbusinessgoalsandgrowth,thenit’susefultoknowthedifference.Let’sstartwith(paraphrased)dictionarydefinitions: Client Someonewhousestheprofessionalservicesofanindividualorcompany.(Archaicdefinitionsincludeadependentorsomeoneundertheprotectionofsomebodyelse.) Customer Apersonwhobuysgoodsorservicesfromabusiness(whichincludesshops). Consumer Someonewhobuysgoodandservicesfortheirpersonaluse;orsomeonewhoeatsorusessomething. So whataretheconnotationsofeach? Clients A“client”impliesalong-standingrelationshipaswellasthepurchaseofservices,solutions,advice,etc.,from(forexample)lawfirms,marketingagenciesandhealthcare.Theseservicesandsolutionscanbepersonalizedandcustomizedfor theclient. Businessesshouldgenerallyaimforclientsaboveall,becausewiththosecomeongoingbusiness,loyalty,referrals,brandambassadorsandsoforth.Usuallyaclientrelationshipisdeeper,requiresmoreinvolvement,andismorefruitful. Customers A“customer”suggestsaone-timesale–likebuyingsomethingfromagrocerystore,restaurant,amusementpark,etc.Howevertherecanbe“repeat”customers.It’susuallyonlyfocusedonaneconomicexchange:thepurchaseofgoods/productsforafixedprice.Customersmightalsoexplorevarioustypesofservicesandengageinanexchange. Consumers Consumersareusuallythoughtofastheenduser–thepersonwhoactuallyusestheproductorservice.Sowhat’sthedifferencebetweenacustomerandconsumer?Youcanclickherenowandlearnthedifferencebetweenthetwo.Aparentwhopurchasesdiapersfromastoreisacustomer,buttheirbaby(who’llusetheproduct)istheconsumer. Consumerismoreimpersonalandoftenreferstotheuseoftechnologicalproductsandservices(paidornot). Whomakesthedistinctionandwhy Someoneinvolvedinrealestate,forexample,wouldfindthevalueindifferentiatingbetweenclientsandcustomers.Nowadays,peopleinvolvedinbusinessarechangingtheirmindsets regardingtheseterms,andarefocusingonbuildingaclientbasethatrequiresmoreattentionandbetterservice.Additionallytechnology,withitsadvancedCRMsystems,allowsfordeepercustomerrelationships.Inreturn,clientsofferlong-termbusiness,andareadvocatesforproductandservices. Intheendthough,it’sjustsemantics.Businessrelationshipsthriveonmutualrespectandbenefits,notlabels:“Itreallydoesn’tmatterifyoucallyourcustomers customers,aslongasyoualwaystreatthemlikeclients.” Sharethis:TwitterFacebookLinkedIn 9thoughtson“Client,Customer,Consumer:What’stheDifference?” CynthiaG.Whitham,LCSW June27,2016at2:09pm Incertainagencies,suchasstateandfederallyfundedservicesforpersonswithdisabilities,theis“consumer”isoftenused.Theword“client”or“patient”impliesillnessoramentalhealthstatusthatmayormaynotwewelcome.Forexample,intheglossaryfortheCARegionalCenters,itstatesthedefinitionofconsumer: Aconsumerisanindividualwithdevelopmentaldisabilitieswhoiseligibleforregionalcenterservices.Thetermconsumerhasreplacedthepriorterm“client”.Thetermconsumerdenotesnotonlytheindividual,buttheindividual’sauthorizedrepresentative.Authorizedrepresentativesincludeparents,guardians,andconservators. Reply IsabelleAnneAbraham July1,2016at5:58am Somegreatinsight,Cynthia–thankyou. Reply DuaneDouglas May14,2017at7:29am Anamoebaisaconsumer.Itconsumes.Thatisit’stotalexistence. Lawyershaveclients.Itdoesnotimplyamentalhealthstatusorcriminalityoranyothersuchthing.Advertisingfirmshaveclients,engineeringfirmshaveclients.Itonlyimpliesreciprocalmutualrelationship.WhenyouhaveaclientyouSERVEthatclient.Theyreciprocatewithsomeconsiderationeitherpersonallyorbyproxy.Aconsumerjusttakes.Youthinkoftherelationshipofaconsumerasonlyanenduser.Theyonlytake. Perhapsthatiswhyyouprefer“consumer”:youjustthinkofthemasentitiesthattake,andyoudon’tfeellikeservingthem. Iloathetheword.Thesehumansaresomuchmorethantakers–consumers,andgivebackinsomanyways.Foremost,theygivebackhumanity,wherematerialistsmerelydefinethingsineconomicterms. Reply V.M. January2,2019at2:49pm Youknow,whenIfoundoutthatthelocalIRCstartedreferringtoclientsas“consumers”itremindedmeofhowmanyofthelocalCountyagencieskeeptrackofindividualsservedforanend-of-the-yearreport.Thenumberofpeopleservedjustifiesbudgets.However,serveddoesn’tnecessarilymeanthatpeoplewerehelped.Soinsomeinstancespeoplearejustnumbersforareportandnotclients.Yourexplanationmakesperfectsensetome.ButIdon’tseehowusingadifferentwordtodescribethemchangesanegativeattitude.Thenegativeattitudewilleventuallyjustbecomeassociatedwiththeword“consumer.” Thinkaboutthewordsthathavenegativeconnotations.Thewordsthemselveshaveavalidmeaningandwereusedlegitimately.Itwastheattitudeaboutthosewordsthatchanged.Ithinkit’stheattitudesthatneedtochangeandnotthewords.Butthat’sjustme. Pingback: Clientcustomerconsumeretclientclientconsommateur;ETPROSPECTALORS?|carineboutinardtraductions H.L. February4,2019at1:04am Ratherthanassociatingtheactualwordwiththecontexttoomuchandhavingasubjectiveopiniononthewordthatdidnowrong,wouldn’titbemuchmoreproductivetojustacceptthatwordsarejustamediumofpotentiallyeffectivemutualunderstanding,otherwisecalledcommunication,andnotoverthinkthepossibleimplications? Understandthattheintendedeffectiswhat’smostimportant. Peoplewhocaretoomuchaboutthelanguagereallyhavetheweirdestobsessionsaboutmattersthatwouldotherwisebecompletelyinconsequential. Reply Pingback: CustomerAndClient-WhatIsTheDifferenceBetweenACustomerVs.AClient? Julian May8,2021at12:04pm Isitpossiblethatfathersbuydiaperstoo?Iguessthingshavemovedonsince2016 Reply TimBerry May8,2021at3:37pm ThanksJulian.Ijusteditedandchangedthattoparent.Youmadeagoodpoint. Reply LeaveaComment Cancelreply Searchfor: RecentPosts 46FactsEveryEntrepreneurShouldKnow HaveYouForgottenYourEmailEtiquette? NewbieBloggingMistake6:ForgettingtoHaveaSchedule HowtoMakeBetterDecisionsforYourBusiness 3TrendstoReviveYourContentMarketingStrategyin2017 RecentComments TimBerryonClient,Customer,Consumer:Wh…JulianonClient,Customer,Consumer:Wh…CustomerAndClient…onClient,Customer,Consumer:Wh…H.L.onClient,Customer,Consumer:Wh…V.M.onClient,Customer,Consumer:Wh…