Customer VS Client: making the difference clear - Dashly blog

Briefly, what's the difference between client and customer? A customer makes purchases in some shops, while a client pays for professional ... Mainpage Blog GeneralCustomerVS Client:makingthedifferenceclearReadingtime:17.11.2020Peopleoftengetconfusedwithfindingthedifferencebetweenthewords‘client’and‘customer’. I wasoneof thosepeople,butnowI understandwhyI waswrong. It’shugelyrecommendedto usewordscorrectlyandmakea goodimpressionon whoyou’retalkingwith.So,let’sexplorethecustomervs clientdifference. Accordingto theCambridgedictionary,thedefinitionof thesenotionsis almostthesame: Clientis someonewhoreceivesservicesCustomera personwhobuysgoodsor a service Then,whydo we raisethecustomervs clientdifferenceproblem? In business,thereis a slightlybiggerdifferencebasedon thetypeof relationships.Theaimof thisarticleis to preventyoufrommixingcustomervs clientnotionsup. P. S.whenwritingthisarticle,I wasfeelinglikeI’mstudyingat a linguisticsschoolandwritingan essayon somesemanticissues.Butactually,the‘customervs client’turnedintointerestingresearch;) Thedefinitionof thenotion‘Customer’ Briefly,customerrelationshipsareshort-term.Thisis a personwhobuysproductsfromsomebusinessandwhois engagedin thetransactionwiththecompany.Theywantvalueformoneyimmediatelyandhavea briefinteractionwithyou. Readalso:Attractcustomerswiththese24 leadmagnets> Themainissueis thatpeoplewhoarecalled‘customers’aremostlyattractedby thevalueformoneyanddon’tshowanyloyalty. Whattypeof businesseshavecustomers?Theonesthatprovidea one-timeserviceandsupplysomephysicalgoodsor productsusuallyhavecustomers. Forexample,foodstoreshavecustomers.They’rekindaone-timeor repeatpatrons.Buttheydon’thavelong-termrelationshipswiththeshop,andtheyarelikelyto chooseanothershopwhichis closerto theirhomeor offerslowerpricesor a widerrangeof products. Thedefinitionof thenotion‘Client’ Oppositely,theclientmeansa personwhois willingto payforgoodservicesandpersonalization.Theykindof hireprofessionalsto resolvetheirtasks.Clientsshowrathermoreloyaltythancustomersandrelationshipswiththemmaybe calledlong-term.They’reloyalandlesslikelyto changeyourproductforanotheronejustbecausetheyofferdiscounts. Noteanothervitalthing: Alltheclientsarecustomers,butnotallthecustomersareclients.EventheCambridgeDictionarymentionsthattheClientis ‘theСustomerthatreceivesservices’.Feelthisdifference? Do I havecustomersor clients? Basically,companiesthatsellgoodshavecustomers.Often,in thiscase,a personalapproachis shownlessoften,andrelationshipsarenotlong-run. Again,notethattypicallyservice-basedcompanies(as wellas agencies,studios,andso on)haveclients.Theserelationshipsareoftenlong-runanddon’tfinishafterthefirsttransaction.Peoplecometo getprofessionalservices,andoftentheyarewillingto staywithyouforlong,evenif thereis a morebeneficialoffersomewhere. Convertmorevisitorsto buyersusingtheseready-madecampaignsformarketers Thank you!Yourplaybookis alreadyin yourinbox Hereyoucanfindthemostcommonindustries: Is thereanydifferencebetweenCustomer,Client,andConsumer? Alongwiththecustomervs clientconundrum,thereis alsosomeconfusionabouttheword‘Consumer’.So,I guessthisis importantto makethemeaningof thiswordmoreclearandto explainthedifferencebetweentheconsumer,client,andcustomeras well. To startwith,a consumeris thepersonwhothepurchasewasmadefor;thepersonwhoactuallyusesyourproductor service. Notethatnotallcustomersareconsumers.Butalltheclientsareconsumers. Forexample,if youbuya cakeforyourselfandyourfriends,youwillbe botha customeranda consumer(as youpaidforthiscake,andafterwardatethis).At thesametime,yourfriendswillbe justconsumers(as theyonlyate,i.e.,consumedthiscake). Readalso:Cross-sell,Upsell&Bundles:SalesStrategiesforOnlineBusinesses> Let’sfinalize.Theconsumeris: a personwhobuyssomegoodsor servicesforpersonalneedsandusage;a persononlyusesor consumestheproduct. Notallthecustomersreallyuseyourproduct,so notallof themareconsumers.Clients‘hire’yourproductandusethis,to allof themareitsconsumers. Anyotherwordsto describeCustomersandClients? Sure!Belowlistedwordswhichyoucanuseinsteadof clientandcustomer: User —maybe takenby SaaS-companies.Thisis aboutbusinesseswhereclientsdealwithsomesoftware. Subscriber —thepersonthatreceivessomepublicationsor servicesregularly.Also,thesepeoplepayin advance,so thattheword‘Subscriber’maybe usedinsteadof ‘Client’. Buyer —purchase-maker.Canbe usedinsteadof ‘customer’.Also,accordingto theCambridgeDIctionary,theword‘Buyer’is abouta personthatbuyssomethingexpensive,suchas a house. Shopper —a personwhobuysfroma shop.Therefore,a shoppermaybe usedinsteadof ‘Customers’. Parton —formalwordthatis usedto describepeoplewhobuya particularproductallthetime.So,thisis usedinsteadof theword‘Client’. Is it betterto haveclients? We knowit is alwayscheaperto keepgoodrelationshipswithcurrentcustomers(andto growthemintoloyalclients)thanto spendmoneyon findingnewones.Therearemanyresearcheson this,butyoumaycheckoutthisoneprovidedby Forbes. Readalso:HowYouCanBoostB2BSales:TricksYouMayNotKnow> Themainproblemof companiesthathaveonlycustomersis thattheyhaveto spenda lotof moneyon newcustomersacquisition.Definitely,it’sbetterto haveclientsthancustomersforanytypeof business. So,if youwantto loweracquisitioncosts,tryto convertyourcustomersintoclients.Howto do this?Let’sfindout! HowcanI turncustomersintoclients? Themainthingis to establishlong-termrelationshipswiththosewhobuyfrom you.Makethemmoreloyalto yourcompanyandencouragethemto repeatedpurchases. Personalizeyourcommunicationswithcustomers Peoplelovefeelinglikethey’respecial.Givethemthisfeeling!Makepersonaloffers,sendpersonalizedemails,callthemby namewhentalkingto them. Forexample,if yourunan onlineshop,createan emailnewsletterwithpersonalizedoffers.Thiswillencouragesales,butalsoyouwillgeneraterepetitivesalesanddevelopcustomerloyalty. Readalso:WinningTheCustomerWithPersonalizedMessagesWhereTheyAreTrulyRelevant> Develoployaltyprograms Thisis aboutmotivatingcustomersto repeatedpurchases.As I saidbeforerepetitivesalesby currentcustomersbringthesamevalueas fromthenewones,whileyousavemoneyandtimeon theiracquisition. Thereis a varietyof loyaltyprograms.Forexample,youmaycreatesomebonusesforthosewhobuyfromyouforthesecondtimeor adda freetrialforthosewhoinvitedfriendsto your app.Therearelotsof optionsdependingon yoursphere. Createthebestconditionsforpeoplewhobuyfrom you.Establishlong-termrelationshipswithyourcustomersandturnthemintoclients. Forexample,I foundan interestingexampleof a loyaltyprogramon Asos.com: Asospremiumdelivery Theyofferunlimiteddeliveryfor£9.95a year,whileusuallyit costs£5,95peroneorder.What’sevenmoreinteresting,theycalculatehowmuchmoneyyou’llsavewiththeirpremiumdelivery: ThewayAsosshowshowmuchyou’llsavewithPremiumdelivery As forme,thisis simplebutstillbrilliantmechanics. Willa customerwhogetsthePremiumdeliveryordermoreoftenfrom you?Yes.Willtheybecomeyourclient?Of course.Willtheybringyoumoremoney?Sure! Becomeomnichannel We’vealreadywrittenan articleaboutthis.Themainthingaboutomnichannelis thatyouusedifferentchannelsto communicateandinteractwithyourcustomers.Thisis muchmoreconvenientforthem,as theydon’thaveto leavetheirdataagainandagainor describetheirproblemseveraltimes.Allthedatais keptin yourCRM,andalltheagentshaveaccessto thisandmayusethisto lookforsomedetails. Readalso:Whyis OmnichannelCommunicationEssentialforEcommerce?> Forexample,imaginethesituationwhena customerstartstheconversationthroughFacebookandthenwritesto youto checktheissuestatusby email. Customersfeelwhenyoucareaboutthem.Andtheybecomemoreloyalto yourcompany,andcometo youagainandagain,makingyourrelationshipslastforlong. Anotheradvantageof theomnichannelapproachis theabilityto givean unusualexperienceto yourcustomers.Theyaremorelikelyto rememberyouandcometo youagain.Moreover,thisincreasesthechancesthattheywillrecommendyouto theirfriends.Didyoucounthowmanyproswe highlighted? Let’staketheTimberlandexample.Thisis oneof themostfamousexamplesof omnichannel. Whatdidthey do?TheymergedNFCtechnologywiththephysicalworld,sharingin informationaboutgoodsbetweenmobiledevicesinstantly.Also,theyimplementedso-calledTouchWalls —an inventorythatshowsalltheinfoabouttheproductby touchingit. TimberlandTouchWalls —thetechnologythatallowscustomersto readtheinfoaboutthegoodsby touch Whatdidthey get?Unusualexperienceandcombinationof time-savingandconvenience.Andmorecustomersthatsoonwillbecomeloyalclients,I guess;) SeemoreaboutthisTimberlandactivityhere. Improveyourcustomerservicequality It is saidthat76%of customersbelievethatcustomerserviceis thereflectionof yourattitudeto them.Customersalwaysfeelyourcare.Themorecaretheyfeel,themoreloyaltheywillbe to you,andthemoremoneytheywillpay. Readalso:Howto BuildtheGreatestCustomerSupport —TipsfromtheDashlyCustomerSupportTeam> So,be carefulaboutthewayyouragentsinteractwithyourcustomers. Howcanyouimprovecustomerservice?Thereareseveralways: Educateyouragents Thiswillmakethemmoreprofessionalso thattheywillresolveissuesbetterandfaster. Startevaluatingyourcustomerservice Therearemanymetricsto evaluatecustomerserviceteamperformance.Forexample,youmaystartmeasuringNPS(NetPromoterScore),or CSAT(CustomerSatisfactionScore).Youmayreadaboutthemin ourrecentarticle. Analyzeyourcustomersupportjourney Definewhatyourcustomerjourneylookslike.Thiswillallowyouto understandthecontextof customers’issuesandimproveyourcustomerserviceandeventheproductitselfaccordingto thisinformation. Convertmorevisitorsto buyersusingtheseready-madecampaigns.Chat,chatbot,pop-up,emailandothertools. Thanks!Yourmapwithready-madecampaignsis alreadyin yourinbox Thesearebasicsforkeepingcustomerservicequalityon a highlevel.We havean articleon customerserviceandthewaysyoucanimprovethis.Checkit outhere. Talkto yourcustomers Thissoundsobvious,butit stillworks.Peopleloveit whenyoupayattentionto them,especiallywhenyoufollowtheiradvice. Tryto conducta JTBDinterview.Thiswayyouwillgetvaluablefeedbackfromrealpeopleandincreaseloyalty. Readalso:Jobsto be Doneor everythingyouneedto knowaboutyourusers’desires> FAQ Briefly,what’sthedifferencebetweenclientandcustomer?A customermakespurchasesin someshops,whilea clientpaysforprofessionalservices.Also,customersshowlessloyaltythanclientsandareoftenwillingto buya productthatis cheaper.Whatwordscanbe alsousedto describepeoplewhobuyfromyou?Patron,consumer,buyer,shopper,subscriber,user,etc.Do I havecustomersor clients?It dependson yourindustry.Basically,companiesthatsellphysicalgoodsor productshavecustomers.Companiesthatsellprofessionalserviceshaveclients.Is it betterto havecustomersor clients?Definitely,anybusinessshouldstriveto obtainclients.Theyaremoreloyalto yourproductandeventually,youwillsavelotsof moneyon acquiringnewones.Howto transforma customerintoa client?Thereareseveraltips:— personalizeyourcommunicationswithcustomers— develoployaltyprograms— usetheomnichannelapproach— improveyourcustomerservicequality MaryPetersI writeaboutwaysto getmorerevenue