Client vs. Customer: What's the Difference & Why Does it Matter?

A customer is someone who buys products or services from a company, while a client refers to a certain type of customer who purchases ... Logo-Full(Color) Skiptocontent English 日本語 Deutsch English Español Português Français ContactSales Login CustomerSupport About AboutUs Careers ContactUs InvestorRelations ManagementTeam Home Software Software TheHubSpotCRMPlatform AllofHubSpot’smarketing,salesCRM,customerservice,CMS,andoperationssoftwareononeplatform. FreeHubSpotCRM Overviewofallproducts MarketingHub Marketingautomationsoftware.Freeandpremiumplans SalesHub SalesCRMsoftware.Freeandpremiumplans ServiceHub Customerservicesoftware.Freeandpremiumplans CMSHub Contentmanagementsystemsoftware.Premiumplans OperationsHub Operationssoftware.Freeandpremiumplans AppMarketplace ConnectyourfavoriteappstoHubSpot.Seeallintegrations Pricing Resources Resources Education Blog Ebooks,Guides&More FreeCourses&Certifications InboundMethodology WhyHubSpot? CaseStudies WhyChooseHubSpot? Services Onboarding&ConsultingServices HireaServiceProvider UserResources PartnerPrograms DeveloperTools Community About About AboutUs Careers ContactUs InvestorRelations ManagementTeam Startfreeorgetademo English 日本語 Deutsch English Español Português Français ContactSales Login CustomerSupport Marketing Sales Service Website Subscribe SubscribetoOurBlog Stayuptodatewiththelatestmarketing,sales,andservicetipsandnews. SubscribeviaEmail SubscribeviaEmail Marketing Sales Service Website EmailAddress We'recommittedtoyourprivacy.HubSpotusestheinformationyouprovidetoustocontactyouaboutourrelevantcontent,products,andservices.Youmayunsubscribefromthesecommunicationsatanytime.Formoreinformation,checkoutourprivacypolicy. ThankYou! Youhavebeensubscribed. Startfreeorgetademo Service|2minread Clientvs.Customer:What'stheDifference&WhyDoesitMatter? WrittenbyRebeccaRiserbato @BeccaRiserbato Haveyoueverheardsomeonedismissivelysaysomethinglike,"It'sjustsemantics." Whilesemantics--themeaningofawordorphrase--aren'tnecessarilyalwayssomethingtoargueover,inbusinessthelanguageyouuseisimportant. Andofcourse,somepeoplemightthinkthedifferencebetweenwordslikeclientandcustomerisanargumentofsemantics,thisdifferencewillactuallyhelpyoumakestrategicdecisionsaboutcustomerservice.Inthispost,let'sreviewthedifferencebetweenclientandcustomerandwhyitmatters. Clientvs.Customer Acustomerissomeonewhobuysproductsorservicesfromacompany,whileaclientreferstoacertaintypeofcustomerwhopurchasesprofessionalservicesfromabusiness.Generallyspeaking,customersbuyproductswhileclientsbuyadviceandsolutions.Additionally,clientsareusuallylonger-termcustomerswhoaremoreloyaltoyourcompanyandspendmoremoney. Truthfully,clientsandcustomersaresimilar,butthedifferenceliesinthetypeofservicethatacustomerispurchasing.IfyourunaSaaScompany,thenyouhavecustomers.Ontheotherhand,ifyourunalawfirm,youhaveclients. Let'sreviewsomeexamplesbelowtohelpyoucontextualizethedifferenceinthetypeofservice. Client-basedservices: Lawfirm Designstudio Insuranceagency Accountingfirm Realestateagency Marketing/advertisingagency Customer-basedservices: SaaScompany Retailstore Subscription-basedcompany Bank Restaurant Amusementpark OnewaythatIliketothinkaboutitisifacompanyhasacustomerservicedepartment,thentheyusuallyservicecustomers,notclients.Companiesthatdon'thaveacustomerservicedepartmentaretypicallyclient-basedcompanies. However,it'simportanttonotethatsomecompaniescanhavebothclientsandcustomers.Forsubscription-basedcompanieslikeSaaScompanies,forexample,somecustomersmightpurchaseprofessionalserviceswheretheyhaveapersonalizedcustomersuccessmanager(CSM)fromyourteam.Theseareyourhigh-valuecustomerswhobecomeclients.Ifacustomerhasn'tpurchasedaprofessionalservicefromyourcompany,thenthey'reacustomer,notaclient. Nowyourmindisprobablyspinningthinkingofothertermstodescribeyourcustomersandwonderingwhatthedifferencesare.Infact,you'veprobablyheardofthetermconsumer.So,what'sthedifferencebetweenacustomerandaconsumer?Let'sdiveinbelow. Customervs.Consumer Acustomerisapersonwhobuysgoodsorservicesfromabusiness,whileaconsumerisatypeofcustomerwhobuysgoodsorservicesforpersonaluse.ThinkofconsumersasthemorespecifictypeofcustomerforB2Ccompanies,whileacustomercanpurchasefromaB2CorB2Bcompany.Youcanthinkaboutitlikethis:Consumersaretheend-usersofaproduct,andmightnothavebeentheactualcustomerwhopurchasedtheproduct. Clientvs.CustomerServices Thedifferencebetweenclientservicesandcustomerserviceisthesamedifferencebetweenprofessionalservicesandyourcustomersupportorganization.Whileyourcustomersupportwillanswerphonecalls,emails,andchatsfromalargenumberofcustomers,yourprofessionalservicesteamwillberesponsibleforasmallernumberofcustomerssotheycangivethemmorepersonalizedattention. Nowthatyouunderstandthedifferencebetweenallthesetermsandthedifferenttypesofservices,youmightbewondering,"Whydoesthismatter?" Well,allbusinesseshavecustomers,butnoteverybusinesshasclients.Clients,bydefinition,willreceivemorepersonalizedattentionandhavemoreaccesstoemployeesbyhavingadedicatedcustomersuccessmanageroracasemanager. It'simportanttokeepthesedifferencesinmindwhenyou'redevelopingyourcustomerservicestrategy.Ifyouhavecustomers,you'llprovidecustomersupport.However,ifyouhaveclients,you'llofferaspecificCSMtohelpyourhighestvaluecustomersachievegreatersuccess.Inlotsofcases,youmightofferbothclientservicesandcustomerservice.   OriginallypublishedDec17,20218:00:00AM,updatedDecember172021 Topics: CustomerRetention Don'tforgettosharethispost! 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