Client vs Customer: What's the Difference? | Atlasmic Blog

. A customer is someone who walks into your shop (or visits it online), commits to a one-time purchase, and may never return. A ... ProductFeaturesPricingBlogSigninGetStartedApril22,2021—BusinessGrowth—8minreadClientvsCustomer:What'stheDifference?Explorethedifferencesbetweenhavingaclientandacustomeratyourbusiness.VaidaLekMarketing,AtlasmicIngeneral,theterms“Client”and“Customer”aretwotermsthataregenerallyusedtogetherandlabelledassynonyms.Butifweweretolookatthemeaningofbothtermsandtherelationshipbetweenbusinessesandclientsorcustomers,wewouldbeabletoseeacleardivideanddifferencebetweenthetwo.Atlasmicwouldliketogiveyouinsightsintothedifferencesandnuancesofhavingaclientandhavingacustomer.Let’sbegin!Howareclientsandcustomersdifferent?Thebestwaytodeterminethedifferencebetweenclientandcustomerisbydividingthekeycharacteristicsintothreegroups.Bydefiningcertaincharacteristicsofapersonorcompanythatbuysyourproduct/service,youcanbetterunderstandwhetherthey’reaclientoracustomer.Thosethreegroupsofcharacteristicsare:Returnbusiness.Acustomerissomeonewhowalksintoyourshop(orvisitsitonline),commitstoaone-timepurchase,andmayneverreturn.Aclientissomeonethatisn’tjustthereforaone-timedeal.Theyareusuallylong-termcustomerswhichofferreturnbusiness.Ingeneral,businessesalwaysprefertohaveclientsratherthancustomers(orturncustomersintoclients)justbecausetheyguaranteeamorestablesourceofrevenue.Needs.Customersareusuallylookingforthebestpriceoragooddeal.Aclientislookingforstabilityandprofessionalservice,high-qualityproductsnotjustnow,butprobablyfortheforeseeablefutureandlaterdowntheroad.Clients,moreoftenalsohavehigherdemandsthancustomers.Communicationlevelanddependence.Businessesaredependentonbothclientsandcustomers.However,aswementioned,duetoreturnbusinessprospectsandachanceforalong-termpartnership,clientshaveastrongerrelationshipwiththebusinessandtheirmood,aswellasactions,canchangethecourseofactionorforcethebusinesstoreversecertainstrategiesandviceversa.Toshortlysumthingsup,youcanlabelclientsasreturning,long-termcustomersthathavehigherdemandsforabusinessandmorespecificneeds.Onlinestores(usuallyretail)can,ofcourse,liveoffofjusthavingcustomers.However,suchabusinessmodelrequiresmuchmoreinvestmentintoadvertisingandmarketing,tokeeptherevenueflowasstableaspossible.Turningone-timeintorepeatbusinessiskeyinordertobuildaself-sustainingretailbusiness.IfwetalkaboutwholesaleandB2Beconomy,one-timecustomersarealwaysnomorethanamedium-levelpriority.Allwholesalersprefertodorepeatbusinessandevensigncontractstosecurebusinessinthefuture.Shouldyoustrivetohavemoreclientsorcustomers?WhencustomersshouldbeyourNo.1priorityAgoodquestiontoask,andahardquestiontoanswer,really.Generallyspeaking,it’salwaysbettertohaveclientsbecauseyouarealwaysguaranteedtohavesomeoftheirbusiness.However,insomeareas,makingcustomersintoclientsisreallydifficult,time-consuming,expensive,orhardlypossible.Forexample,let’stakeanichedropshippingstoreoraspecificone-productstorethatsellsonlyoneitem-forexample-auniqueshapepillow.Apersoncouldbuythem,likethem,andreturntobuyafewmoreunitsforhisfamilymembersoragifttoacolleague,afriend.Butinreality,sellersshouldalwayslookatproductsorservicesthatthey’resellingtounderstandthatmostoftheproductshaveaceilingorlimitofhowmuchaperson(acustomer)canbuy.Gettingbacktothepillowexample,eveniftheyliketheproductverymuch,thelimitis2-3units,maybeafewmoreinexceptionallyrarecases.However,it’snotlikelythattheywillcomebacktobuythesameexactpillowafterthisoneiswornout.They’llbelookingforsomethingnew(er)andbetter.Tryingtoforcerepeatbusinessinsuchnicheswilllikelyresultinexpensivemarketingwithlittleresult.So,inthecaseofdropshippingstoresormoreprecisely-one-productstores,themaingoalshouldbetoattractasmanyone-timecustomers,aspossible.Ratherthaninvestinginrepeatbusinessanddoingloyaltyprograms,focusonflashdealsandotherstuffwhichisgearedtowardsimpulsebuying.WhenaclientisamoredesirableoptionClientsarealwaysbetterifyouprovidegoodsorservicesintheB2Bsector.Moreclientsarealwaysthegoalforbusinessesthatsellsubscriptionsorofferconsumablegoodsandservices.Clothescanalsobelabelledasconsumablesbecausetheygooutofstyle(e.g.aresortofconsumed).So,ifyouareinvestingincollections,branding,technologies,haveanR&Ddepartmentorcontinuouslyupgradeyourproductsand/orservices,youshouldlookintowaysthathelplureinmoreclients.Customersarealwaysanicebonustohave,butthefinancialbenefitthattheybringincanbeirregularandfluctuateovertime.Everybusinesswantsastablerevenue,sotheycanplanahead.Ifyouhaveclients,that’seasiertodo,opposedtosituations,whencustomersareyourprimarysourceofrevenue.Howtoattractmorecustomersandclients?Ifwetalkaboutcustomersandclients,weshouldalsocoverthebestwaystoattractthem,wouldn’tyouagree?Inreality,thewholepointofmarketing,ingeneral,istojustattractnewand/orretainexistingcustomers.Inordertoreduceyourcustomerchurnrate,youhavetobeabletomeettheirneedsanddemands.Thissoundsreallybasicandsimpleonpaper,butwithsomanyvariablesineverysituation,it’sactuallyquitedifficulttodoinreallife.Ourfirstrecommendationswouldbeto:Listentoyourcustomers&clientsProvidehigh-qualitysupportandserviceImprovecustomerexperienceineverywayModernizeyoursystemsanduserinterfacesIfyou’dlookatthechartbelow,you’dalsofindanotherareatoimproveon.WerecommendimplementingAtlasmictoyourshoporbusinessonlineinordertohelpoutyoursupportstaffdotheirjobbetter!Howtogetmorecustomers?Gettingmorecustomersisusuallydowntopickingagoodmarketing/advertisingstrategyandofferinggoodvalueformoney.Ifyouhavethebrandprestige,reputationorexclusivegoods/servicestooffer,youcangetcustomerswiththerightadvertisingstrategy.Ifyou’reinretail,youcanalsoseeourblogaboutthe8bestretailmarketingstrategies.Inthatpost,wecovertheinsandoutsoffindingwhateverworksforyourbusinessandhowtomarketthehelloutofit!Themostimportantpieceofinformationwhichhelpswhenpickingagoodadvertisingstrategyistheknowledgeofyourpotentialcustomerandaudience.Byknowingtheirtraitsandlikes,youcantailoradsandprogrammestoattracttheirattention.Ifyouwantmoresustainableresults,hereareafewmorepointersthathelptowardscreatingamorefluentexperienceforyourcustomersandwhycustomerservicematters!Howtogetmoreclients?Ifwetalkaboutclients,themostcrucialthingistomakethemfeelimportantandlistenedto.Ifyoutailoryourservicesaroundtheirneeds(keepinmind,theymightchangeovertime),youcandefinitelykeepagreatreputationandbyword-of-mouth,advertiseyourbusinessacrossthemarket.Inretail,businessesarealwaystryingtochasethequickbuck,forgettingabouttheessentialnatureofreturnbusiness.Ifyou’rearetailer,thenextchartcouldbeawake-upcallforyou.Shocking,right?Asthesurveysuggests,only8%ofretailcustomersfeellikethey’relistenedtoandheard,whentheyvoiceacomplaintorgiveasuggestion.Thisdefinitelyisn’tagoodlookforretailbusinessesacrosstheboard.Thebestwaytochangethisistotryandinvolveyourclientsinmoreandmoreofwhatyoudo.Forexample,youcouldcreateloyaltyprogramsorexclusiveVIPclubsforlong-termclientswithexclusiveaccess,benefits,etc.Moreover,youshoulddefinitelylookatthecustomersupportsolutionsandthinkoverwhethertheysuityourbusinessneeds.Atlasmicmightbeabettersolutionbecauseit’stailoredtosuitthedynamicandever-changinglandscapeofmodern-daybusiness.Ingeneral,wewouldsuggestlookingatyourorganizationasawhole,ifyouwanttoattractmoreclients.Trytofindweaklinksinyourserviceandcustomerexperiencesectorsandeliminatethemonebyone.Afterdoingso,you’reguaranteedtohavemorereturnbusiness!SummarySo,aswe’vecovered,aclientisreallyjustareturningcustomer.Clientshavemoreneedsandhigherdemands,butinreturn,theyofferloyaltyandamorestablesourceofrevenue.However,mostdropshippersjustaren’tabletoattractreturnbusiness,whichiswhytheirinterestshouldbesolelyfocusedongettingthoseimpulsepurchases.Wesincerelyhopethatthearticlewasusefulandthatthestrategieswhichwecovered,willhelpyourbusinessreachitsgoals!MoreforyourbusinessgrowthDecember13,2021—Ecommerce—15minreadProductPhotography:TheUltimateEcommerceGuideTipsandtricksforefficientecommerceproductphotography.BenBitvinskasCo-founder,AtlasmicDecember2,2021—Marketing—10minreadGoogleMapsMarketing:TheBeginner'sGuideEverythingyouneedtoknowaboutstartingonGoogleMapsMarketing.BenBitvinskasCo-founder,AtlasmicAtlasmicFeaturesPricingDownloadFeaturesChatTrackShopifyConvertResourcesBlogFAQContactusFreetoolsBlogNameGeneratorBusinessNameGeneratorProfitMarginCalculatorCompanyAboutJobsTermsofServicePrivacyPolicyFollowusFacebookTwitterInstagramYoutubeSalesAccelerationPlatform.Copyright©2021Atlasmic.com