Client vs Customer: What Is the Difference in SaaS? Why Is it ...

Definition: Simply put, a client is the one who wants professional support/service from the company. Whereas, a customer refers to a person who ... BlogCategoriesBusinessTipsChurnCompanyNewsCustomerAdvocacyCustomerEngagementCustomerExperienceCustomerHealthScoreCustomerRetentionCustomerSuccessCustomerSuccessLeadershipCustomerSuccessStatisticsCustomerSupportDataSecurityandPrivacyFeaturedProductAdoptionProductSuccessResourcesSaaSSAASGDPRSearchSubscribeCustomerSuccess|8MINREADClientvs.Customer:WhatIstheExactDifferenceinSaaS?WhyIsitImportant?GetinsightsintothemaindifferencebetweenClientvsCustomerintheSoftwareasaService(SaaS)Businessandwhyitisimportant.AnshiBhadoriaJun17,2020SourceOften,‘client’and‘customer’arewordsthatareusedinterchangeably.Ifyouareguiltyofusingthesetwowordsidentically,youarenotalone.Infact,thedifferencebetweenclientandcustomerhasmystifiedmanyinthebusinessworld,particularlyintheSaaSindustry.However,therearedistinctdifferencesbetweenclientsandcustomers.Youmaywanttoshiftyourbusinessstrategyonceyouhavefinishedreadingthisarticletoaccountforthesedifferences,butweguaranteeyou’llatleastlearnagreatdealaboutthedefinitionsandwhytheymatter.We’regoingtoexploretheclientvs.customerdifferenceandwhyitisimportant,butfirst,wewilldefinethemseparately.Herearethesub-topicswewillbeexploringtoday.WhatisaCustomer? SaaSCustomersWhatisaClient?WhyClientvsCustomerIs Important?SimilaritiesandDifferencesBetweenClientsandCustomersUponcompletingthisarticle,youwillbeabletounderstandthedifferencebetweenclientvs.customerandsetyourcompanyuptoincreaserevenueandreducecustomerchurn.WhatisaCustomer? Firstandforemost,youshouldunderstandthatifyouhaveaSaaSbusiness,anyonethatbuysasubscriptiontoyourproductiscustomer.Thisgoesforeverytieryouoffer,uptoandincludingEnterprisetiers. Acustomerwillchoosethekindofservicetheywanttopayforrightaway.Theywantanimmediateexchangeofvaluefortheirmoney.AllSaaSclientsarecustomers,butnotallSaaScustomers areclients.CustomerspaymoneyforpreciselytheSaaSproducttheyneedinordertoimmediatelygainvaluefromit.Theymaygetwhattheywerelookingforandleaveafteratrialperiodorperhapsabillingcycleortwo.Sometimes,customers’needs wereshort-livedsotheywillnolongerfindusingyourproductadvantageous. SaaSCustomersSourceSaaSbusinessescanhavecustomers.Thesearepeoplewhodecideonwhichoneofyourservicesandsubscriptionlevelstheywant,basedonwhattheyneed,howmuchtheyarewillingtopay,andwhatvaluetheywillreceive.Therearenocomplicatedagreementsorcontracts,andallservicesaregenerallystandardized.Theonlydifferenceliesinthesubscriptionlevelchosen.Everyonewhopaysforaparticularsubscriptionlevel toyourproductreceivesthesameservice,functions,andfeatures.Thereisnocustomizabletoolsetdesignforeachindividualcustomer. Youalwayswanttoframeeverythingyoudointermsofhavingcustomers.Thisiswhyyoufocusoncustomersuccess,customerservice,andcustomersupport.Youultimatelywanttosatisfytheneedsofyourcustomers.Thiswillrequireyoutokeeptrackofvariousmetricsandindicators,toensureyouminimizecustomerchurnandmaximizecustomerretention. Justbecausethosewhobuyyourproductareconsideredcustomersdoesn’tmeantheycannotreceivepersonalizedserviceinsomeway.Forexample,youcanprovidethemwithonboardingassistance,aswellashelpfulcustomersupport,nomatterwhat.Thispersonaltouchblursthelinebetweencustomerandclient.However,aslongastheyarepurchasingasubscriptionthatoffersthesamefeaturestoeveryone,youhavecustomers. WhatisaClient?Aclientisamoreloyalcustomer.Whereasacustomeressentiallypurchasedfromyouonceandneverreturned,aclientwillmaintainanongoingrelationshipwithyouandyourproduct.Aclientisacustomerwithwhomyoubuildarelationship. Thisisnottosaythatcustomersdon’tfeelliketheyhaveanysortofrelationshipwithaSaaSproductorcompany. However,bydefinition,therelationshipwillbeshort-lived,ifanything. Aclient,ontheotherhand,willinvestinyourproductforthelong-term.Theywanttodevelopapersonalizedandlong-termconnectionwithyourproductandyourcompany,togainvalueforthelongrun.Aclientmayremainwithyouforyears,whileacustomermayonlystickaroundforamonth.Furthermore,aclientissomeonewhodoesnotfocusontheimmediateexchangeofmoneyforservices.Theyaremoreinterestedinthebigpictureandhowyourproductcanhelpthemcontinuouslyachievesuccessfortheforeseeablefuture.Withmoneyleftinthebackground,therelationshipfeelsmorelikeapartnership,whichcanincreasethesatisfactionanddedicationofboththeclientandyourbusiness.WhyClientvs.CustomerIs Important?SourceWithintheSaaSindustry,theclientvscustomerdichotomyiskeytoyourbusinessstrategy.Sinceclientswillpayforyourproductforamuchlongertime,theserelationshipswillusuallyrequiremoretimeandattention,whichmeansmoreresourcesdedicatedtocustomersuccess. Clientswillbeyourmostloyalcustomers,soitmakessensethatyoushouldstriveformaximumcustomerretentionofyourclients.Customerretentionusuallycosts fivetimesless thancustomeracquisition,whichemphasizesjusthowimportantitistoprovidehighpersonalizationandqualityserviceandsupportto yourclients. Youmayevendecidetoprovidemoretailoredsupporttoyourclients.Thisisespeciallytruefor“Enterprise,”ortop-tierpackagesubscribers.Theseclientswillnotonlygetcloud-hostedsubscriptionsoftwarebutwillalsoreceivemoreattentionanddedicationtotheirneeds,forthemtoachievethegreatestsuccesspossible. CompareandContrast So,nowthatyouunderstandwhyitisimportant,let’stakeacloserlookatthesimilaritiesandthekeydifferencesbetweencustomersandclientssoyoucanhaveagreaterappreciationforeach.  Similarities:Customervs.ClientCustomersandclientsbothpurchasefromyou,regardlessofthelengthoftheirrelationshipandintenttostickwithyou.Bothrequireanddeserveyourattentionwithanyissuesthatariseandthebestcustomerserviceyoucanoffer.Botharevaluabletothesuccessofyourbusiness,butthedifferencesbetweenthemmayexplainthevalueofyourlong-termsuccess.KeyDifferences:CustomervsClientDefinition:Simplyput,aclientistheonewhowantsprofessionalsupport/servicefromthecompany.Whereas,acustomerreferstoapersonwhopurchasesproductsorservicesfromthecompany.Relationship:Whenacustomercompletesaone-timepurchase,thereisnoformalrelationshiporagreementwiththeseller.However,clientscommittoalongerbusinessrelationship,whichmayormaynotendafterthefirstpurchase.LengthofTime:Generally,customersdonottrustgoalsbasedonlongertimeframes.Instead,theyjusttargettograbone-timesales.Onthecontrary,companiesthathaveclientsalwayshavetoputtheirbestfootforwardandseethetimeframetoo,orelsetheclientsmightchurn.TheRoleofCustomerSuccessThegoodnewsisthatyoudohavesomecontroloverwhoisultimatelyconsideredacustomerthatcomesandgoesandthosethatcontinuewithyouandtransitiontoclients.Byproactivelyinvestinginthesuccessofyourcustomer,youareincreasingthelikelihoodthattheywillreneworupgradetheirserviceswithyou.Customersuccessisatried-and-truemethodologythatallowsorganizationstofocusonlong-termcustomerrelationships,which,ofcourse,definesthemasyourclients.Thekeyistheabilityofcustomersuccess-focusedorganizationstoproactivelydeterminesolutionstoanypotentialissues,whichwillreducechurnandincreaseupsellopportunities.“Youcanfocusonadoption,retention,expansion,oradvocacy;oryoucanfocusonthecustomers’DesiredOutcomeandgetallofthosethings.”-LincolnMurphy,CustomerSuccessAuthorBeyondcustomerserviceorcustomersupport,whicharereactiveapproachestodealingwithcustomers,theproactiveapproachofcustomersuccesscreatesastrongbondbetweenyourproductandyourbrandandyourclientincreasingbothretentionandprofits.MoreInformationThefollowinggraphicsshowthepopularityandusageofeachtermandthefrequencyofuseinonlineandprintedmedia.1.GoogleTrendsdata:GoogleTrendsdatadisplayingtheoverallsearchpopularityofeachterm.GoogleTrendsanalysisofthesearchpopularitybyregion.2.GoogleNgramViewerdataTheGoogleBooksNgramViewershowsthefrequencyofeachterminprintsourcessincetheyear1500.WrappingUp Theclientvs.customerenigmaishopefullyclearingupforyounow.Attheend oftheday,aslongasyouareprovidingsoftware-as-a-servicewithamulti-tieredsubscriptionmodel,youhavecustomers.Whenyouhavededicatedcustomers, whostaywithyouforyearsandlikelypurchasetheEnterpriseLevelortop-tierofyourofferings,yourcustomersbecomeclients.Atthispoint,youcanofferthemtheirowncustomersuccessmanager,toensureyoucankeepyourmostloyalcustomersretainedforaslongaspossible. Whenconsideringtheclientvscustomerdifference, youcanimproveyourbusinessstrategy,focusingyoureffortsonkeepingyourhighestvaluecustomersforlonger,ultimatelyhelpingyouandyourcustomerachievegreatersuccessandincreaseyourrevenues. Youmightalsolike:TheUltimateGuidetoCustomerSuccess– Everythingyouneedtoknowtounderstandandexcelatcustomersuccess.ToseehowSmartKarrothelpsB2Bcompaniesstreamlineandscalecustomersuccess,RequestaDemo.Modern,IntelligentCustomerSuccessPlatformDeliverCustomerOutcomesatScaleGetaDemo30FeaturedPostsSmartKarrotInc.Announces$1M+ExtendedAngelRoundFunding20BestCustomerExperienceQuotesMasteringCustomerTouchpointsManagementwiththeRightCustomerSuccessTechnologyTop50CustomerSuccessInfluencers202170+ExpertsRevealtheBestCustomerRetentionStrategiesDuringCOVID-19 GetaLiveDemoSeehowSmartKarrotcantransformyourcustomersuccessoutcomesGetaDemoOriginallyPublishedJune17th,2020,UpdatedDecember2nd,2021ClientvsCustomer|CustomerEngagement|CustomerExperience|CustomerSuccess|SaaSBusinessAnshiBhadoriaAnshihasover12yearsofexperienceindemandgeneration,digitalmarketing,andmanagingglobalteams.InherpriorroleasheadofmarketingoperationsforahighgrowthUShealthcaretechorganizationshetransformedmarketingfromcosttorevenuecenter.PreviousComparisonAnalysis:MixpanelAnalyticsvsGoogleAnalyticsNextTheRoleoftheKeyAccountManagerinBoostingCustomerSuccess!RelatedArticlesCustomerSuccess|9MINREAD8CustomerJourneyMappingMistakestoAvoidatAllCostsDec30,2021Customerjourneymappinghasgotitsfairshareofsignificanceintheworl...ReadMore|CustomerSuccess|5MINREADAnEssentialGuidetoForecastingRenewalsinCustomerSuccessDec29,2021Inthiswrite-up,wewilldiscussdifferentwaystoforecastrenewalsincu...ReadMore|CustomerSuccess|5MINREADAStep-by-StepGuideonWritingThankYouLetterstotheCustomerstoShowcaseEmpathyTowardsThemDec29,2021Writingthankyouletterstothecustomersstrengthensyourrelationshipwi...ReadMore|LeaveaCommentCancelReplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.YourComment*Name*Email*ΔCUSTOMERSUCCESSNEWSLETTERActionableCustomerSuccessAdviceGetcustomersuccessinsightsandactionab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