Do You Have Customers or Clients?

Most business owners and company executives use the terms "customers" and "clients" interchangeably without fully realizing that there is a meaningful difference between the two. Understanding the distinction and setting your plans accordingly can help you build and grow a more profitable business.

Let's start with the definition of each term according to the dictionary.

Customer: "a person who purchases goods or services"

Client: "a person or group that uses professional advice or services"

Examples of companies with business-to-customer relationships include Wal-Mart, Apple, and your local grocery store.

Examples of companies with business-to-client relationships include service-oriented professionals such as accountants, attorneys, advertising agencies, architects, and the like.

There are pros and cons to catering to each type.

Customers will typically do business with you based on convenience, value, and price. They're loyal as long as you meet those parameters, and they don't require as much personal interaction as clients do.

Clients, on the other hand, are looking for more. Clients are seeking professional advice on how to get something accomplished in the best way possible. They're willing to pay more for that type of expertise than a customer would, but in return for that premium, they require more attention and hand-holding. A business-to-client engagement is typically a longer-term relationship than a business-to-customer scenario.

Every business has customers. Fewer have clients.

So, is your business built around customers or clients?

There is no right or wrong answer. It matters only that you know the difference and set up your business to serve whichever type you are seeking.

Comments

5 Print Marketing Pieces that will Woo Your Corporate Clients

Some of the most effective ways of communicating value don’t require looking up a website or downloading a mobile device teaser program. In fact, non-digital marketing activities win over corporate clients regularly without ever needing to be plugged in. Here are five of them. 1. Business Cards Yes, those traditional business cards are still winners. Business cards provide critical contact information and enough detail on how to connect with an organization quickly. Whether by email, text, phone, or mail, the info on a business card is powerful. People love business cards because they are easy to transfer, pack, save, and reference. In the corporate world, business cards still resonate. 2. Letterheads and Stationary In a day and age when so much communication happens by email and texting, the traditional letter stands out, even in a mail pile full of folders and generic material. Best used when conveying a personal connection, professional letterhead is loved by co...

Share Your Brand Story to Create Distinct, Authentic Connections

In a noisy marketplace, businesses must work smarter to grab prospects and lock in loyalty. But the desire for relationship is mutual. According to Cheetah Mobile marketing director Josh Ong, customers don’t just want to buy, they want to buy into something: “Millennials are more likely than any other demographic to be brand loyal. But millennials don’t choose which brand to be loyal to at random, instead, they are highly attuned to the story that a brand tells, as well as the values that brand exhibits.” No one can resist a good story! Need proof? Here’s a fun brand story from eyewear retailer Warby Parker : Warby was founded as a rebellious upstart to tackle the problem of expensive eyewear because of a frustrating personal experience. During a backpacking trip, one of Warby’s founders lost his glasses. Since he was a broke grad student, he couldn’t afford to replace them, and he spent the rest of the semester squinting. By circumven...

6 Winning Direct Mail Campaigns

Direct mail offers results that other channels just can't match. According to a recent study, direct mail has a response rate as high as 9% . However, there are always ways to engage your audience better and improve your mailers' effectiveness. These methods below catch your recipents' attention and increase the chances that they'll read and respond to your direct mail piece. 6 Winning Direct Mail Campaigns 1. Instill Curiosity with a Quiz Do you worry your direct mail envelopes are going in the trash unread? Take a page from Harvard Medical School's playbook. In a recent mailing to woo subscribers for their Harvard Heart Letter newsletter, they put a heart health quiz on the front. The answers to the three-question quiz were inside the mailer, giving recipients a reason to open. 2. Benefits, Not Features As marketers, it's so easy to get caught up in promoting all the neat features of your product. Your readers, however, don't care about th...

Inside the Envelope

Search This Blog