Random musings: Customers vs clients

What's the difference, if any, and is it even important? I've looked at a few websites offering definitions and in general a customer is usually someone who buys a good or a service strictly as a transaction and their choice of provider is often based on price or convenience. I have a convenience store across the street from me. I often go there when I need to pick up an item or two, and it's too much trouble to jump in the car and drive to the supermarket. I'm not necessarily loyal to QuikStop, it's convenient only. If another store was in that location, I would be their customer.

But what if I want to buy a bunch of groceries at the same time? Would I go to QuikStop for that? No, for a couple of reasons. One, they don't have as much selection and two, they're more expensive. So, where do I go grocery shopping? A couple of places. First is Raley's. It's close and convenient, but they're not open 24 hours, so I tend to go there during the day. I'll often go to Safeway on my way home from work because they're open at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning when I'm heading home from work, plus they're on the way. But these are all transactional purchases based on price and convenience. If another store was more convenient or had better prices, I would go there.

Then, what is a client? Usually a client purchases a service from a provider. This could be something like legal or financial services and usually implies a more in depth relationship. A client is generally hiring someone because of training or experience, and not necessarily based on price and is often based on referrals from other clients.

People only buy solutions to problems. If they're hungry, they'll buy food. If they're being sued, they'll hire an attorney. That may be a good differentiator. Are you buying a product or hiring a person?

In many small businesses, they may be the same thing. The owner sells a product but may offer guidance on how to use the product. Or which product may be appropriate for a particular client. My friend, JoAnn Hall is a doTERRA Wellness Advocate. Although she sells doTERRA oils, she does much more than that. She knows what her oils do and she can help a client find the proper oils to solve whatever problem they may be having.

It's also the same with SendOutCards. We sell cards and gifts, but we also offer a service to help others to stay in touch with their friends, family or clients. Currently most of the people that buy from me are customers...they strictly buy cards and gifts but I'm going to try to move them into a client relationship by helping them solve their problems whether it's how to attract and keep more clients or how to easily send out 40 or 50 holiday cards to their friends and family.

If you're a business owner, contact me and I can work with you to build your client base. Or if you're looking for an inexpensive and easy way to send cards and gifts, you can also reach out to me. I'm always open to having more customers and clients!