Customers/clients vs consumers

In yesterday's blog post I talked about the difference between customers and clients and today I'm going to talk about the difference between customers/clients and consumers.

Aren't they all basically the same thing? No. As I pointed out yesterday. customers are transaction based, while clients are usually in a longer relationship. Like I said, customers buy a product or service, while a client hires a person for their experience or expertise.

But isn't consumer another word for customer or client? Not at all! The consumer is the actual user of the product or service...who may not be the purchaser.

Let's say a mother buys disposable diapers for her baby. This is a transactional purchase, so she's the customer, but the baby is the actual consumer. This is an important distinction in your marketing! You usually want to market both to the customer/client and the consumer. In this case, the consumer is not able to influence the buying decision as much but your marketing needs to highlight the effectiveness of the diapers (which is the main reason for buying them) but also the comfort of the diaper for the baby.

My friend, Bonnie Lafer, owns a business called Acting with Confidence where she coaches shy children to overcome their shyness through acting. In this case, the parents are the clients but the children are the consumers. I'm not sure what she's doing for her marketing but she may want to set up two marketing campaigns...one for the parent showing the benefits to children who are more outgoing and one for the child to show how much fun they can have in her class. The cereal and toy manufacturers have shown us how persuasive children can be!

So, it's important to know the difference between customers, clients and consumers since you need to market to them differently in most cases. Remember that customers are usually interested mainly in price and/or convenience, while clients are usually interested in experience and/or training, as well as whether they like and trust the person they're hiring. Personality and integrity are both important in a client relationship since this is more long term than the transactional nature of a customer relationship. And a consumer is looking for a solution to a problem. Although in our example of the mother and diapers, even though the baby is the consumer, the mother is acting as a surrogate for the baby, so even though she may be interested in price, since diapers can be expensive, she's also interested in the comfort of the baby

If possible, you want to convert any customers that you have to clients by marketing yourself as the person that can solve a consumer's needs, whether you are offering a product or service, instead of just selling a product or service. And one way you can do that is by being seen as the expert in your chosen field. If you want to find out how to be seen as an authority, attend the "Elements of Authority" webinar by Maurice DiMino this coming Tuesday, June 14th at 6:00 PM PDT.

Interesting days

Today - Jerky Day and Donald Duck Day

Tomorrow - Ball Point Pen Day and Iced Tea Day

Next Thursday - Fudge Day, Fresh Veggies Day and Dump The Pump Day

July 9 - Sugar Cookie Day