Who is a Client?

A client is someone who makes purchases or makes payments for services.

Clients might be businesses and other organisations.

A client typically has a relationship or an agreement with the seller, as opposed to a customer.

If the client is satisfied with the services provided by the professional, the temporary relationship may turn into a loyal and long-lasting one.

You are a customer, for instance, if you purchase a cup of coffee from a cafe stall at a train station.

But if there are credit terms, the proprietor of the coffee stand is the supplier’s client.

In other words, because of their agreement, the proprietor of the coffee stand is a client of the coffee provider.

Difference Between Client and Customer

We use the terms “client” and “customer” interchangeably when paying for tangible products.

As a result, the stall owner also buys coffee from the provider. However, only clients pay for a professional’s services.

For instance, when you hire and pay a lawyer, you are the customer, as with accountants or consultants.

You remain the client even without a formal business relationship with the attorney.

Clients or patients are the terms psychologists use to refer to the persons they treat.

Sometimes, long-term customers are also termed as clients.

The Financial Times Lexicon defines a client as someone who pays for professional services or advice.

According to some linguists, “clients are protected by others,” whereas “customers buy something from others.”

Numerous cases, nonetheless, refute this theory.

When considering how clients and customers are treated, the reasoning rings accurate.

Client-centric companies have their clients as the focus of their attention, rather than the product.

Read: Are Client Referrals a Cost-Effective Growth Strategy?

What Is a Client Base?

A company’s main source of business and income is its client base.

Current consumers paying for the goods or services make up a client base.

Depending on the sort of industry, a client base can be characterised or described in various ways.

New products may be initially sold to existing clients.

Existing customers generate most of a company’s revenue, so management pays close attention to them.

A company risks losing customers if it focuses too much on new prospects and neglects current ones.

The cost of acquiring a new client is far higher than maintaining an existing client.

Additionally, maintaining and expanding a company’s clientele is significantly more profitable.

According to a study by consulting company Bain & Company published in the Harvard Business Review, “Increasing client retention rates by 5% boosts earnings by 25% to 95%.”

Acquiring new clients and retaining existing ones are crucial because clients provide the necessary cash for any organisation.

Networking, word-of-mouth advertising, referrals, specialising in a certain field, keeping in touch with current clients, expressing gratitude to them, and constantly meeting or exceeding expectations are all tactics businesses use to expand this base.

Professional service businesses refer to their “client base,” while product-focused companies refer to their “customers.”

For instance, a financial planner’s clientele would be made up of everyone who has agreed to have their money managed.

Individuals or organisations paying a CPA for tax returns are considered clients.

Read: How to Incentivize Clients for Powerful Referrals

How Businesses Approach Their Clients

A focused prospect list that a business hopes to attract can also be referred to as a client base.

Attracting potential customers is crucial when a firm develops and plans to launch a product or service.

The new product must address, alleviate, or satisfy a problem or need for the intended customer base.

Companies assess the likelihood of a new product’s success using data from their current customer base.

For instance, the business can assess the success of current items within each demographic by using information from the client base’s demographics, such as age, geography, income, or gender.

From there, businesses can expand into new areas or introduce new products to groups with similar makeup.

Additionally, organisations use their current clientele as a focus group for feedback before launching new products.

The size and nature of the target market usually determine a service or product’s success.

For instance, luxury goods are marketed to a clientele with the financial means and willingness to pay for quality.

Companies selling high-end goods focus marketing efforts on customers likely to make similar purchases.

Advertising campaigns on TV, radio, and social media can expand a client base.

An automaker may advertise in race-car movies to attract customers likely to buy sports cars.

Read: Overcoming Client Objections: Addressing Concerns

Conclusion

The keywords “selling” and “service” are the primary distinctions between the words “customers” and “clients.”

Various situations can lead you to believe that these two things aren’t the same.

For example, a business may have clients in Nigeria to whom it provides professional services while also marketing and selling its products to clients in other areas of the world.

Both are crucial components of the organisation since they support its long-term expansion and prosperity.

The company should produce goods responding to consumer expectations and offer services that meet those demands.

This will help the business maintain current clients and customers, whether they are new or old.

Before You Go…

Hey, thank you for reading this blog post to the end. I hope it was helpful. Let me tell you a little bit about Nicholas Idoko Technologies.

We help businesses and companies build an online presence by developing web, mobile, desktop, and blockchain applications.

We also help aspiring software developers and programmers learn the skills they need to have a successful career.

Take your first step to becoming a programming expert by joining our Learn To Code academy today!

Be sure to contact us if you need more information or have any questions! We are readily available.