Who are your clients and who are your customers?

In pretty much every business you can differentiate between clients and customers. For example, in a real estate office - your clients are you landlords and vendors - they have entrusted you with their asset to manage or sell. Your customers are your tenants and prospective buyers. In the retail sector your clients are those loyal ones - the ones that come to you every time the need an X. They refer friends and relatives, and they are happy to see your business flourish. If you are an events co-ordinator - your clients are the ones who are backing you, sure, you may have entertainers that make up a big part of the show, and you need to look after them too - they are your customers, but your clients are the agents of the entertainers that are bringing you 'talent' time after time.

Both clients and customers are an integral part of your business. And the goal is to 'upgrade' everyone to client status. If you own a butcher shop for example, your clients are the ones who buy all of their meat at your shop - they don't buy 90% of their meat at the supermarket, and come to you for a weekend barby. Your weekend barby buyers as customers are still vitally important, and you want to service them in such a way that they want to become clients.

Take a minute to identify the clients and customers in your business - maybe its time to 'go the extra mile' for a client or two.

Here's to smart business

Tk