Customer
Encyclopedia
A customer is usually used to refer to a current or potential buyer or user of the product
s of an individual or organization
, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing
or renting
goods or services. However, in certain contexts, the term customer also includes by extension any entity that uses or experiences the services of another. A customer may also be a viewer of the product or service that is being sold despite deciding not to buy them. The general distinction between a customer and a client is that a customer purchases products, whereas a client purchases services.
In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found customer metrics very useful.
Three metrics are used to count customers and track customer activity irrespective of the number of transactions (or monetary value of those transactions) made by each customer:
In contractual situations, it makes sense to talk about the number of customers currently under contract and the percentage retained when the contract period runs out. In non-contractual situations (such as catalogue sales), it makes less sense to talk about the current number of customers, but instead to count the number of customers of a specified recency.
The word derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods of the sort the shop sold there rather than elsewhere, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
The slogans "the customer is king" or "the customer is god" or "the customer is always right" indicate the importance of customers to businesses – although the last expression is sometimes used ironically.
However, "customer" also has a more generalized meaning as in customer service
and a less commercialized meaning in not-for-profit areas. To avoid unwanted implications in some areas such as government services, community services, and education, the term "customer" is sometimes substituted by words such as "constituent" or "stakeholder". This is done to address concerns that the word "customer" implies a narrowly commercial relationship involving the purchase of products and services. However, some managers in this environment, in which the emphasis is on being helpful to the people one is dealing with rather than on commercial sales, comfortably use the word "customer" to both internal and external customers.
Obsolete meaning: In the early 17th century customer was defined as a "common prostitute. This meaning is important for understanding historical literary works. ("I marry her! What, a customer?") Othello, or ("I think thee now a common customer") All's Well that Ends Well. Today the meaning of "customer" has been inverted in this usage.
Product (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
s of an individual or organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
, called the supplier, seller, or vendor. This is typically through purchasing
Purchasing
Purchasing refers to a business or organization attempting for acquiring goods or services to accomplish the goals of the enterprise. Though there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between organizations...
or renting
Renting
Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...
goods or services. However, in certain contexts, the term customer also includes by extension any entity that uses or experiences the services of another. A customer may also be a viewer of the product or service that is being sold despite deciding not to buy them. The general distinction between a customer and a client is that a customer purchases products, whereas a client purchases services.
In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 67 percent responded that they found customer metrics very useful.
Three metrics are used to count customers and track customer activity irrespective of the number of transactions (or monetary value of those transactions) made by each customer:
- Customer counts: These are the number of customers of a firm for a specified time period.
- Recency: This refers to the length of time since a customer’s last purchase. A six-month customer is someone who purchased from the firm at least once within the last six months.
- Retention rate: This is the ratio of the number of retained customers to the number at risk.
In contractual situations, it makes sense to talk about the number of customers currently under contract and the percentage retained when the contract period runs out. In non-contractual situations (such as catalogue sales), it makes less sense to talk about the current number of customers, but instead to count the number of customers of a specified recency.
The word derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods of the sort the shop sold there rather than elsewhere, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
The slogans "the customer is king" or "the customer is god" or "the customer is always right" indicate the importance of customers to businesses – although the last expression is sometimes used ironically.
However, "customer" also has a more generalized meaning as in customer service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
and a less commercialized meaning in not-for-profit areas. To avoid unwanted implications in some areas such as government services, community services, and education, the term "customer" is sometimes substituted by words such as "constituent" or "stakeholder". This is done to address concerns that the word "customer" implies a narrowly commercial relationship involving the purchase of products and services. However, some managers in this environment, in which the emphasis is on being helpful to the people one is dealing with rather than on commercial sales, comfortably use the word "customer" to both internal and external customers.
Obsolete meaning: In the early 17th century customer was defined as a "common prostitute. This meaning is important for understanding historical literary works. ("I marry her! What, a customer?") Othello, or ("I think thee now a common customer") All's Well that Ends Well. Today the meaning of "customer" has been inverted in this usage.
See also
- Customer serviceCustomer serviceCustomer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
- Customer centricityCustomer centricityCustomer centricity is a strategy to fundamentally align a company’s products and services with the wants and needs of its most valuable customers to maximize profits for the long term....
- Customer relationship managementCustomer relationship managementCustomer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
- Customer data integrationCustomer Data IntegrationIn data processing, customer data integration combines the technology, processes and services needed to set up and maintain an accurate, timely, complete and comprehensive representation of a customer across multiple channels, business-lines, and enterprises — typically from multiple sources of...
- Guided sellingGuided sellingGuided selling is a process that helps potential buyers of products or services to choose the product best fulfilling their needs and hopefully guides the buyer to buy. It also helps vendors of products Guided selling is a process that helps potential buyers of products or services to choose the...
- Service level agreementService Level AgreementA service-level agreement is a part of a service contract where the level of service is formally defined. In practice, the term SLA is sometimes used to refer to the contracted delivery time or performance...
- Early adopter