客户与客户：有什么区别，为什么重要？

你有没有听过有人不屑一顾，“这只是语义。”

While semantics -- the meaning of a word or phrase -- aren't necessarily always something to argue over, in business the language you use is important.

And of course, some people might think the difference between words like client and customer is an argument of semantics, this difference will actually help you make strategic decisions about customer service. In this post, let's review the difference between client and customer and why it matters.

Truthfully, clients and customers are similar, but the difference lies in the type of service that a customer is purchasing. If you run aSaaS公raybet电子竞技司，那么您就有客户。另一方面，如果您经营一家律师事务所，就有客户。

Let's review some examples below to help you contextualize the difference in the type of service.

Client-based services:

• Law firm
• Design studio
• Insurance agency
• 会计公司
• 房地产中介
• 营销/广告公司

基于客户的服务：

• SaaS公raybet电子竞技司
• Retail store
• Subscription-based company
• Bank
• Restaurant
• Amusement park

One way that I like to think about it is if a company has a customer service department, then they usually service customers, not clients. Companies that don't have a customer service department are typically client-based companies.

However, it's important to note that some companies can have both clients and customers. For subscription-based companies like SaaS companies, for example, some customers might purchase professional services where they have a personalizedcustomer success manager(CSM) from your team. These are your high-value customers who become clients. If a customer hasn't purchased a professional service from your company, then they're a customer, not a client.

现在，您的思想可能正在旋转思考其他术语，以描述您的客户并想知道差异是什么。实际上，您可能听说过“消费者”一词。那么，客户和消费者有什么区别？让我们潜入下面。

客户与消费者

A customer is a person who buys goods or services from a business, while a consumer is a type of customer who buys goods or services for personal use. Think of consumers as the more specific type of customer for B2C companies, while a customer can purchase from a B2C or B2B company. You can think about it like this: Consumers are the end-users of a product, and might not have been the actual customer who purchased the product.

Client vs. Customer Services

客户服务与客户服务之间的区别是专业服务与您的客户支持组织之间的差异。虽然您的客户支持将接听电话，电子邮件和聊天，但您的聊天professional services teamwill be responsible for a smaller number of customers so they can give them more personalized attention.

现在您了解所有这些术语和不同类型的服务之间的区别，您可能想知道，"Why does this matter?"

Well, all businesses have customers, but not every business has clients. Clients, by definition, will receive more personalized attention and have more access to employees by having a dedicated customer success manager or a case manager.

It's important to keep these differences in mind when you're developing your customer service strategy. If you have customers, you'll provide customer support. However, if you have clients, you'll offer a specific CSM to help your highest value customers achieve greater success. In lots of cases, you might offer both client services and customer service.