Customer

**Group 1: Etymology and Terminology**

– Early societies operated on a gift economy based on favors
– Commerce led to more transient relationships based on immediate needs
– Customers purchase goods and services
– Clients receive personalized advice and solutions
– Different industries prefer the terms ‘client’ or ‘customer’
– Derived from Latin meaning to incline or bend
– Winning a client is a significant event
– Specialists attract long-term clients based on trust
– Clients buy based on experience
– Clients are motivated by greed and fear to change habits
– Returning clients develop customs for sustained commerce
– End customer is the final purchaser in a supply chain
– Customers purchase goods; consumers use them
– Industrial customers may also be consumers
– Customers are categorized as active, not, or non-customers

**Group 2: Employer and Customer Segmentation**

– A client paying for construction work is often referred to as an employer
– Customers are categorized as entrepreneurs or end users
– Customers may or may not be consumers
– Industrial customers are entities using the goods they buy
– Six Sigma doctrine categorizes customers, not-customers, and non-customers
– Customers can be external or internal to an organization

**Group 3: Arguments against Use of the Term Internal Customers**

– Leading authors in management and marketing do not use the term internal customer
– Customers have equal positions with suppliers, unlike internal relationships in companies
– Internal customer relationships are based on subordination
– Some methodologies define internal customers as parts of a company using outputs as inputs
– Internal relationships in companies are more about teamwork than supplier/customer relationships

**Group 4: References and Further Reading**

– References to various authors and publications providing insights on customer/client relationships and management strategies

**Group 5: Notable Works by Management Experts**

– Works by renowned management experts such as Peter F. Drucker, Jim Collins, Philip Kotler, and others discussing organizational questions, management challenges, and service strategies.