Landscape Lighting Clients vs. Customers – What’s the Difference?

Landscape Lighting Clients vs. Customers – What’s the Difference?

By Mike Gambino

What is the difference between Landscape Lighting clients and customers?  Really it’s in the eye of the beholder, but we have found it actually helps to separate the two for business sake.

The landscape lighting client
The main quality that separates the client from the customer is their relationship with our custom landscape lighting design and build service business.  Clients have a committed relationship.  There is a connection there that keeps them coming back to us time and time again.  Perhaps they appreciate the hard work me and my team does, perhaps they like the treatment we give them and ethics our business possesses, or perhaps we have built a bond, a friendship through our time working together.  Whatever it may be, we have a strong relationship with this business partner.

The other key quality clients possess is participation.  They participate in our business by buying from us.  Any person can buy once and move along to someone else the next time.  A client chooses to keep investing in our business because they value something we offer and in the case of our company it’s not always the lowest price. They come back to us for after system installation maintenance service on a regular basis and would never have anyone else but us touch it.

Clients are also valuable in the fact that they give some of the best referrals.  Who better to recommend us to others than those who use our services on a regular basis?  Clients are best to ask for referrals because we have a relationship built up and trust each other. They can depend upon us as much as we can depend upon them.

The landscape lighting customer
The customer is slightly different from our client.  The relationship and investment is not as strong as it is between us and a client.  This is not to say customers are not important or should be treated as less valuable, in fact we should push harder to show them how valuable we can be to them.  We want as many good clients as possible, and customers are just a step below clients.  They obviously liked what they saw enough to choose us in the first place, but perhaps we just have not given enough for them to truly invest in our company.

They may not think twice to have a tradesperson lesser in cost “bid” their next project or have their gardener or handyman provide some sort of maintenance on the system we built for them.

No matter what we decide to title them, it is important to differentiate between those you have a relationship with and those who you may need to work harder at to build a relationship with.  Strong relationships do so much for our company.  They mean a reliable basis for future work from a core group of people who champion our company and spread the good word to friends relatives and business coontacts. They also mean we have earned the right and can ask for referrals.  Strong relationships also mean we are doing something right with our company for others to invest their time and money in to it.

In short:

  • Clients are those we have built strong relationships with
  • Customers are those who purchase from us, but have not fully invested themselves in our business
  • Work hard with clients to build a strong bond and get referrals – they are the best for them!
  • Work harder at getting customers to convert to clients – show them we’re worth the commitment!

facebook logoThis landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.Gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .

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