The terms "customer" and "consumer" are related but have distinct meanings in the context of business and marketing:
- Customer: A customer is an individual or organization that purchases a product or service from a business. In this context, a customer is directly involved in the transaction and is the one who pays for and receives the product or service. Customers can be both individuals (end consumers) or other businesses (business-to-business customers). They are the target of marketing efforts and are essential to a company's revenue generation.
For example, if you go to a grocery store and buy a bag of apples, you are the customer in that transaction.
- Consumer: A consumer, on the other hand, is the person or entity who uses or consumes the product or service. In this context, the consumer is the end-user or the person for whom the product or service is intended. The consumer may or may not be the same as the customer. In many cases, the customer and the consumer are the same, especially in retail situations where individuals buy products for their personal use.
Using the previous example, if you buy a bag of apples for yourself and eat them, you are both the customer (purchaser) and the consumer (user) of the apples.
However, there are instances where the customer and consumer are different. For instance, if a parent buys a toy for their child, the parent is the customer (purchaser), while the child is the consumer (user) of the toy.
In summary, the customer is the one who buys the product or service, while the consumer is the one who uses or consumes it. They can be the same person or entity, but they can also be different depending on the purchasing context.