Customers
Customer needs may be defined as the goods
or services a customer requires to achieve specific goals. Different
needs are of varying importance to the customer.
Customer expectations are influenced by cultural values, advertising,
marketing, and other communications, both with the supplier and with
other sources. A customer is someone who makes use of or receives the
products or services of an individual or organization. The word historically
derives from "custom," meaning "habit" a customer was someone who frequented
a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and
with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his
or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
Both customer needs and
expectations may be determined through interviews, surveys, conversations,
data mining or other methods of collecting information.
Customers at times do not
have a clear understanding of their needs. Assisting in determining
needs can be a valuable service to the customer. In the process, expectations
may be set or adjusted to correspond to known product capabilities or
service.
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