465:, etc., have not used the term "internal customer" in their works. They consider the "customer" as a very specific role in society which represents a crucial part in the relationship between the demand and the supply. Some of the most important characteristics of any customer are that: any customer is never in a subordination line with any supplier; any customer has equal positions with the supplier within negotiations, and any customer can accept or reject any offer for a service or a product. Peter Drucker wrote, "They are all people who can say no, people who have the choice to accept or reject what you offer."
481:
that there are no customers inside organizations. He wrote "Inside an organization, there are only cost centers. The only profit center is a customer whose check has not bounced." In addition, William Deming advises managers, in his 9th point, to "Break down barriers between departments. They must work as a team", which means that there have to be teamwork in a company rather than a supplier/customer relationship. One more argument, even the ITIL methodology admits that "the term 'colleague' may be more accurate in describing how two internal groups are related to one another.".
189:
34:
258:
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methodologies define "internal customer" as an internal part of a company that uses the output of another part of a company as its input. But actually, this definition describes better a classical internal process rather than a relationship between a customer and a supplier. Peter
Drucker considers
321:
goods and services (who are entities such as government bodies, manufacturers, and educational and medical institutions) either themselves use up the goods and services that they buy, or incorporate them into other finished products, and so are technically consumers, too. However, they are rarely
366:
to explain the difference: A supermarket's customer is the person buying milk at that supermarket; a not-customer buys milk from a competing supermarket, whereas a non-customer does not buy milk from supermarkets at all but rather "has milk delivered to the door in the traditional
British way".
212:. Winning a client is therefore a singular event, which is why professional specialists who deal with particular problems tend to attract long-term clients rather than regular customers. Unlike regular customers, who buy merely on price and value, long-term clients buy on experience and trust.
468:
In opposition to the stated customer's characteristics, relationships between colleagues in a company are always based on subordination – direct or indirect. Company employees are obliged to follow the processes of their companies. Company employees do not have the authority to choose a
437:
regarding service organizations which design products for internal customer satisfaction as better able to satisfy the needs of external customers. Research on the theory and practice of managing the internal customer continues as of 2016 in a variety of
469:
unit/colleague to fulfill any task. Company employees are obliged to use an existing unit/colleague by using the company's structure and approved processes, therefore these internal relationships are not considered as an option.
316:
be a consumer as well, but just as equally may have purchased items for someone else to consume. An intermediate customer is not a consumer at all. The situation is somewhat complicated in that ultimate customers of so-called
140:. Customers are generally said to be the purchasers of goods and services, while clients are those who receive personalized advice and solutions. Although such distinctions have no contemporary semantic weight,
385:
An internal customer is a customer who is directly connected to an organization, and is usually (but not necessarily) internal to the organization. Internal customers are usually
322:
called that, but are rather called industrial customers or business-to-business customers. Similarly, customers who buy services rather than goods are rarely called consumers.
946:(Second ed.). TSO (The Stationery Office). 2011. Table 3.1 Differences between internal and external customers; under the line “Link to business strategy and objectives”.
1202:
Tansuhaj, Patriya; Randall, Donna; McCullough, Jim (1991). "Applying the
Internal Marketing Concept Within Large Organizations: As Applied to a Credit Union".
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Drucker, Peter F.; Collins, Jim; Kotler, Philip; Kouzes, James; Rodin, Judith; Rangan, V. Kasturi; Hesselbein, Frances (2008).
838:
235:
An "end customer" denotes the person at the end of a supply chain who ultimately purchases or utilised the goods or services.
535:
1131:
Stracke, Christian (2006). "Process-oriented quality management". In Ehlers, Ulf-Daniel; Pawlowski, Jan Martin (eds.).
347:
Not-customers are either past customers who are no longer customers or potential customers who choose to interact with
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of internal customers as a precursor to, and a prerequisite for, external customer satisfaction, with authors such as
188:
620:
595:
500:
374:. While marketers, market regulation, and economists use the intermediate/ultimate categorization, the field of
20:
426:
1028:
Kendall, Stephanie D. (2007). "Customer
Service from the Customer's Perspective". In Fogli, Lawrence (ed.).
530:
386:
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that allow for regular, sustained commerce that allows the seller to develop statistical models to optimize
97:
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Papasolomou-Doukakis, Ioanna (2001). "Customer satisfaction". In
Kitchen, Philip J.; Proctor, Tony (eds.).
645:
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Before the introduction of the notion of an internal customer, external customers were, simply, customers.
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have actively dealt with that business within a particular recent period that depends on the product sold.
225:
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An external customer of an organization is a customer who is not directly connected to that organization.
430:
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101:
85:
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907:. PerfectBound™, HarperCollins. 4 Information Challenges, under the topic "Where the Results Are".
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232:(which change the location or formalize the changes of ownership or entitlement transactions).
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882:(Third ed.). Jossey-Bass. Under the chapter "Question 2: Who Is Our Customer?", p. 25.
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Tennant also categorizes customers in another way that is employed outside the fields of
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developed, less permanent human relations were formed, depending more on transitory
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Geoff
Tennant, a Six Sigma consultant from the United Kingdom, uses the following
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doctrine places (active) customers in opposition to two other classes of people:
525:
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149:
208:. It is widely believed that people only change their habits when motivated by
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or ultimate customer who does not re-sell the things bought but is the actual
171:
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popularized the concept, introducing it in 1988 in the fourth edition of his
243:
A client paying for construction work is often referred to as an "employer".
1032:. J-B SIOP Professional Practice Series. Vol. 20. John Wiley and Sons.
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371:
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176:
69:
53:
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The five most important questions you will ever ask about your organization
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Kansal, B.B.; Rao, P.C.K. (2006). "Environmental
Factors in Management".
398:
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In the 21st century, customers are generally categorized into two types:
261:
A diagram of four different axes along which customers could be segmented
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meaning "to incline" or "to bend", and is related to the emotive idea of
145:
129:
49:
1108:
Reizenstein, Richard C. (2004). "Customer". In Stahl, Michael J. (ed.).
646:
Responsive Supply Chains: An
Exploratory Study of Performance Management
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and service marketing; and many organizations as of 2016 recognize the
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16:
Recipient of a good, service, product, or idea from a vender or seller
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processes (which change the nature or form of goods or services) and
137:
93:
89:
425:). The idea has since gained wide acceptance in the literature on
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Reeves, Carol A.; Bednar, David A. (2005). "Defining
Quality". In
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45:
32:
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Joseph M. Juran: critical evaluations in business and management
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Frain, John (1999). "Customers and customer buying behaviour".
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26:"Clientele" redirects here. For the British rock band, see
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596:"What Is the Difference Between a Customer Vs. a Client?"
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781:
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648:, Cranfield School of Management, accessed 4 March 2023
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Non-customers are people who are active in a different
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Managing quality: managerial and critical perspectives
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Customer Service Delivery: Research and Best Practices
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684:
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Arguments against use of the term "internal customers"
1133:
Handbook on quality and standardisation in e-learning
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Six Sigma: SPC and TQM in manufacturing and services
821:
674:, published 6 September 2021, accessed 25 April 2023
378:more often categorizes customers into two classes:
1180:
1109:
453:Leading authors in management and marketing, like
220:Clients who habitually return to a seller develop
1070:. ITBP Textbooks Series. Cengage Learning EMEA.
304:, but the two notions are distinct. A customer
661:, published 17 May 2021, accessed 25 April 2023
281:) - a dealer who purchases goods for re-sale.
8:
809:
659:What is an Employer’s Agent in construction?
1187:(4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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1204:Journal of Professional Services Marketing
905:Management Challenges for the 21st Century
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1068:The informed student guide to marketing
994:(4th ed.). Cengage Learning EMEA.
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1112:Encyclopedia of health care management
1011:Preface to Management (Parragon Books)
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397:, but the definition also encompasses
196:The term client is derived from Latin
192:A drawing of an attorney with a client
841:from the original on 22 February 2014
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644:Harrison, A. and Godsell, J. (2003),
422:
7:
1210:(2). Taylor & Francis: 193–202.
300:A customer may or may not also be a
975:(4th ed.). Pearson Education.
37:Customers at a market for food in
14:
511:Customer relationship management
932:. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
1:
670:Blackstone Solicitors Ltd.,
536:The customer is always right
312:them. An ultimate customer
136:rather than enduring social
128:based on favours. Later, as
124:Early societies relied on a
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928:Deming, W. Edwards (2000).
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903:Drucker, Peter F. (2002).
250:
25:
18:
1116:. Sage eReference. SAGE.
1047:Kelemen, Mihaela (2003).
992:Introduction to marketing
822:Papasolomou-Doukakis 2001
501:Customer data integration
120:Etymology and terminology
21:Customer (disambiguation)
1183:Quality Control Handbook
1013:. Ganga Dhar Chaudhary.
810:Reeves & Bednar 2005
427:total quality management
419:Quality Control Handbook
72:) is the recipient of a
1248:Supply chain management
1150:Tennant, Geoff (2001).
973:Essentials of Marketing
672:JCT Contracts Explained
531:Service level agreement
279:commercial Intermediary
112:or some other valuable
944:ITIL® Service Strategy
292:or an agent such as a
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60:(sometimes known as a
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431:customer satisfaction
340:Customers of a given
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247:Customer segmentation
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154:health care providers
102:financial transaction
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1154:. Gower Publishing.
971:Blythe, Jim (2008).
19:For other uses, see
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403:external regulators
865:scholar.google.com
411:Quality-management
308:goods; a consumer
294:Purchasing officer
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1161:978-0-566-08374-7
1142:978-3-540-32787-5
1123:978-0-7619-2674-0
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1077:978-1-86152-546-8
1058:978-0-7619-6904-4
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1001:978-1-86152-147-7
982:978-0-273-71736-2
930:Out of the crisis
889:978-0-470-22756-5
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1179:(1988).
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302:consumer
290:consumer
286:end user
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1103:.
1080:.
1061:.
1042:.
1023:.
1004:.
985:.
956:.
917:.
892:.
867:.
849:.
634:.
609:.
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30:.
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