Who are your customers? Often, we tend to think of customers as those who directly purchase goods and services, and we think of customer service primarily occurring in retail and service industries.
However, customer service is not limited to the retail and service industries. Regardless of your industry and whether you work in the public, nonprofit, or private sector – there will always be a customer. In healthcare, your customers are the patients and their families. In education, your customers are the students. In government, your customers are your community members. In the private sector, your customers are the consumers and end-users of your product or service. Therefore, the people who are affected by your product, service, or role are your customers.
But customers are not just limited to individuals outside of your organization. We also have internal customers, including employees or other teams, departments, and groups within the organization. While you might not be directly involved with external customers, you are undoubtedly directly involved with your internal customers. Often you will find that how teams and individuals inside an organization communicate and work together reflects the way employees interact with external customers. Therefore, creating a culture of internal customer service excellence will positively impact external customer relations.
