Never Conflate a Client with a Customer

Fieldpoint Private has zero customers.

It never has. Never will. This, despite deep relationships with hundreds of families and the advisors they trust most, along with their philanthropic and business enterprises across America. Zero. How can that be?

It’s about language and the philosophies it reveals. Stick with me.

Virtually all banks refer to those with whom they do business as “customers.” Fair enough; it has always been this way. But should they? Is “customer” the most appropriate label to characterize the relationship? While some may consider this semantic hairsplitting, at Fieldpoint Private it’s important for all of us to keep front and center that we serve clients, not customers.

The word “customer” first came into use in the late 1300s with Anglo-French origins in the word “custumer,” meaning one who engages in the “habitual practice of buying goods in some particular place.” Today Merriam-Webster succinctly defines a customer as “one that purchases a commodity or service.” Unlike the term “client,” which implies a deeper, advisory relationship, “customer” suggests a straightforward exchange of products and services. This linguistic choice aligns with the core banking model, emphasizing efficiency and scalability, fostering a perception of accessibility to an across-the-board demographic. Although there are different types and tiers of customers, the widespread use of the term in banking reflects a transaction-centric approach, streamlining operations and appealing to the broadest possible market.

This is not how Fieldpoint Private approaches our business.

Customer: Transactional Efficiency and Unilateral Advantage

Customers engage in a transactional relationship with a business, typically completing a product or service purchase and the interaction concludes. In retail settings or businesses offering commoditized goods, customers are essential for driving sales and revenue. The relationship is uninformed, short-term and centered around fulfilling an immediate need or desire.

Customers have limited or no interaction with the business beyond the transaction itself. There is nothing wrong with this! The relationship is transactional, and the business’s understanding of the customer is primarily based on the specific product or service purchased. Customer interactions are generally impersonal, focusing on the efficient completion of the transaction rather than establishing a long-term connection.

So should banks have “customers,” or “clients”?

Client: Personalized Expertise, Long-Term Relationships and Mutual Advantage

Clients are different. Clients engage in a partnership that extends beyond individual transactions, requiring both a commitment to understanding a person’s or enterprise’s long-term goals, preferences and needs. The relationship is more profound and enduring, as in aprofessional service business rather than a retail operation. Professional service businesses like law firms, management consultants, personal and commercial private bankers, financial advisors, even interior designers thrive on building and maintaining client relationships from a position of privileged knowledge. In many cases professionals come to know the client’s needs even before they rise to the level of conscious thought or expressed wish.

In the best client-professional service relationships, the client can say, “Don’t give me what I ask for. Give me what I need” – and actually receive it. The word “client” comes from the Proto-Indo-European root. “klei” meaning “to lean.” Originally a client was “one who leans on another for protection.” Although not all professional-client relationships are based on literal protection, in order to thrive they always need to keep the client’s needs paramount. Unlike customers seeking immediate solutions, clients require bespoke advice and tactics tailored to their unique circumstances. This necessitates a deep understanding of the client’s industry, goals and challenges along with a constant awareness of how other professionals are serving the client. It requires time and effort to gain an intimate knowledge of the client’s business or personal situation, enabling the provider to offer expert guidance that goes beyond one-size-fits-all. The client becomes more than just a source of revenue; they are a valued partner in the business’s success.

Fieldpoint Private Will Never Have Customers

While customers engage in transactional relationships with a focus on immediate needs, clients participate in a more profound, enduring partnership where personalized expertise and a mutual commitment to long-term reciprocal success. That’s why Fieldpoint Private only has – and will only ever have – clients, not customers.

Professional service businesses must recognize the importance of building and maintaining client relationships. This means not only knowing the client, but their loved ones, their greatest concerns and most aspirational hopes and dreams. These relationships are not at all about the exchange of goods or services; they involve a shared commitment.

By embracing the role of a trusted advisor and investing in furnishing expert services, professional service businesses can solidify client relationships, foster loyalty and ultimately thrive in a landscape that values depth, longevity and mutual success over transactional customer-business exchanges.

Perhaps all of us would benefit if the banking industry would move toward, rather than away from, this philosophy.