What is an internal customer?

Internal customer is a client who buys products produced by the employer. The term can be used in a number of situations, including the structures of a company in which one department effectively purchases products from another within the manufacturing chain. At other times, he is an internal customer simply an employee who has purchased completed good or services directly from the employer, sometimes at a price that is discounted from a price that is charged to other types of consumers.

The concept of the internal customer varies somewhat from the concept of an external customer. External customers are buyers who are not part of the company organization. For example, if ABC decides to buy Widgets from XYZ and both companies are not subsidiaries of larger business operations, the purchase is considered external. The ABC and XYZ should actually owe JKL Company and function as a subsidiary of this parent organization, then purchases were considered internal.

Many different types of companies have the flow of business volume from internal customers. Retail organizations often provide employees with opportunities to buy goods at discounted prices, which is a step that will make these employees meet their needs by buying with the employer rather than buy from a competitor. Similarly, agents and administrative employees working with insurance agencies can choose to go with their employer rather than other agencies. Even individuals working with communication companies can be offered services such as DSL or audio conference services with a discount that is not easily available through other suppliers.

One of the challenges for any company is to find ways to include internal customer care in the overall client strategy. Since the focus of many customer services and support operations Jenasmoved out, the needs and concerns can be overlookeda customer who is part of the organization. This can be counterproductive at many levels, sometimes to the extent that they lose business and have an adverse impact on how an employee perceives his contribution to the company's success. The decision to include components that provide incentives to each internal customer, as well as to provide them with the opportunity to obtain help, often increase the desire to buy from the inside, but will also have the advantage of motivating these employees to be as productive as possible at work.