Module 3: Who Are Your Customers?

In order to deliver service, we must determine who our customers are. Some of us will serve internal customers, some of us will serve external customers, and some of us meet the needs of both. Do you understand who your customers are?

In this Module, you will define who your customers are. You will also learn how to determine whether they are internal or external.

Types of Customers

Who are our customers? For many of us, customers are easy to identify. They buy something from us, or we serve them in some way. People will sometimes say, I don’t work directly with customers. Before you accept this idea, try taking a closer look at who our customers are.

In most organizations and agencies, customers take two forms: internal and external.

Internal customers are the people, departments, or agencies served by what we do. The only person who might have no internal customers is the individual who works completely alone. For the rest of us, internal customers are a fact of life. Do you meet with external customers, or somehow meet the needs of internal customers, like your co-workers?