A customer refers to individuals or households that purchase goods and services generated within the economy. An economy is the realized social system of production exchange distribution and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area The word historically derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
Customer needs may be defined as the goods or services a customer requires to achieve specific goals. Different needs are of varying importance to the customer. Customer expectations are influenced by cultural values, advertising, marketing, and other communications, both with the supplier and with other sources.
Both customer needs and expectations may be determined through interviews, surveys, conversations, data mining or other methods of collecting information. Banter redirects here for the Radio 4 panel show see Banter (radio show A conversation is Communication by two or more people or by one's self Data mining is the process of Sorting through large amounts of data and picking out relevant information Customers at times do not have a clear understanding of their needs. Assisting in determining needs can be a valuable service to the customer. In the process, expectations may be set or adjusted to correspond to known product capabilities or service.