(a group word; also ‘clientage’ or ‘patronage’; pronunciation: the letter ‘c’ is said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”)
a restaurant's clientele
The word ‘clientele’ is a group word and it can be followed by a singular verb or a plural verb depending on the meaning, e.g. The young lawyer’s clientele is from the highest rung of the society. & The young lawyer’s clientele are from different walks of life — a driver suing his employer, a bank manager applying for divorce, a wealthy businessman defending himself from his customer’s accusations. On the other hand, some other experts suggest that one can use ‘clientele’ when referring to all the clients or customers they have and if there is a need for referring to individual members of the group, one can use the word ‘client’ in its plural form ‘clients’ without doubt!
the group of people in general, all the clients/customers, that use the services of a particular professional or business establishment; all the clients (previous entry),
a consultant's clientele
e.g.
Our architect has a wealthy clientele.
Though ours is a multinational business, most of our clientele is from China.
No matter what you do, never annoy your clientele!
For an interesting article that show how this word clientele is found in everyday English, please click here, for a business advertisement that shows the list of the business clientele, please click here.
BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language.
Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.
