Zoran Zeremski/hotel lobby check in
By Charles Ryan Minton
Customer & Employee Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Best Selling Author, Thanks for Coming in Today™
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Customer service and customer experience (often referred to as CX) are two important terms that business owners and brands need to understand in order to thrive in today's competitive marketplace. While both of these terms are important to ensure the satisfaction of customers, they are not the same thing and it is important to understand the difference.
What Is Customer Service?
Customer service refers to the interactions between a business and its customers. It involves the handling of customer inquiries, complaints, and feedback. The main aim of customer service is to provide the customer with the necessary support to make their experience with the company as smooth and positive as possible. Frontline employees are often responsible for answering customer queries, providing assistance with products, and resolving any issues or complaints.
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As an example, a hotel provides dozens of customer service interactions such as the ease (or lack thereof) of making a reservation on their website to the conversations a customer may have with the staff on a property when checking in or making a request.
In short, customer service is an action.
What Is Customer Experience?
Customer experience refers to the overall impression a customer has of a business, based on their interactions with the brand. It encompasses all the service touchpoints a customer has with the business, from browsing products online to interacting with the customer service team. A good customer experience involves providing a seamless, positive, and convenient experience for the customer.
In sticking with the example of a hotel, all the customer service interactions a customer has before, during and after their stay create their experience. It is important to note that it only takes one poor customer service interaction to create a negative customer experience.
Customer experience can also be described as a feeling or emotion a customer has with a brand.
The Key Differences Between Customer Service and Customer Experience
Although customer service and customer experience are often used interchangeably, they are different concepts. Some of the key differences between customer service and customer experience are as follows:
1. Focus
Customer service focuses on resolving customer issues and addressing needs. It deals with specific customer concerns that arise during their transactions with the company. Customer experience, on the other hand, focuses on the overall impression a customer has of a brand. It involves understanding and anticipating customer needs and providing tailored solutions that meet those needs.
2. Scope
Customer service is a subset of customer experience. It involves interactions with the customer service team and is limited to specific interactions with the company. Customer experience covers all the touchpoints a customer has with the brand, from browsing their website to receiving the product.
3. Proactive vs. reactive
Customer service is reactive, meaning it responds to the customer's needs after they have arisen. On the other hand, customer experience is proactive, meaning it anticipates customer needs and provides solutions before customers even have to ask.
4. Loyalty
Customer service is typically short term, with the primary goal of addressing immediate concerns. Customer experience involves maintaining a long-term relationship with the customer, prioritizing their needs and ensuring customer loyalty.
Customer service and customer experience are essential components of a successful business. While customer service focuses on resolving specific customer issues, customer experience is about creating a positive impression of the brand across all touchpoints. By prioritizing both customer service and customer experience, you can ensure long-term customer loyalty and the success of your business.
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