Customer Experience vs Customer Service – Know the difference
When I interacted with many support agents, I noticed that they casually throw around the terms customer experience and customer service interchangeably. Even a few business leaders have misunderstandings on the term customer experience. Both focus to delight the customer but they are not the same Know the difference to treat your customers well.
Customer experience refers to the complete journey of a customer from knowing your brand to post-purchase. Whereas, customer service is a key component of your overall experience. It refers to a single event where customers reach you for help.
What is customer service?
It is the support or advice that you offer to your customers when they approach you for any concerns or questions related to the product and services offered.
In simple, it is the customer support function of a business. It is an isolated event in the journey where the customer reaches the support desk when there is a concern.
With the rise of chatbots and exposure to self-service, businesses are able to deflect basic queries raised by customers and offer an immediate resolution. However, customers still prefer human interactions.
The business trains its support agents to go above and beyond to solve customer problems and provide the best solutions. This customer support could either make or break a relationship with the customer. So, consider this an integral part of customer experience.
What is customer experience?
Customer experience encompasses every single interaction of a user he/she has with a particular brand and how they perceive those interactions. There are many touchpoints between the customer and the brand before and after the consumer’s use of the product. A great CX(customer experience) provides a seamless and enjoyable journey from the start to throughout the engagement.
The key to CX is the way the journey is linked up without dropping the ball through the cracks.
Customer service and customer experience are both about delivering the best outcomes for the customer. And, that’s what matters.
74% of consumers are at least somewhat likely to buy based on experiences alone.
Emplifio
The Experience
I couldn’t resist talking about Apple. Have you wondered why Apple has such a huge customer base? Why are their customers are loyal than others? How this has helped in establishing their brand? The answer to this is “The Experience.”
Apple Experience doesn’t restrict itself to its products. Apple stores were designed to be the best possible Customer Experience anywhere across the world. The store associates master in human interaction with the approach below.
- A personalized approach for their customers
- Listen to understand the customer’s needs
- Present a solution that matches their need.
- Celebrate when you unwrap the gift(not product). That is the feel you get.
- Make them leave with a smile in their face.
The focus on product packages is another example of how much they value customers. The excitement when we unpack the product is priceless.
The feel when you leave the store makes you want to come back. Of course, the product is expensive. Who would mind the prices when the experience is premium. That is another reason, I have seen many save their bucks to lay their hand on the product.
The Service
Suppose you walk to the genius bar with a concern about the product, Apple genius is available at your service to help you sort the issue. They take an empathetic approach to ensure that concern is addressed even if it involves replacing the product. They are trained to ensure that the customers walk out satisfied.
When you have a careful look at it, Apple ensures that at every touchpoint customer gets the best experience and makes their overall journey a memory to live with.
Differences
From the Apple Store experience, I am sure you would have deduced the difference.
Customer experience focuses on the entire customer journey from brand awareness to getting in touch with business to purchase to post support. The number of touchpoints is high and multiple teams would be involved. Ensure the touchpoints are well linked. It is all about the relationship with the customer and can never be pinned down to particular interaction.
Customer services relate to a specific event where they reach only when there is a question or concern. However, this interaction should be a part of the overall experience. Adopt an
Customer experience is the way customers feel about your brand across the entire customer journey. Customer service is only one aspect of the entire customer experience. It might be tempting to think that your customer service team will take responsibility for creating great experiences, but it should be everybody’s job from product to support to sales and from marketing to senior leadership. .