Today, providing an exceptional customer experience is the heart and soul of every successful business. A customer would become a loyal customer and promoter of your brand if your products or services fulfill the customer’s requirements and also find a solution to their problems.
Providing exceptional customer service helps not only in retaining customers but also in boosting revenue, standing out amongst competitors, and gaining a positive outlook for the brand.
So, here comes the key role of providing the best customer support and service.
But what’s the difference between the two?
In this blog, we will understand the key difference between customer support and customer service and their interconnectedness in providing an exceptional customer experience.
Exploring Customer Support
Customer support focuses on assisting customers with issues with the service or product. It’s more or less a short-term engagement with the customers. It includes troubleshooting and technical support.
The Responsibilities Of The Customer Support Representative Involve
- Troubleshooting technical issues
- Interacting with customers to understand their problem
- Forwarding complaints to other communication channels
- Nurturing the relationship between the customer and the company
- Providing a solution to the problem, like helping customers with the installation
Understanding Customer Service
Customer Service revolves around enhancing the relationship between the company and its customers. It focuses more on long-term customer-company relationships. The main aim is to provide customer satisfaction throughout the customer life cycle.
The Responsibilities Of The Customer Support Representative Involve
- Helping customers select new products
- Getting new customers for the company
- Gathering customer feedback and reviews
- Suggesting new tools and better techniques
- Helping customers with non-technical issues
- Connecting and answering on social media channels
- Providing guidance about the new product and providing information and specifications
Customer Support Vs Customer Support: Key Differences
| Customer Support | Customer Service |
| Focuses primarily on helping customers with troubleshooting, and technical issues | The main aim is to provide overall assistance by improving the customer experience and building relationships with customer |
| Deals with customers’ technical issues at hand | Involves in the entire customer lifecycle |
| Analysis results on the basis of customer satisfaction, resolution time, and resolution rates | Measures success on the basis of overall customer experience, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction |
| Involves customer engagement | Incorporates customer feedback, documentation, and problem-solving |
| The modes of communication involve a ticketing system, email, chats, and phone. | Communication platforms include the sales team, support team and front-line administration |
| It’s a short-term interaction between a representative and a customer | It’s a long-term relationship between a client and the company |
| Success is measured in terms of customer satisfaction | Success is measured by the efficiency of the company |
The Connection Between Customer Support And Customer Service
- Both customer support and customer service are interrelated, as the main task of both of them is to provide assistance and support to customers throughout their lifecycle.
- Customer Support’s goal is to provide a solution to technical issues, while customer service revolves around providing better customer experiences.
- Customer support improves the entire customer service by offering quick issue resolution and customer satisfaction.
- Customer service representatives have a vital role in fostering relationships and loyalty with customers which further leads to improved customer support processes.
- Teamwork and collaboration between customer support and customer service teams are essential for easy communication, knowledge sharing, and delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Final Thoughts
While customer support’s task is inclined towards troubleshooting and resolving technical issues, customer service takes care of the overall well-being of the customer lifecycle. Both jobs are often used interchangeably. It is important that a company be able to provide both service and support at the best to gain edge over competitors.
