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Customer Service and Customer Experience have become synonymous to businesses nowadays. We often perceive the two words to mean the same and use them interchangeably.
However, they are not the same thing.
Customer Service is just a part of a bigger picture, a small piece of the puzzle, while Customer Experience is the sum of the entire customer journey.
Customer Service Defined
Between customer experience and customer service, the latter is probably the more familiar term, but it is also the more narrowly scoped.
Customer Service can be described as the advice or assistance a company gives to its customers. It is centered on human interaction and directly supporting customers.
It is provided to increase customer satisfaction. Being able to answer queries, educating prospects that result to them choosing the right product, how best to use the product, troubleshooting any issues, and making sure every purchase transaction runs smooth, are some of the ways to achieve customer satisfaction.
What is Customer Experience?
Customer Experience, on the other hand, goes above and beyond customer service. It is the total journey of a customer’s interaction with a brand – from research, to knowing the product, to shopping and purchasing, to actually using the product and following up with the brand afterward.
It is the entire customer lifecycle, the sum of all interactions where customer service is a vital part of.
Customer experience measures how customers feel about a company overall and include the emotional, physical, psychological connection customers have with a brand.
Customer Service vs. Customer Experience
The main difference between customer service and customer experience is that the former is reactive. It is often only used when a customer has an issue. Otherwise, if all is well and there are no questions about the product or service, there is no need to get in touch with customer service.
Customer Experience is the exact opposite. It is in every way proactive and aims to reach every single customer. The main point to customer experience is to build a personal connection and establish meaningful relationships with your customers.
This is better illustrated by a customer interaction that actually happened with Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer in Las Vegas. Zappos, imbibes the true meaning of customer experience and prides itself in making every customer interaction extraordinary.
Ryo, a Zappos agent, received a call from a woman who wanted to return the boots she bought for her father, who had since died. Not only did he give her a refund, but he also said that she didn’t have to return the boots and that she was free to give it away if she wanted to.
One would think that the service provided is already excellent. But Ryo did not stop there – he took an extra step and even sent her sympathy flowers. And this extra mile that he took makes an unforgettable and heartwarming customer experience.
The significant difference is that where customer service aims to be ready when a customer reaches out to them, customer experience, already anticipates the customer’s needs and gives it to them without them having to ask or say so. It is also exceeding customer expectations and making them feel special.
What’s Next?
Need that extra support to help you achieve memorable customer experiences? What better way than to outsource your customer support services to the Philippines?
At Executive Boutique, we share your passion for providing the best customer experience possible. Our agents have the training, experience, and willingness to make your customers happy.
If you would like to find out more, contact us today!
