Free DownloadWhat is customer experience management (CEM or CXM)?
Positive customer experiences can boost both a company’s reputation and bottom line, but negative ones can have the opposite effect. Crafting and implementing a customer experience management strategy is essential. This guide explores techniques and tools that can help organizations construct and implement an effective customer experience management plan.
Customer experience vs. customer service: How do they differ?
Customer experience and customer service are not the same, but they do have a shared goal: to ensure customers are satisfied and return for repeat business.
In today's competitive marketplace, businesses increasingly aim to provide excellent customer service and positive customer experiences. These two terms are often used interchangeably, even though they have different meanings.
Customer service is a key element within the broader spectrum of the customer's experience. A single bad interaction can taint the overall customer experience, no matter how good previous or subsequent interactions were. Thus, businesses must ensure each customer interaction is positive and consistent.
On the other hand, stellar customer service can alleviate negative sentiments from other touchpoints within the customer journey. It can become a unique selling point and differentiate the business from competitors that may offer similar products or services.
By understanding customer experience and customer service as two interconnected facets, businesses can more effectively map out their customer journey; pinpoint potential issues; and create more consistent, enjoyable experiences for their customers.
Customer service forms the bedrock of any customer-oriented business strategy. It involves direct, one-on-one interactions between a consumer making a purchase and the business representative selling the product or service. These interactions can occur across various channels, including phone calls, emails, live chats, social media threads or in-person conversations.
The focus of customer service is to help customers efficiently solve immediate problems or fulfil their needs during the sale and post-purchase. Customer service teams should offer quick and reliable service to ensure customer satisfaction. Service teams are trained to resolve issues, answer questions, guide customers through the purchasing process, and handle returns or complaints. In essence, it's the direct support a business offers its customers.
What is customer experience?
Customer experience encompasses all interactions customers have with a business throughout their entire relationship. It's a broader concept that considers every touchpoint a customer has with the company, from the first interaction through the buying process and onto post-purchase support.
Customer service is one facet of the customer experience.
CX includes the interactions with the product or service itself and how customers experience the brand. CX involves every department within a business, including marketing, sales, product design, and customer service and support, to ensure a seamless, positive and consistent experience. It's about the overall perception customers form about a business based on their holistic experience with it.
Key differences between customer experience and customer service
Customer experience and customer service differ mostly in terms of their scope and approach. Their main differences are the following:
While customer service is about the present moment -- solving immediate problems, answering questions and meeting needs -- customer experience has a wider perspective, focusing on the overall relationship with the customer and creating an environment that makes them want to return.
Customer service is reactive and predominantly occurs post-purchase. Customers typically initiate these interactions. Customer experience is proactive and happens at every stage of the customer journey. The business typically directs this strategy forward.
Customer service is a single touchpoint within the customer journey, but customer experience is the collective impression from all touchpoints a customer has with the business.
Examples of customer experience and customer service
An example of good customer service is when a customer contacts a business to troubleshoot an issue with a product, and the service representative quickly and effectively solves the problem, leaving the customer satisfied.
On the other hand, an example of customer experience could involve a customer's journey with a home appliance brand. It includes the first advertisement that caught the customer's attention, navigation the brand's website, the purchasing process, the user's feelings while using the appliance, and the performance of the customer service team when contacted for support. Each interaction plays a role in shaping the overall perception of the brand, influencing a customer's overall experience.
Which is more important?
In the customer experience vs. customer service debate, determining which is more important is like comparing apples and oranges. Both play crucial roles in any customer-oriented business strategy.
Customer experience and customer service are two sides of the same coin, and one cannot exist without the other.
Customer service is vital as it directly affects customer satisfaction and can turn potentially negative experiences into positive ones. A company's ability to resolve problems quickly and effectively can lead to increased customer loyalty.
However, customer experience carries equal weight. It plays a long-term role in shaping customers' overall perceptions of a brand, which influences their loyalty and decisions to repurchase or recommend the business to others.
Overall, customer experience and customer service are two sides of the same coin, and one cannot exist without the other. Businesses shouldn't choose between customer experience and customer service. Instead, they should strive to provide exceptional customer service as a crucial part of an outstanding customer experience strategy. When a business invests in both, it sees a higher rate of customer retention, stronger brand loyalty and greater overall success.
What role do customer service teams play in CX?
Service teams help shape both customer service and customer experience. Organizations should invest in effective training and support for these teams and equip them with the right tools and technologies to deliver superior customer interactions.
Organizations should also prepare customer service teams for multichannel interactions. Customer service is no longer confined to phone calls and face-to-face interactions. With customers reaching out over social media, live chat, email and more, service teams should be well-versed in managing these channels to provide consistent, high-quality service.
Key takeaways
The dynamic between customer experience vs. customer service is more than an exercise in semantics. It's an approach that can increase customer retention, satisfaction and business success. It's about understanding and meeting customers' needs at every point in their journey to create positive and memorable experiences and build long-lasting relationships.
By recognizing the unique roles and relationship of customer service and customer experience, businesses can ensure they meet -- or exceed -- customer expectations. The end goal is simple: have happy customers who are loyal to a brand and will advocate for that business to others.
