Customer Relationship Management

Understanding the different customer service terms

When you read the latest blogs on business trends, you’re bound to read about customer service, customer support, and customer success. For most people, these customer-related disciplines translate into being the exact same thing but, in reality, they really aren’t. While they all contribute to an exceptional customer experience, these terms represent different ways to provide service to, and connect with, your customers.

In today’s marketing climate, customer experience is the new marketing. It’s the service that’s going to guarantee that you bring in business tomorrow, and for years to come. It’s about going above and beyond to enhance your customer experience and make customers’ lives easier when engaging with your brand.

To break it down, here are the different terms and a look at how different they actually are.

Customer support

This is the type of support that people think about when you say the words “customer support”. It’s the kind where your customers tell you that they have a problem and expect you to fix it. In essence, it’s a supportive process that begins and ends with a customer, making sure that whatever they need will be achieved. And it’s your job to ensure they leave the process with a smile on their face.

Customer service

Customer service starts with the agent. It’s an approach that’s structured around offering customers a particular service that you think - and hope - will add value to their lives. Simply put, it’s more about the sale than the support needed from a company’s side. This proactive approach strives to provide the customer with a service, and thereafter a support solution if a product or service was bought by the customer. They work hand-in-hand, and once you’re able to execute both, you’ll be able to create a better experience.

Customer success

Customer success is a long-term approach and not a once-off deal that ends once the sale has been made and the aftersales service has been dealt with. It’s about acquiring customers with an in-depth plan to keep them happy and build sustainable relationships with them. (These are usually the relationships which turn into fruitful partnerships that help you to achieve your business goals and objectives.)

This intricate approach to selling can include upselling and cross-selling, including both exceptional support and customer service from start to finish. A strong, powerful customer-facing department which makes use of these elements and combines it with the latest technologies is a winning recipe for success.

Here are a few tips to improve your inbound customer service strategy:

Engage

When you work in a consumer-facing department, you need to make sure that you engage with your customers as often as possible. One innovative way to do this is by opening up several channels of communication to show your customers that your presence is there and active. You can do this using a solution like Clickatell Touch, providing your customers with the real-time support and help they need. They’ll be able to communicate with your business via their channel of choice, and you’ll receive and be able to respond to messages across all channels from one easy-to-use interface.

Guide

Customers want to feel appreciated and cared for. Customer service departments can do this by employing artificial resources to help agents learn more about their customers and “remember” information about them from the first interaction. Chatbot technology can do just that. And, big data and analytics can help you to learn more about your customers’ behavior. Once you have the information you need about your customers, you’ll be able to guide their purchases by sending them information that matches their interests. This type of service will help your customers by giving them the advice they need.

Grow

Efficient customer support and service will lead to customer success. It’s important to note that it’s not just about your customers’ growth, but also their ability to help your business grow, that will make an overall impact on your business. Customer success is the section you want your customer-facing departments to achieve as this will lead to new customer retention and a boost in profits.

Now, imagine if your business could resolve hundreds of customer service and support queries at once without the need to increase agents’ workloads or hire more staff members to do so? Well, Touch can help your business do just that. Now your customer service team can engage with customers on-demand, and resolve more queries, faster and effectively.

 

Explore other articles

Step into the future of business messaging.

SMS and two-way channels, automation, call center integration, payments - do it all with Clickatell's Chat Commerce platform.

New