Demystifying the Difference Between Customer Support and Customer Service

For companies that serve customers, providing excellent service is crucial for success. But understanding the nuances between customer support and customer service can be confusing. At first glance, they seem very similar – both involve interacting with customers to provide help and resolve issues. However, there are some key differences between the two functions.

This article will clearly explain the distinction between customer support and customer service. We’ll define both roles compare their responsibilities, and look at examples to illustrate when each one applies. By the end you’ll have a solid grasp of how customer support and customer service complement each other within a business.

Defining Customer Service

Customer service refers to the activities and interactions a business has with its customers to provide support, assistance, and solve issues It encompasses any customer-facing role that contributes to the customer’s overall experience with the company

Some examples of customer service functions include:

• Retail store associates assisting customers with purchases
• Restaurant servers taking orders and delivering food
• Call center representatives fielding customer inquiries
• Help desk technicians troubleshooting problems
• Social media teams responding to comments and messages

The focus is providing helpful, efficient and friendly interactions that leave the customer satisfied. Customer service aims to build loyalty by giving customers what they need during transactions or requests. It is often the “public face” of a company.

Defining Customer Support

Customer support refers to the specific activities related to helping customers use a product or service effectively It focuses on providing documentation, technical troubleshooting, training and other resources to enable customers to successfully utilize the offering

Some examples of customer support activities include:

• Writing help center articles and FAQs
• Diagnosing and fixing software issues
• Onboarding and training new users
• Collecting customer feedback for product improvements
• Monitoring forums and social media for discussions
• Developing tutorials, webinars and guides

The focus is improving customers’ experience with the product itself. Agents must have specialized knowledge to address technical questions and complicated issues. Customer support builds loyalty by helping customers fully leverage the value of an offering.

Comparing Key Differences

While both functions involve interacting with customers, there are some important ways that customer service and customer support differ:

• Scope – Customer service provides general help and transactions; customer support gives product-specific assistance.

• Knowledge – Customer service requires communication skills and product familiarity; customer support requires technical expertise.

• Goals – Customer service aims to complete customer requests; customer support aims to enable product usage.

• Metrics – Customer service measures transaction satisfaction; customer support also tracks product adoption.

• Tools – Customer service utilizes CRM systems; customer support uses help desk platforms.

• Data – Customer service insights improve service; customer support insights improve products.

• Deployment – Customer service assists all customers; customer support assists users of a specific product.

Customer Service vs. Customer Support Examples

Let’s look at some examples that illustrate the difference between customer service and customer support scenarios:

• Retail Store Customer – A customer can’t find a specific clothing item on the shelves. A store associate helps locate the item in the stockroom and brings it to the customer to purchase. This is customer service – providing helpful service during a transaction.

• Software User – A customer emails about an error message they received when trying to run a report. A support agent replicates the error, researches the cause, and provides steps to resolve it. This is customer support – fixing an issue preventing product usage.

• Restaurant Patron – A customer wants to modify their menu order because of a food allergy. A server quickly accommodates the change and ensures the dish is prepared properly. This is customer service – making on-the-spot adjustments to provide good service.

• SaaS Customer – A customer tweets that they are confused by a specific feature. A rep responds explaining how the feature works and directing them to relevant help articles. This is customer support – enabling correct product usage.

Notice in these examples how customer service assists the immediate customer transaction, while customer support helps improve usage of the product. The two roles are interconnected but have separate focuses.

Optimizing Customer Service and Support

To delight customers, companies need to optimize both their customer service and customer support capabilities. Here are some best practices:

For customer service:

• Hire representatives with patience, empathy and communication skills
• Train reps on products, services, policies and common requests
• Arm reps with knowledge bases and internal resources
• Measure customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores
• Solicit customer feedback to improve service

For customer support:

• Hire agents with technical aptitude and troubleshooting skills
• Educate agents on product architecture, features and releases
• Create robust documentation, FAQs and self-help resources
• Track customer success metrics like churn rate
• Share customer input with product teams to resolve issues

For both:

• Maintain unified brand voice across channels
• Foster collaboration between service and support teams
• Build internal escalation processes between the functions
• Technology like help desk software benefits both teams
• Prioritize high-touch, personalized interactions

Optimizing these areas will ensure customer service and support work hand-in-hand to create a seamless customer experience.

Customer Service Evolves Into Customer Success

As companies grow and improve their capabilities, customer service can evolve into a more proactive function called customer success. While customer support focuses specifically on the product experience, customer success expands the scope to the customer’s broader journey and outcomes.

Customer success managers take a consultative approach to guiding customers through onboarding, adoption, expansion and renewal. Their role is ensuring customers achieve their goals and maximize value from the product.

So customer support remains focused on product usage, while customer success seeks to proactively drive business results. But both functions derive from the foundation of excellent customer service.

Key Takeaways

• Customer service provides helpful transactions and interactions to meet customer requests.
• Customer support specifically helps customers use a product through troubleshooting, training and documentation.
• They have overlapping skills and tools but differ in focus and approach.
• Companies should invest in both customer service and customer support to optimize the customer experience.
• As companies advance, customer service can evolve into the more strategic customer success function.

Understanding the distinct roles of service and support enables companies to divide responsibilities and deliver complete care. With this guide, you now have a firm grasp of the relationship between these two integral functions for serving customers.