{"id":41565,"date":"2024-06-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-23T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/customer-service-vs-customer-support\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T02:25:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T09:25:53","slug":"customer-service-vs-customer-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-vs-customer-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer service and customer support: what\u2019s the difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer service and customer support are crucial aspects of the customer experience. Done right, they foster customer loyalty, word-of-mouth referrals, and more recurring revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two terms are often used interchangeably. But despite some crossover, they actually refer to different things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowing this difference is important. Once you\u2019ve teased them apart, you\u2019ll be able to define job responsibilities more clearly, make better hiring decisions, and minimize customer frustration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post, we\u2019ll look at:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#customer-support-vs-customer-service\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer support vs customer service: the key differences<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#tips-providing-great-customer-service-and-support\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9 Tips for providing great customer service and support<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"#real-life-example\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6 Real-life examples of top-notch customer service and support<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f\u2b50\ufe0f Ready to offer 5-star customer service? Get strategies for every stage of the customer journey with this <\/span><b>free eBook<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/assets.ringcentral.com\/us\/ebook\/long-live-customer-service.pdf\" data-id=\"69d8da5ebb176\" id=\"69d8da5ebb176\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:69d8da5ebb176.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\udcd9 Get the eBook<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udc40Get this free eBook to learn how to win in customer service.<\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get it now\">Get it now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:69d8da5ebb176.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong><a id=\"customer-support-vs-customer-service\"><\/a>The difference between customer service and customer support<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all hear the terms customer service and customer support all the time, and it can be easy to assume they\u2019re synonymous. There are, however, some vital differences:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is customer service?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s an umbrella term that covers all the interactions between your business and its customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It encompasses everything you do to meet your customers\u2019 expectations and improve the overall <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/effortless-customer-experiences-how-you-too-can-be-a-customer-service-hero\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer experience<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> throughout their journey with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/knowmax.ai\/blog\/customer-service-goals\/\">ultimate goal of customer service<\/a> is to help customers get as much value from your product or service as possible\u2014and it\u2019s a minefield for businesses whose customer service teams aren\u2019t organized and whose phone systems aren\u2019t adaptable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some examples of what is considered customer service:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding new customers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Answering questions and replying to comments on social media<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping customers with billing and delivery issues<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resolving non-technical account issues<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recommending better tools or techniques<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collecting <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-reviews\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer reviews<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and feedback<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upselling (when appropriate)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer service agents tend to have a broad understanding of the business, its products, and customer contact channels. And although they don\u2019t have specialist <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">knowledge, they\u2019re capable of answering common questions and pointing customers toward more expert assistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well-honed soft skills are an essential part of delivering great customer service. The best customer service agents are clear, patient, empathetic, supportive, and pay close attention to the customer\u2019s unique situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pro-tip:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more about how to build <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-skills\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer service skills<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><strong>What is customer support, on the other hand?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s actually a subset of customer service. It\u2019s most commonly found within SaaS, IT, and eCommerce businesses, and its purpose is to help customers solve any technical issues that may crop up when using your product or service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer support interactions tend to be reactive and short term. In most cases, the customer reaches out with a problem they want to solve. The support agent will then either implement the solution themselves or guide customers through the relevant steps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some ways that agents might support customers :<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-size: 15px;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real-time troubleshooting with customers on support emails and live chat<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helping customers install, maintain, upgrade, and dispose of the product or service<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating product documentation and supporting resources<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conducting usability studies<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing input into product development<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speed, technical proficiency, and product expertise are key attributes of an effective customer support agent. But to give customers the best experience possible, they should also have the same empathy and people skills as any other customer service agent.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Customer service vs customer support<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clearly, customer service and support are closely related, and it\u2019s easy to see where the confusion arises with terms like<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201ccustomer support services\u201d and<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201ccustomer service support\u201d blurring the lines. But the two are nonetheless distinct.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer service deals with the entire customer experience, aiming to satisfy customers throughout the customer lifecycle. Customer support, meanwhile, is more narrowly focused on helping customers solve technical problems, often through tools like a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/call-center-service.html\">contact center service<\/a> that streamlines communication and issue resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Plus, while customer service is part of every business, not every business needs customer support. For example, restaurants generally don\u2019t need to offer their patrons technical support. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This table highlights the main differences:<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"font-size: 15px;\" border=\"2\" width=\"100%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\"><strong>Customer service<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\"><strong>Customer support<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Applies to the entire customer lifecycle<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Applies to customers\u2019 technical difficulties with a product<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Long-term interactions<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Short-term interactions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Generalist<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Specialist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Non-technical<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Technical<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Proactive and reactive<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Mostly reactive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Applies to all businesses<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Applies to some businesses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Affects all customers<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Affects some customers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Doesn\u2019t always involve customer support<\/td>\n<td style=\"padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;\">Always involves customer service<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><strong>Why good customer support and customer service is important<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest businesses in the world understand the value of investing in skilled customer service representatives and well-trained, problem-solving customer support teams. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freshworks.com\/ticketing-system\/\">Task management tools<\/a> can further enhance efficiency by helping teams prioritize and track inquiries, ensuring timely and organized responses to customer needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you\u2019re not yet convinced, here\u2019s why you should join them:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><strong>Customer satisfaction is key for customer retention<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you\u2019ve likely heard before, replacing a customer is typically much more costly than keeping one. The marketing, the research, the outreach\u2026the costs add up, and even a qualified lead might not pay off.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve won a customer before, you don\u2019t need to stoke their interest, only maintain it. That\u2019s the path to huge customer lifetime value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And though there are many customer issues that can cause concerns, bad customer care is one of the most damaging.\u00a0 If your customers leave because you\u2019ve upped the prices of your company\u2019s products, you can lower them and bring those customers back\u2014but if you treat them poorly, you\u2019ll struggle to get their trust back.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><strong>Customers have higher expectations than ever before<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When ecommerce came along, consumers got used to the convenience of ordering from home, and retailers that didn\u2019t sell online began to struggle to compete. A similar process has taken place in customer service and customer support, and it now takes more to achieve a positive customer experience than it used to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Take self-service, for instance. Though the average customer still wants the option of getting assistance, they also expect a top help desk to feature resources\u2014such as chatbots, knowledge bases, and now, advanced tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/ai-receptionist\">RingCentral\u2019s AI Receptionist<\/a>\u2014that let them find what they need without the hassle of outreach or back-and-forth discussions.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><strong>Strong customer relationships drive high-value referrals<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meeting customer needs might be enough to achieve solid retention rates, but exceeding their expectations can earn their brand advocacy. Businesses sometimes avoid going the extra mile because they don\u2019t see the immediate impact on their metrics, but this is about playing the long game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good customer service teams that practice active listening, follow up on customer inquiries, and generally look for ways to make customers\u2019 lives easier can make their brands memorable enough to warrant recommendation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And a recommendation can be a big revenue-driver. A referred customer will start off with a positive perception of the business and probably be willing to spend more as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><strong>What good customer support and customer service looks like<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a business perfected customer support and customer service, what would that involve? What would the biggest ingredients be?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For maximum impact, here\u2019s what a capable customer support system looks like:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It listens, learns, and doesn\u2019t forget<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We just touched upon active listening, the practice of putting real focus into a conversation so you fully understand what the other person is saying, what they <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mean<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and what they\u2019re looking for. But that alone isn\u2019t enough for great customer support. To maximize its value, it\u2019s also necessary to have a complete system in place to record the information and ensure it influences future interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CRM software is ideal for this, with CRM standing for \u201cCustomer Relationship Management\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A well-designed CRM will integrate with contact center software to log the findings from all customer interactions. It will then display related insights clearly and logically so the support professionals using it can more easily provide personalized assistance and anticipate future customer queries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><strong>It responds quickly and efficiently<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every moment a customer is left waiting is an opportunity for them to think about taking their business elsewhere. It isn\u2019t possible to react quickly every time, or even respond within a day or two given the existence of weekends, but it\u2019s vital to ensure that no customer query is left without a response for too long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A great support system uses any tools necessary (including live chat systems, set workflows, chatbots, and social media contact methods) to deliver prompt responses. In addition, it ensures that as many issues as possible are resolved first time instead of needing customers to keep reaching out.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><strong>It\u2019s extremely consistent<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consistency is a must-have in customer support, as even a single bad interaction can push a customer away. The best support systems get things right almost every time and in all significant areas (phrasing, tone, messaging, solutions, etc.). This demands strict training, discipline, professionalism, and access to reliable software.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><strong>It knows when to be proactive<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many issues can\u2019t be anticipated, but some can, and excellent support systems choose the right times to reach out to customers and resolve those before they can fester.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also reach out to seek feedback, show appreciation, and provide updates on product or service updates or innovations. This shows customers that they\u2019re valued even when they\u2019re not expressing discontent.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><strong>9 tips for providing great customer service and support<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now let\u2019s look at some different ways your business could provide stellar customer service <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> support.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Define your philosophy and process<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your approach to customer service and support should be unified. Otherwise, you\u2019ll end up with inconsistencies in delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Start by defining the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-principles\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer service principles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you\u2019ll use to guide each interaction\u2014such as speed, accessibility, and proactivity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You could also create a customer service playbook that outlines common processes and best practices. Include instructions for processes like reporting bugs and errors, how and when to create support content, and protocols for documenting customer feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Give your agents the tools they need<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses need to<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">support customer service<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">teams with<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">good-quality tools that make their lives easier. Boosting their efficiency frees them up to spend more time helping people, and it also demonstrates to customers that your company is professional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, offering your customers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/omnichannel-customer-service\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">omnichannel customer service<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> means they can reach out to you through whatever channel suits them best\u2014whether it\u2019s live chat, social media, in-app messaging, phone, or email:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-56625\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/03_Ring_CX_Contact_Center_Rich_omnichannel.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer profiles are a feature of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/ringcx\/omnichannel.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCX<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that can help. They let you build a rich picture of each customer based on their interactions across different channels. Any agent connecting with a customer gets an immediate overview of their history and needs, while customers are saved the trouble of repeating themselves to different agents:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1lUI1S0QSZfjTybZLhdgG7wUIn8isoAaB\/preview\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Communicate clearly<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unclear communication leads to confusion and avoidable mistakes, which can damage customer confidence in your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strip away technical jargon and industry slang from your messaging, use simple words where possible, and don\u2019t overwhelm the customer with too much information .<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another important part of clear communication is transparency. If the customer asks a question, and you\u2019re not clear what the answer is, it\u2019s okay to let them know you\u2019re not sure, and you\u2019ll get back to them as soon as you find an answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Pro-tip:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Communication with your own teammates is important, too. Everyone should be on the same page about what they\u2019re telling customers. Here are a few <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/communication-tools\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">communications tools<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> designed for teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. Use positive language<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Positive language entails being solutions-oriented instead of problem-oriented.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, suppose a customer was unable to access an online <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/virtual-training\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">training video<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> due to a technical fault.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A negative response to this complaint might be:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m really sorry about that. Unfortunately, we don\u2019t know what the problem is at this time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whereas a positive response would be:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m really sorry about that. Thanks for the heads up. We\u2019ll look into it right away and let you know the second it\u2019s fixed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Close conversations properly<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your customer service and support teams must bring all customer interactions to a clear-cut resolution. If you don\u2019t make sure your customer is satisfied with the interaction, you can\u2019t tell if they\u2019ve had a good experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a customer conversation seems to be slowing down, always ask if there\u2019s anything else you can help with. This signals to the customer you care about their issue, and you\u2019re happy to take as much time as they need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the customer has no more questions, you can close the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. Prioritize first-contact resolution<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether reaching out to customer service or support, customers want their problem resolved in one go. They don\u2019t want to have to call you again or to explain the problem to another agent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means you should make first-contact resolution\u2014or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/how-important-is-first-call-resolution-for-your-contact-center\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">first-call resolution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014a top priority.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your first-call resolution (FCR) rate measures your performance on the number of customer interactions resolved in the first conversation. The industry standard for a good FCR rate is between<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sqmgroup.com\/resources\/library\/blog\/fcr-metric-operating-philosophy\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">70% and 79%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7. Save time with response templates<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There will be some customer questions your service and support teams encounter a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating a bank of saved responses\u2014which your agents can customize as needed\u2014is one way to ensure quick and consistent responses to FAQs.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8. Practice empathy, build rapport<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customers contacting support are often stressed and frustrated. Before diving into solving the technical problem, support agents need to show empathy for the customer\u2019s unique situation (even if it\u2019s the eighth time they\u2019ve addressed that same issue today).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s about making the customer feel heard and understood. Likewise, building rapport with customers\u2014addressing them personally, asking questions about their business, showing excitement about their plans\u2014goes a long way toward creating a human-centered customer experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9. Involve other teams in customer service<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One effective way to build a customer-centric strategy and culture is to involve all employees in frontline customer service and support, aka practicing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-service-teamwork\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer service teamwork<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This could mean asking members of different teams to periodically sit-in on customer calls, or hosting regular cross-team discussions to reflect on customer feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When everyone feels the customer\u2019s pain, they\u2019ll maintain customer-first focus in the work they do.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\"><strong>3 common mistakes in customer service and customer support<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies of all kinds make customer support mistakes on a regular basis, some minor and others major.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are three of the most common that you should avoid:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">1. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sticking to templates no matter what<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We talked about writing out templates to shape support interactions, and it\u2019s inarguably worthwhile. Support teams who need to deal with similar calls every day can get through them more economically with clear structures known to get results. Meanwhile, new hires who lack confidence can follow the scripts laid out for them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, though, scripts aren\u2019t always effective. Even similar calls will vary in subtle ways, and an interaction that seemed to be going in one direction can end up going somewhere totally different. Though this isn\u2019t an issue when the support agents can adapt on the fly, some are unable or unwilling to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When support agents keep repeating what their scripts say, customers know they\u2019re not being listened to, stop believing their issues are going to be addressed, and ultimately give up so they can look elsewhere. And without the promise of massive improvements, they won\u2019t consider returning.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">2. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coming across as indifferent to customer problems<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support agents need to be composed and professional. If they get angry or irritated, they mustn\u2019t let it show. As noted earlier, though, customers <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lose their composure for a variety of reasons, and it\u2019s essential that the support agents who are trying to help them show empathy\u2014yet many businesses fail at this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And when support agents react completely dispassionately to signs of frustration, it doesn\u2019t just make customers lose interest in the brands they represent. Worse, it pushes them to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hate <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">those brands, and that hatred can lead them to damage those brands\u2019 reputations however they can.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\" style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">3. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assuming that customers are satisfied<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No news isn\u2019t always good news. Customers who aren\u2019t complaining about anything might be content with everything. It\u2019s also possible, however, that they don\u2019t feel very comfortable complaining <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, worse still, don\u2019t think their complaints will be listened to. In such cases, things will only get worse if left alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where actively seeking feedback becomes essential. Asking a customer to rate their support experience at the end of a call will help, as will contacting them on occasion to see if there\u2019s anything they\u2019re unhappy with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s also worth ensuring there are easy ways to report issues without needing spoken conversation, as that\u2019s a barrier that can hold some people back from acting.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><a id=\"real-life-example\"><\/a>4 Real-life examples of top-notch customer service and customer support<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So that\u2019s the theory, but what does great customer service and customer support look like in practice?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><strong>Customer service<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a pair of examples of brands nailing their customer service provision:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"heading h4\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. AmEx automatically detecting travel plans<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this example of proactive customer service, American Express <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanexpress.com\/us\/customer-service\/faq.travel-notification.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">automatically detects<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when its card holders are traveling overseas, using advanced fraud detection capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This saves customers the trouble of having to notify AmEx of any upcoming travel plans, which can be easy to forget when you\u2019re preparing for a trip.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. AT&amp;T personalized video bills<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AT&amp;T helps customers to understand their bills by sending them<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.att.com\/support\/article\/my-account\/KM1071328\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">personalized videos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that explain things like line items, partial-month charges, and activation fees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Account holders receive an auto-generated video that runs them through each part of the bill, anticipating common misunderstandings without customers having to get in touch for an explanation. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Customer support<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer support is often much maligned, but some companies get things spot-on here, too:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Asana\u2019s knowledge base<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knowledge bases\u2014accessible libraries of helpful resources about your product and related subjects\u2014let customers solve problems themselves without having to contact a support agent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/asana.com\/guide\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asana&#8217;s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> knowledge base is a particularly good example with multiple guides, demo videos, helpful use cases, screenshot-assisted help articles, and interactive courses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-56638 size-full\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/image4-1.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of Asana\u2019s knowledge base; a great resource for customer support\" width=\"1212\" height=\"614\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. RingCentral\u2019s multilingual chat support<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether your company trades in the US or across the globe, you\u2019ll have plenty of customers who don\u2019t speak English as their first language. And<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unbabel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/highlights-the-unbabel-global-multilingual-cx-report-2021.pdf\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">69% of global consumers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> believe it\u2019s important brands offer an end-to-end customer experience in their native language.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/digital-customer-engagement.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral\u2019s customer engagement platform<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is able to offer multilingual support with the system automatically recognizing over 72 languages to assign incoming messages to the right agent.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Recap: How to tell the difference between customer service and customer support<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s wrap up<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer support vs. customer service. Often thought to be the same thing, they\u2019re actually two distinct practices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customer service encompasses all the processes and values that underpin your customer interactions, while customer support deals mainly in solving technical customer problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both customer support and<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer service help<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">your business to create a seamless customer experience and build positive relationships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In some smaller businesses, the responsibility for customer service and support will often fall to the same person. Larger companies will have separate teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Either way, success depends on respecting the differences while delivering both in an integrated way.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Customer support vs customer service FAQs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are customer support and customer service the same thing?<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No. Customer service is the sum-total of all your interactions with customers throughout their journeys with your brand. Customer support refers to the solving of technical issues, which customers encounter when using your products or services. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is customer service more important than customer support?<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not necessarily. While not all businesses will need to offer customer support, for those that do, getting it right is a <\/span><b>crucial part of overall customer service<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You shouldn\u2019t consider it as an either\/or type scenario. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Customer service and customer support are crucial aspects of the customer experience. Done right, they foster customer loyalty, word-of-mouth referrals, and more recurring revenue. The two terms are often used interchangeably. But despite some crossover, they actually refer to different things. Knowing this difference is important. Once you\u2019ve teased them apart, you\u2019ll be able to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":56666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901,4],"tags":[402,1675,18084,2088],"class_list":["post-41565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","category-customer-experience","tag-customer-service","tag-customer-support","tag-difference-between-customer-service-and-customer-support","tag-support"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Customer Service and Customer Support: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Customer service and support are often confused, so how do you tell them apart? 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