Customer Service and Customer Experience – How Do They Relate?

2 minute read

Upland Admin

You’ve probably heard a lot of talk lately about the customer experience (CX) and how important it is to your business. But what exactly determines the customer experience? And is there a difference between the customer experience and customer service?

What is customer service?

Customer service involves solving issues for your customers in dealing with your products or services. As one of the primary points of customer contact, the customer service team must provide professional service and deliver the right answers in a timely manner. Other key components of customer service include easy-to-use self-service including online help, chat and a customer community.

But customer service is only one aspect of the customer experience, albeit a crucial one.

So what is the customer experience?

The customer experience goes well beyond customer service. It comprises every interaction the customer has with your brand – including the product interface, functionality, marketing and so on.

It has been shown that positive CX positively impacts the bottom line (Source: Forrester 2016 Customer Experience Index). The result of poor CX? Customer dissatisfaction, switching brands and airing grievances on social media.

Think about a recent visit to a restaurant. The meal itself is only one part of the experience. Even if the food is great, an inattentive waiter, the noise level or a mistake on your bill all affect your overall impression of the evening.

CX is not the responsibility of any one team. Everyone in the organization should keep the customer in mind when performing his or her role, and think about the type of experience s/he is creating. Everyone is responsible for the brand experience.

Author: Shari Ingerman

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