differences between customer support and customer service

Almost business owners don't carp thinking about the difference between customer support and customer service. Even Google makes no divergence betwixt the terms.

If you use Google to search for customer support, you'll go results that include the term service, likewise. Some customer service experts will tell you to use the term you like. That's an acceptable approach: it doesn't matter how you call this department; just give your customers the service, care, and support they need.

However, if nosotros're getting into details, there is a departure between the terms support and service. The term customer back up is adequate for services that provide technical support, whereas the client service department is focused on providing value for the client.

If you lot want to reduce client churn, you take to think about clarity. The terms you employ make a large difference, and so information technology's time to start wondering: should you lot employ the support or service for the customer care section?

The Differences Betwixt Customer Support and Client Service

To understand the difference between support and service, we should kickoff with the origins of one of these terms. The term customer service is somewhat outdated. We ordinarily relate it to sales clerks and long waiting in line before getting the information we needed. Client back up seems to be a more than modern term used for the same department. That's the reason why so many businesses opt for that one.

Why does the term support sound libation? Information technology's related to Information technology technologies; that's why. These technologies evoke the impression of progress.

This is how the term client back up is defined in Techopedia: "service efforts from technology vendors and providers that focus on helping customers to use products and services correctly, efficiently, and effectively. Many encounter this specific blazon of support equally part of a larger category of customer service…"

Now we're getting somewhere. If your company does not offer software and doesn't need to provide support for its use, why would y'all apply this term to label its customer service section?

In its real significant, the term customer service is not outdated at all.

A representative from the customer service department does non necessarily need avant-garde technical skills. They won't be in accuse of helping the customers utilise the software or engineering science production you lot sell. They accept a dissimilar role, related to a comprehensive agreement of the customers' interactions with your business. In add-on, their job is related to the goal of the organization to give the customers the value they deserve for their money.

The companies train customer service agents to maintain positive attitude and convey the message of the brand in the best possible way. A client support representative, on the other paw, does not necessarily care nearly that larger view of the organization's goals.

Client Support or Customer Service – Which One Does Your Organization Need?

Let's explore the ii concepts, so you lot'll decide how to organize (and how to name) this section of your system. And if y'all want to dig deeper, be certain cheque out LiveChat's ultimate client service guide.

Customer Support – the Proper noun for Ongoing Technical Support

When a company offers a circuitous and sophisticated It products and services, it needs to provide ongoing support. The agents human activity equally consultants, which aid the customers to install and use the systems. When someone buys Adobe Photoshop, for example, they will appreciate the Learn & Support department, which provides tutorials and troubleshooting for all problems. "Get help from one of our awesome support people" - that'due south the bulletin you read in this department, and the term support is properly used.

SaaS (Software as a Service) companies are non the simply ones who demand to use the term support. Depending on the type of product or service you provide, you lot may need to provide ongoing assistance to the customers so they volition get the results they need.

LiveChat, for instance, offers a live chat application for customer service teams (you can test it for 30-days free) only calls their team a support team (Support Heroes, to be precise).

Another instance: Help.Plagtracker provides editing help and writing consulting services. However, they yet apply the term support. The customers of this service contact the agents to get help when placing orders and updates on the completion process. They also address concerns regarding missed deadlines, low-quality content, and other issues.

The customer back up agents provide the needed assistance to solve these issues and guide the customers through the entire process.

Here are quick things to remember regarding client support:

  • Troubleshooting and conflict resolution – those are the main points of interest a client support amanuensis has.
  • It'south straightforward assistance focused on a detail trouble.
  • The customer back up agent places the emphasis on the business organization rather than the customer.

Client Service – the Section that Builds Relations

Client service is a more circuitous department that doesn't only provide support to the customers but also contributes towards the strategic goals of the visitor. The customer back up department, which provides day-to-day guidance to the customers, maybe part of a larger customer service department that makes those activities part of the arrangement'due south mission.

The client service section goes beyond helping the client solve a detail outcome. They exchange ideas and assist the user to get more than value out of the product or service they purchased.

  • This is a customer-centric rather than a business-centric service. That's the chief departure between customer support and customer service. The support cares well-nigh the proper functioning of the product. The service cares about the customer's satisfaction with it.
  • Client service requires more than teamwork.
  • The relations between the customer and customer service department start from the moment the transaction is made, and it doesn't actually end. Whenever the customer encounters an issue or needs advice on how to use the product, they can contact the service. The representatives often go the extra mile to brand certain the users become the best feel.

The Name Matters

Y'all're the ane who'll make the final choice. This is the of import thing to remember: the name matters. Don't choose the term customer support simply because it'due south trendy if it doesn't reflect the actions of this department. Cull a relevant name that conveys the activities of the agents!