Customer Service vs Customer Support: Explained with Examples

Mixing up customer service and customer support seems like a slip of the tongue. Do they both mean the same thing?

Nope! Customer service and customer support are not strictly interchangeable terms. To understand this, let’s take an example. 

I guess you know the brand name Amazon, an umbrella, where retailers list their shops to sell their products worldwide. Now, compare this. Let’s suppose customer service is an umbrella like Amazon, and customer support is similar to one of the listed shops in Amazon.

From here understand the fact that customer support is only one smaller segment of the broader customer service approach. On the other hand, customer service is the compact of both customer support and customer experience throughout the customer journey.

Customer service and customer support hold equal importance for your business, and investing in both functions can help not only to achieve customer loyalty but also a solid reputation in the market and improve your customer satisfaction levels. 

After all, the power of the duo has the potential to drive the success of a business. However, in a lot of cases, they intend to mean the same thing, not making a distinction between the two can cost your business.

Now, let’s get ready to gain the knowledge of similarities and differences between customer service and customer support with real-time examples. Also, know how both of them are related to your customers’ overall experience with the brand especially if you’re looking for outsourcing customer service and support.

Customer service vs customer support

To be very honest, you can’t gain profit from customer support without nailing your customer service strategies. 

Let’s suppose, you have a great product that your customers want to invest in. Now, if they find any issue, they will ask for assistance from customer support but what about their experience on pre-purchase and post-purchase experience? All your customers want is a soothing experience.

Now, you may understand that having a great product or service for selling isn’t all, what matters more is your customer experience that is given through their whole journey.

Well, have a look below to understand this as a whole:

The differences

The similarities between customer service & customer support

Although customer service and support have conceptualized differences, they hold similarities in some cases as well, which are discussed below:

Effective communication is required

To address your customers’ pain points, understand their intent, connect emotions, and provide a prompt response, effective communication without using jargon is much needed and this is a vital facet in both customer support and service. 

Accurate information is provided

Whether you provide different types of customer service or support, your focus should always be on providing accurate information to customers. Here, the purpose is to guide them rightly while avoiding vagueness or jeopardizing the circumstances.

Empathetic emotion is prioritized

No matter whether you’re providing customer service or customer support, to console your customers right away and to please them, you should be very polite and empathetic in your behavior. Here the motto is to let your customers feel valued.

The meeting is needed in both cases

Both functions are successfully handled by a personalized meeting where your customers’ requirements are taken care of. The purpose of the meeting is to ensure your customers find no issues with your products or services and also to eliminate the probability of pointing out the overall service that your customers experience.

What is customer support?

You just ordered a top from Amazon and you’re not satisfied after getting it in your hand, so you hit up the support number on the website to ask for immediate resolution. An agent promptly replies to your call, takes down your order details, and processes a no-questions-asked refund.

This is what customer support is.

Customer support is simply responding to your customers’ requests like refunds, tech support, and any other request. Here, the purpose is to provide your customer with immediate assistance that can resolve customer complaints in one go and reduce the possibilities of customer churn.

Now understand that, in this case, the agent requests a refund or a cancellation through a customer support software integrated into the company’s website. The software automates customer support ticketing so the support agent responds to you at the earliest through the customer support chat software.

To clarify the understanding, let’s take one more example.

If you buy an online video course and aren’t able to access a particular course, you contact the support team via email and ask the company why this particular course doesn’t play.

You immediately get a response that says a support ticket has been created and an agent will get in touch with you shortly. A few days later, you receive an email from the agent answering your query and sorting out your issue effectively.

I believe now you have a clear idea of how customer support can help resolve issues immediately so that your customers do not get frustrated.

What is customer service?

Let’s say you picked up a handbag from an online store. It’s been a month since you started using it and you loved the quality of it.

One fine day you start browsing through your inbox and find that the company has a brand new edition with limited stock selling right now. You hit up the link and see the handbag, love it, and make another purchase.

This is what customer service is. All-in-all customer service has everything that a customer expects including the way you serve, the strategies that push you to hit your customers’ expectations, and the experience that your customers gain throughout their journey.

The importance of good customer service to your business is immeasurable. Customer service is the art of maintaining and building a relationship with your customers so that they not only buy more but also become your fans and go around spreading your services to others. 

To make the concept of customer service more precise, let’s have one more example:

You have been about switching to a new water purifier. So one day you see an ad on the television about a Kent water purifier with premier RO service that matches what you were looking for.
You go in to have a closer look and find out that this can help in fulfilling all of your requirements at a great price. So you quickly scan the ad to find a support number, and yes, it’s there. So you keep dialing and an agent picks up and asks you about your requirements and promptly sends over a salesperson from their sales outsourcing partner to explain the whole scenario to you.

You tell the salesperson that you love the offer but are not ready to switch yet. The salesperson smiles calmly and says goodbye. A few days later you get a call.  

Guess what, it’s the Kent RO service provider company asking you if you’d like to take a free 30-day trial of their service. You take up the service and you get them to install it. You find this Kent RO water purifier service is better than your older one. So you do the most logical thing, you call them and seal the deal. 

Well, from here, you see how you not only get support from Kent’s team but also how they connect with you from the very first touchpoint to provide you with better services. 

Authentic examples of customer service & customer support from renowned brands

Customers have high expectations these days and they seek emotional value along with the product or services they purchase. And to nail this psychology, brands are already putting their efforts in the right place. 

For you, I’m providing here are a few inspirational examples of customer service and customer support:

Amazon

When a company has reached the top of the industry, it means that the company already has prioritized its customers above all to stay in the latest customer service trends. Amazon is such an example that has set the standard for customer service and support.

The best thing about the world’s largest e-commerce retailer is that they provide various support channels including phone, live chat, and email. Apart, the company takes customer problems very seriously and tries to resolve issues immediately whether it’s related to a return, missing package, or a faulty product. 

Additionally, Amazon collects and analyzes customer feedback on a regular basis to identify areas for improvement and make changes to better meet customers’ needs.

All of these factors contribute to Amazon’s reputation for providing exceptional customer experience.

Apple

Apple unveils business chat, which brings customer support and shopping into iMessage.

Apple has been providing exceptional customer service across various channels along with customer support . This is one of the main reasons why it has won a huge dedicated customer base that others may find harder to match.

It offers tech support through its “Genius Bar” in Apple stores and lets customers use chat and phone for online support. Also, its expert agents guide its customers while they have an in-person meeting in the store. By doing so, Apple consistently enhances its customers’ experiences, together with the quality of support it provides, and puts it way above the rest across industries.

Tesla

Convenience to customers should always be a top priority for any business when it comes to offering service and support. While many companies preach this motto and ignore the groundwork, Tesla simply nails it by setting an exception with customer service management. 

The company meets its customers where they are by going to their homes and fixing issues with their cars. This saves customers the inconvenience of finding a repair shop and sitting around till their car is repaired. They can rather schedule their own time and this greatly adds to their overall experience with the brand.

Zappos

Customers always expect companies to listen to their problems and respond to their emails. This makes them feel heard and valued. While many companies understand the value of instant reply to customers, only a handful of them don’t reply.

Zappos, a US-based online shoe and clothing retailer, is one such company that takes customer emails very seriously and responds to each and every one of them. In some cases, it even goes beyond the norm to provide personalized customer service and invites its loyal customers to have a factory tour and see the facilities there.

How does AM2PM Support nail fab customer service and support for your brand?

To thrive in your business, you need the blend of the duo of customer service and support. And for that, you must think of an outsourcing partner. Interestingly there are fewer businesses that can provide you with both customer service and customer support. 

However, one of the best limited editions is AM2PM Support. Now have a look below how they will deliver the customer service & support in detail:

Live chat support

A live chat outsourcing service company can provide support to your customers in the best way. But how? With instant replies where a virtual agent asks questions that are relatable to your customer’s recommended queries. 

Here, your customer can share links, collect the latest information, and save the transcript of conversations for further reference as well. Nowadays, this is counted as one of the top customer service strategies.

Outsourcing live chat with AM2PM Support, you can expect a dedicated team to answer your customers round the clock effectively while getting the needed hand-holding to improve the overall customer experience.

Call center outsourcing support

Well, you need to know that AM2PM Support provides all kinds of call center outsourcing support in one place, where they seamlessly manage your customers and give them a reason to be on your side.

Eager to know? Have a look below:

Outbound call center outsourcing support

With expert outbound call center outsourcing services, now is your time to simplify the lead generation process and engage your loyal customers around the clock with proactive cold calling and telesales solutions. 

This empowers you to showcase your brand’s credibility, fostering unwavering consumer loyalty and service management. Your customers become steadfast in their reliance on your products or services, nurturing the seeds of a long-term goal.

Inbound call center outsourcing support

With inbound call center outsourcing support, you can now give your customers a new way, where they can directly contact the expert agents and take initiatives for communication at their convenience. 

Here, with flawless interaction, your outsourcing agents can smartly resolve queries and reduce customer complaints without the need to maintain follow-ups.

Onshore call center outsourcing support

Well, let me tell you that with an onshore call center outsourcing partner, you’ll gain advantages the same as multilingual call center outsourcing provides for customer services. The main advantage here, the skilled reps from AM2PM Support have expertise in native languages that your customer loves to speak and it will provide guidance to your customers in the same time zone as both belong to the same country.

Offshore call center outsourcing support

Although your offshore call center outsourcing partner belongs to the outskirts of your country, you can reduce call center costs while adding value to our customers’ journey with AM2PM Support. With your offshore outsourcing partner, you’ll gain an advantage in navigating ebb and flow while interacting with customers.

Helpdesk outsourcing support

If you outsource a help desk center it will not only assist and support your employees but also aid your customers as well by reducing errors and filling gaps in the process.

With AM2PM Support, you can provide your customers with real-time tech support, smoothly troubleshoot technical glitches in your products, and seamlessly integrate software or new features. Furthermore, all the updates on your tech-savvy devices will be smartly managed by your outsourcing partner. Now if you sum up the aforementioned benefits, then you’ll find a hassle-free business process.

Enhance customer satisfaction with AM2PM Support & drive revenue growth

Delivering a great customer experience is the goal of every business and successful implementation of that drives your customers’ psychology to rely solely on your brand.

Well, if you notice sharply, you’ll surely find that this outstanding customer experience is none other than a blend of customer service and customer support. Also, here the outcome is possibly made by competent professionals with superb skills.

And if you count on AM2PM Support, then there are higher chances to speed up your business process while your customers tend to express a ‘wah’ experience.

There is more for you if your choice sounds perfect. To know more about your customer service and customer support, book a free call with AM2PM Support now!