Customer Service vs. Customer Experience The REAL Difference

Summary

In this video, the narrator explains the crucial difference between customer service and customer experience using the example of buying a hurricane-rated garage door. Through a personal story, they walk through the journey from online research to interactions with the company, highlighting the impact of each touchpoint. The video emphasizes that customer service refers to one-on-one assistance, while customer experience is the overall impression created by a series of interactions. The narrator encourages viewers to reflect on their own customer experience and improve it by ensuring more positive impressions than negative ones.

Takeaways

• 😀 Customer experience is the overall journey a customer has with a brand, from initial contact to post-purchase interactions.
• 😀 Customer service is an interpersonal, one-on-one interaction that occurs during or after the sale, such as offering assistance or answering questions.
• 😀 A good customer experience involves every touchpoint and interaction a customer has, whether online or offline, and leaves a lasting impression.
• 😀 The small details, like website errors or unacknowledged form submissions, can negatively impact the overall customer experience.
• 😀 Customer service is just one part of the broader customer experience and cannot be seen as the same thing. It’s about problem-solving and direct communication.
• 😀 Every interaction with a brand, from website visits to email responses, is an opportunity to shape the customer’s experience, for better or worse.
• 😀 Emojis can be a helpful tool for businesses to gauge the emotional response of customers at each touchpoint in their journey.
• 😀 A positive customer experience is built on a series of good impressions, while a poor experience is made up of frustrating or confusing moments.
• 😀 Businesses should regularly walk through the customer journey from the customer's perspective to assess and improve the overall experience.
• 😀 When evaluating customer experience, consider the balance of positive (😊) versus negative (😟) emotions. More smiles indicate a strong experience.
• 😀 Both customer service and customer experience are vital to building brand loyalty and must be carefully managed to avoid negative impressions.

Q & A

What is the key difference between customer service and customer experience?

Customer service refers to the interpersonal assistance or support provided to a customer during and after a sale. Customer experience, on the other hand, encompasses the entire journey a customer has with a brand, including all touchpoints and interactions that leave an impression, both good or bad.

How does the speaker use their personal experience with purchasing a garage door to explain the difference between customer service and customer experience?

The speaker uses their search for a new hurricane-rated garage door as an example. They explain that the overall experience, including browsing the website, reading testimonials, and submitting a form, forms part of the customer experience. The actual one-on-one interaction with the salesperson (Jim) and the follow-up email are examples of customer service.

What role do emotions play in customer experience, according to the speaker?

Emotions are central to customer experience. The speaker illustrates this by referring to the emojis that pop up during their experience, which represent different emotional reactions (like happy, confused, or angry faces) to the interactions they have with the company. These emotions indicate the quality of the customer experience.

What does the speaker think about the company’s website during their search for a garage door?

The speaker finds the website of 'The Doorman' relatively good, but they encounter a problem when trying to access information about hurricane-rated doors, as the page shows an error ('Page not found'). This creates a negative impression as part of their customer experience.

How does the speaker evaluate the customer service provided by 'The Doorman'?

The speaker mentions that Jim, the representative, was friendly and provided a good interpersonal service during the in-person visit. However, the follow-up email he sent was not well-received. The email was written in all caps and assumed the speaker knew technical terms like 'insulated' vs 'non-insulated,' which negatively impacted the overall customer service.

What kind of impression does the speaker have of the follow-up email they received?

The speaker is frustrated by the follow-up email, as it was written in all caps, making it feel like the salesperson was 'yelling' at them. Additionally, the email was unclear, assuming the speaker knew the technical details of garage doors, which led to confusion and disappointment.

What suggestion does the speaker offer to viewers regarding customer experience?

The speaker suggests that viewers should take the time to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and review each step of the customer journey, including all the interactions with their brand. They recommend attaching emojis to each touchpoint to gauge the emotional impact of each interaction.

Why does the speaker compare customer service to customer experience?

The speaker emphasizes that customer service is just one component of the overall customer experience. While customer service involves one-on-one interactions and support, customer experience includes all interactions—positive or negative—that a customer has with a brand, forming the overall impression of the brand.

What does the speaker's use of emojis in the video illustrate about customer experience?

The use of emojis is a way to visually represent how each customer touchpoint affects the overall experience. Positive interactions lead to smiley faces, while negative or confusing interactions result in frown faces or question marks. This helps to make the abstract concept of customer experience more tangible and relatable.

How does the speaker feel about their overall experience with 'The Doorman'?

The speaker expresses disappointment with the overall customer experience, citing the website errors, unclear email communication, and lack of follow-up. They mention that despite the in-person interaction being positive, the digital communication left a bad impression, making them less likely to proceed with this vendor.