Customer success vs customer service: 6 Key differences to keep in mind

At first glance, customer success and customer service might seem very similar. Even though both help customers in one way or another, the distinctions of customer success vs customer service lie in the goals of each interaction.

While customer service concentrates on resolving immediate concerns for a positive experience, customer success adopts a proactive approach. It aims for long-term customer satisfaction.

Businesses can retain customers by excelling in customer service. At the same time, a robust customer success approach turns customers into advocates. This article will teach you about the similarities and differences of customer success vs customer service. It will also show you how these two concepts synergize for the ultimate customer experience.

What is customer success?

Customer success refers to a business practice focused on ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes and realize the maximum value from a product or service. 

It involves proactive efforts to:

• Understand customer goals
• Provide guidance
• Offer ongoing support
• Optimize product usage 
• Enhance customer satisfaction and retention

Here are the key responsibilities customer success should cover.

1. Customer onboarding

This involves helping customers get started smoothly, showing them how things work, and making sure they feel comfortable using your product or service.

How to achieve that:

• Create step-by-step tutorials and guides to help customers navigate and understand your product or service. Include interactive elements and visuals to make the onboarding process engaging and easy to follow.
• Schedule one-on-one onboarding calls or group webinars to walk customers through the initial setup and functionalities of the product. Address any questions they may have and ensure they know how to make the most of the product from the start.

2. Ongoing engagement

Maintain a relationship with customers even after they’ve made the purchase. Regular check-ins, providing useful tips, and addressing any concerns or questions they might have helps to keep them engaged and happy.

How to achieve that:

• Set up a schedule for regular check-ins through emails, phone calls, or a messaging platform. Inquire about their experience, offer tips to optimize product usage, and gather feedback for continuous improvement.
• Host exclusive webinars or workshops that provide advanced tips, updates, and best practices for using the product effectively. Encourage participation and questions to keep customers engaged and informed.

3. Cross-selling and upselling

Here is where you suggest additional products or services that could benefit the customer based on what they already have. Customer success involves understanding their needs and offering relevant options that can enhance their experience and meet their evolving expectations.

How to achieve that:

• Leverage customer data and behavior to provide personalized recommendations that align with their current usage and needs. For example, if a customer uses software for email marketing, suggest a feature that automates social media posting.
• Offer discounts or special promotions on complementary products or upgraded versions of the current product. Clearly communicate the value and benefits they will gain by opting for the additional offerings.

What is customer service?

Customer service is the assistance and support provided to customers before, during, and after they buy a product or service.

These are the key responsibilities of customer service.

1. Issue resolution

Customer service is responsible for fixing problems or issues that customers encounter. It’s about finding solutions and making sure customers are satisfied.

How to perfect it:

• Use active listening and understanding to pay full attention to the customer, understand their issue, and empathize with their situation.
• Provide clear, easy-to-follow steps to resolve the problem and check if the issue is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

2. Providing information and guidance

Customer service helps customers understand the product or service better. Representatives offer guidance on how to use it effectively and make the most of it.

How to perfect it:

• Explain product features, benefits, and usage in simple language, ensuring the customer understands.
• Provide additional tips or best practices to enhance the customer’s experience with the product or service.

3. Handling complaints and returns

When customers are unhappy or have complaints, customer service steps in to address their concerns. This includes handling returns or exchanges.

How to perfect it:

• Understand the customer’s frustration, apologize for the inconvenience, and assure them that you will resolve the issue.
• Streamline your return process. Guide the customer through a clear and easy return or complaint process, ensuring a smooth experience and a satisfactory resolution.

Customer success vs customer service: Main similarities

Both customer success and customer service involve engaging and assisting customers. You should understand what customers need, answer their questions, and guide them through any challenges they might face.

Customer success and customer service both aim to increase customer satisfaction since the ultimate goal is to make customers happy. It’s about ensuring they’re content with the product or service, they understand how to use it, and they’re getting the value they expected. Here is how to achieve all that.

• Understand each customer’s unique needs and preferences and tailor your assistance accordingly. This could mean remembering their name, understanding their past interactions, and offering solutions that fit them best.
• Respond to customer inquiries, concerns, or issues as quickly as possible. Let them know you’re there to help and that their concerns matter. Quick responses show that you value their time and needs.

Customer service and, ultimately, success require well-trained personnel. Employees should have the knowledge and skills to help customers effectively and professionally, Here is how they can acquire them.

• Comprehensive training programs: Implement thorough training programs that cover product knowledge, effective communication, problem-solving, and how to handle various customer scenarios. Offer ongoing training to keep employees updated.
• Role-playing and simulation: Provide opportunities for employees to practice handling different customer interactions through role-playing exercises. This helps them build confidence and refine their skills in a safe learning environment.

Customer success vs customer service: Key distinctions

Customer success and customer service are both vital aspects of customer-centric strategies, but they differ in focus and approach. Let’s see how each comes into play.

1. Nature

• Customer success is proactive. Customer success teams regularly reach out to customers, guiding them to achieve their goals with the product or service.
• Customer service is reactive. It comes into play when a customer initiates contact or encounters a problem, aiming to address their immediate concerns.

2. Scope

• Customer success is about building relationships. It focuses on understanding the customer’s needs and tailoring the product or service to suit them. It’s a more holistic and ongoing approach.
• Customer service is transactional, concerned with resolving specific issues or providing information at a particular moment. The focus is on the task at hand.

3. Timeframe

• Customer success takes a long-term perspective. It aims to foster a lasting relationship and ensure the customer continues to find value in the product or service over an extended period.
• Customer service is often short-term. The primary goal is to solve the customer’s immediate problem or address their current inquiry.

4. Objective

• Customer success aims for customer growth. It’s about fueling loyalty.
• Customer service focuses on problem-solving. Customer service is centered on addressing and resolving the customer’s issues.

5. Recruitment

• Customer success: Being a relatively newer field, recruitment practices for customer success roles are still evolving. There isn’t a well-established “right” way to hire or train for customer success.
• Customer service: Since customer service has been around since the 1960s, hiring practices are more established. Roles and best practices regarding hiring and training for customer service positions are well-defined.

6. Metrics

• Customer success uses metrics like product usage and feature adoption to measure success in maintaining and growing customer relationships.
• Customer service relies on metrics like customer satisfaction score (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), and first response time to gauge the quality and effectiveness of customer interactions.

The synergy between customer success and customer service

Customer success and customer service are synergistic components in a company. The interaction between the two departments aims at creating a seamless experience for the customer. While customer success aids in maximizing the product’s value proposition, customer service ensures that any roadblocks in the customer journey are dealt with.

Within a product-led or hybrid company, the integration of customer success and service is especially crucial, as the product is central to customer interaction. Through their collaboration, they facilitate smoother customer onboarding, continuous education, and quicker issue resolution.

Here are some examples of how companies have integrated these two functions effectively.

Salesforce

Salesforce seamlessly integrates customer service and customer success through its “Customer Success Platform.” They use customer data and insights to provide personalized support and guidance.

Image source: Salesforce.com

HubSpot

HubSpot integrates customer success into its customer service model. They provide educational resources, proactive onboarding, and ongoing support to help customers succeed in using their platform effectively. They also offer a customer success team that ensures customers get the most value from their investment.

Image source: HubSpot Community

Zoom

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom experienced a surge in users. Zoom swiftly addressed the increased demand by not only enhancing customer service to handle the higher volume of inquiries but also proactively providing guidance and training to new users, ensuring a smooth onboarding process and successful utilization of their service.

Image source: blog.zoom.us

Omnichannel customer service for enhanced customer success

Omnichannel customer service is all about giving customers choices. One main hub that manages all these different ways a customer can reach out is Touchpoint. It’s like the friendly staff at each door, ready to help customers no matter which way they choose to connect.

The multichannel support that Touchpoint provides is crucial for making customers happy. It ensures that whether a customer calls, sends an email, or uses a chat, they get the same great treatment.

Explore Touchpoint’s omnichannel capabilities and start your journey toward enhancing customer success today.