{"id":1399,"date":"2025-01-16T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/?p=1399"},"modified":"2025-05-02T22:12:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T22:12:27","slug":"customer-experience-vs-customer-service-whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/2025\/01\/16\/customer-experience-vs-customer-service-whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer Experience vs. Customer Service: What&#039;s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/customer-service?_ga%3D2.135423025.1845235778.1653014849-1139737068.1653014849%26hubs_content%3Dblog.hubspot.com\/service\/customer-experience-vs-customer-service%26hubs_content-cta%3DCustomer%2520service\" style=\"font-size: 1.125rem\">Customer service<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.125rem;font-weight: 300\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/customer-experience-strategy?_ga%3D2.135423025.1845235778.1653014849-1139737068.1653014849%26hubs_content%3Dblog.hubspot.com\/service\/customer-experience-vs-customer-service%26hubs_content-cta%3Dcustomer%2520experience\" style=\"font-size: 1.125rem\">customer experience<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1.125rem;font-weight: 300\"> are critical aspects of your business. They both significantly impact your ability to satisfy and retain customers \u2014 but they\u2019re not interchangeable. Each means something entirely different to your business and your customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve pulled examples of these principles being executed masterfully for us to learn from (and one really bad one). You know you\u2019re curious! Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"cta_button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/cs\/ci\/?pg=12501f7c-8e26-4e3c-9642-7afbe078156a&amp;pid=53&amp;ecid=&amp;hseid=&amp;hsic=\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"hs-cta-img \" style=\"height: auto !important;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;border-width: 0px;margin: 0 auto;margin-top: 20px;margin-bottom: 20px\" alt=\"Download Now: Free Customer Journey Map Templates\" height=\"59\" width=\"494\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/12501f7c-8e26-4e3c-9642-7afbe078156a.png\" align=\"middle\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In this post, we&#8217;ll cover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#customer-experience-vs-customer-service\">Customer Experience vs. Customer Service<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#what-is-the-difference-between-customer-service-and-customer-experience\">What is the difference between customer service and customer experience?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#which-is-more-important-customer-service-or-experience\">Which is more important: customer service or experience?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#customer-experience-examples\">Customer Experience Examples<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#customer-service-examples\">Customer Service Examples<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the difference between customer service and customer experience?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Although different, customer service sits under the customer experience umbrella. The way you help customers when issues arise <strong>contributes<\/strong> to their level of satisfaction. The faster you can help bring customers a resolution, the faster you can help them succeed and have a positive experience.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Continuation vs. Single Touchpoint<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Customer experience doesn&#8217;t require interaction with a representative, but customer service usually does. Great customer service happens one interaction at a time, and the customer experience is a summary of that entire customer journey.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Proactive vs. Reactive<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Customer service is reactive: your customer service team will respond to a help ticket or inquiry when a customer initiates a conversation. There are also proactive elements of service, though. Customers expect quick response times, an awareness of their previous touchpoints with the support team, etc.<\/p>\n<p>Is each customer service representative well-trained? Do they have tools that help reduce customer wait time? That&#8217;s where the customer experience comes in: your <em>proactive<\/em> back-end investment in the customer experience sets the stage for what kind of <em>reactive<\/em> service you can provide.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Satisfaction Metrics vs. Service Metrics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Experience metrics are the sum of many touchpoints. They represent all the interactions customers have with your business across departments. A few metrics for your customer experience are:<\/p>\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li><strong>Net Promoter Score<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/what-is-nps\">NPS\u00ae<\/a>). A measure of how likely a customer is to recommend your business. This is a key metric for evaluating your business&#8217;s customer experience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer Satisfaction Score<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/customer-satisfaction-score\">CSAT<\/a>). Your customers&#8217; answer to the question <em>\u201cHow satisfied were you with your experience?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer retention<\/strong>. Are you meeting customers&#8217; needs and keeping them satisfied enough for them to keep choosing you over your competitors?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Customer service metrics show how quickly you help customers resolve their issues. A few metrics for your customer service are:<\/p>\n<ol start=\"1\">\n<li><strong>Average Response Time<\/strong>: How much time does it take for your support team to solve customer problems?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customer Effort Score<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/customer-effort-score\">CES<\/a>). This measures how much work it takes for your customers to use your product or get support.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ticket Resolution Rate<\/strong>: Are customer problems solved the first time they reach out for support, or does it take numerous touchpoints?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Service metrics in a nutshell: Are you able to delight customers with your support and customer care?<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Which is more important: customer service or experience?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Experience is more important than support. Customer service is like icing on top of a cake. If the cake itself (the <strong>experience<\/strong>) is bad, then no amount of icing (<strong>service<\/strong>) can make it good.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a bit crude, but I suppose this old adage says it more succinctly:<em> \u201cIt\u2019s like putting lipstick on a pig.\u201d <\/em>Or the vintage version: <em>\u201cYou can&#8217;t make a silk purse from a sow&#8217;s ear.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bad customer support can ruin your reputation &#8230; but some loyal customers will use your product for years without ever having a single customer service interaction. If you have a bad product, you&#8217;ll never earn loyal customers in the first place.<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image1-Jan-15-2025-04-11-12-7951-PM.webp\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1385\" alt=\"customer experience vs customer service examples\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 1999px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I can think of one paid software I&#8217;ve used for 6+ years without ever needing customer support. My customer lifetime value (CLV) for that company has been enormous. My needs are met by that software because the customer experience is excellent.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Bad support can still ruin a good experience.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Customer expectations have never been higher:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/offers.hubspot.com\/state-of-customer-service\/\">82% of customers<\/a> expect their issues to be <strong>resolved immediately<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/state-of-service-report\">#2 challenge<\/a> service representatives are struggling with is adapting to <strong>increasingly demanding <\/strong>customer expectations.<\/li>\n<li>95% of consumers report that customer service impacts <strong>brand loyalty<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Instead of focusing on one practice over the other, create an all-encompassing strategy that ensures you provide satisfactory customer service and, in the process, create an experience that leaves customers satisfied.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Customer Experience Examples<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s discuss the difference between customer experience and customer service with the <strong>example scenario<\/strong> of a customer visiting a storefront.<\/p>\n<p>Say a customer walks in, makes a return with a representative, and continues with their day \u2014 this is a singular customer experience. That single interaction, though, makes up a small portion of their entire experience with your business that day.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the directions they found on your Google My Business page helped them get there, the setup of your storefront made it easy for them to find your customer service desk, and your customer service rep helped them seamlessly make a return and process a refund.<\/p>\n<p>Everything they did that day related to your business made up their entire experience, and customer service was one of those touchpoints. Here are some other popular examples.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Loyalty Programs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Loyalty programs reward repeat business and offer an incentive for repeat customers. This is often in the form of \u201cbuy 3, get 1 free\u201d or \u201c20% off every 5th order\u201d promotions. Even though these programs are mass-implemented, it can create the feeling of personalized experiences for customers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image7-Jan-15-2025-04-13-52-8388-PM.webp\" width=\"650\" height=\"340\" alt=\"amazon loyalty program\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Liquid-Hydration-Multiplier-Sampler-Variety\/dp\/B0C4SW61KF\/ref=sr_1_2_sspa\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Brand Perception<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Monitoring brand sentiment on social media to understand the perception of your brand. This is known as <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/service\/social-listening\">social listening<\/a>. The story of a bad customer experience can spread like wildfire online, making it important for brands to listen and react to their reputation online. Curious about the perception of your brand? Try asking ChatGPT.<\/p>\n<p><em>What&#8217;s the reputation of [brand name]? Summarize what people think in one paragraph).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image8201.webp\" width=\"650\" height=\"288\" alt=\"chatgpt analyzing a brand\u2019s reputation\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width: 650px;height: auto;max-width: 100%\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/chatgpt.com\/\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Product Design<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Produce design, packaging, and branding all contribute to how customers feel about your business. Thoughtful, comprehensive product design helps customers feel valued by the company. It also contributes to (or detracts from) a business&#8217;s reputation of being a <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/luxury-brand-marketing-strategy\">luxury brand<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>An example of product packaging design that I love is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.notabag.com\/en-fr\/pages\/become-a-retailer\">Notabag<\/a>. A small piece of recycled paper teaches you how to use the product and shares company information. I\u2018ve purchased several Notabags, and I always find myself reluctant to throw the packaging into the recycling bin because it\u2019s so thoughtfully designed.<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image2-Jan-15-2025-04-23-00-1599-PM.webp\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1200\" alt=\"notabag product packaging\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.notabag.com\/en-fr\/pages\/become-a-retailer\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Customer Support<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is where customer support and experience come together. Let&#8217;s zoom in specifically at customer service examples and how they impact the overall customer experience.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>Customer Service Examples<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Every customer service experience is a single event that contributes to overall memorable experiences with a company (either good or bad). Here are some examples.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Response Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When a customer contacts your customer service team, how long does it take for them to get a reply? The overall perception of your customer service team starts with how quickly queries are addressed.<\/p>\n<p>Fast customer service makes customers feel valued \u2014 it has a huge impact on customer satisfaction. Quick responses are an integral part of a modern customer support system.<\/p>\n<p>One of the fastest customer support teams I\u2018ve ever encountered is GreenGeeks. I\u2019ve messaged them at every hour of the day with website issues, and they always reply <em>immediately<\/em> with an exact solution to my problem. It&#8217;s the kind of customer attention that successful businesses should all aspire to.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image6-Jan-15-2025-04-16-43-7514-PM.webp\" width=\"1999\" height=\"940\" alt=\"greengeeks screenshot\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 1999px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greengeeks.com\/\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Support Channels<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A customer interaction can take place on almost any channel these days (yippee, right?). Yes, it&#8217;s a bit more work, but with tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/crm\">HubSpot&#8217;s CRM<\/a> you can consolidate all of your customer communication into one place.<\/p>\n<p>Omnichannel support options allow customers to reach out using their preferred medium. This may be email, live chat, phone, or social media. Maybe even the odd snail mail (stranger things have happened).<\/p>\n<p>Just be sure to provide support to everyone. Some companies hide customer support behind a paywall and leave customers on free plans out in the cold. HubSpot provides multiple direct lines of communication to everyone \u2014 including those using their free products.<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image4201-1.webp\" width=\"1999\" height=\"990\" alt=\"hubspot customer support and customer experience\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 1999px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/company\/contact\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Self-Service<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Creating self-service tools for customers to help themselves helps improve many aspects of your service. A few popular self-service options are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Conversational AI chatbots.<\/li>\n<li>Knowledge bases.<\/li>\n<li>Detailed tutorials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can find a lot of exceptional self-service options online, and also a lot of half-baked ones. My favorite example is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/help\/\">Canva&#8217;s knowledge base<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Not only does it use semantic search to understand the intent behind your query, but it also uses AI to communicate in your language. Canva automatically detects your language and uses AI to send a response in your language. Heel erg bedankt, Canva!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image9-Jan-15-2025-04-18-00-6599-PM.webp\" width=\"1999\" height=\"982\" alt=\"canva delivering an excellent customer experience\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 1999px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Customer Feedback<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Collecting<\/strong> and <strong>acting<\/strong> on customer feedback is a key part of maintaining customer satisfaction. But did you know that some huge companies don&#8217;t accept customer feedback?<\/p>\n<p>For me, Pinterest comes to mind. Users LOVE Pinterest. But they have a <em>very<\/em> hard time contacting them when something goes wrong. You can find angry comments from ignored users on every single social platform. Remember the analogy of the cake and the icing? Pinterest&#8217;s product is the cake; the icing, though, people hate.<\/p>\n<p>My blog post on <a href=\"https:\/\/writingfromnowhere.com\/contact-pinterest-support-for-creators\/\">how to contact Pinterest<\/a> has sparked dozens of comments and emails from customers who have been scammed on the platform or locked out of their accounts. Their TrustPilot score is a raging 1.4\/5 stars as a result. I\u2018ve been a Pinterest marketer since 2018 and I\u2019d bet anything that this is the direct result of no investment in customer support.<img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image5-Jan-15-2025-04-19-08-6113-PM.webp\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1040\" alt=\"pinterest trustpilot reviews\" style=\"height: auto;max-width: 100%;width: 1999px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;font-size: 12px\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/pinterest.com\">Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>I still love Pinterest, but it\u2019s a cautionary tale for brands. Alright, enough about the rage of scorned customers. Let&#8217;s end this on a positive note.<\/p>\n<p><a><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2><strong>You Need Great Customer Service and Customer Experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Both customer service and customer experience are required to scale your business. By understanding these two concepts, you can ensure customers&#8217; needs are met throughout the entire journey, building long-lasting relationships.<\/p>\n<p>Make customers feel valued enough, and they may even brag about the customer experience you&#8217;ve invested in (looking at you GreenGeeks, Notabag, and Canva).<\/p>\n<p>Exceptional customer service starts with the right software \u2014 see if HubSpot\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hubspot.com\/products\/service\">Service Hub<\/a> can help lighten your load.<\/p>\n<p><em>Editor&#8217;s note: This post was originally published in May 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/track.hubspot.com\/__ptq.gif?a=53&amp;k=14&amp;r=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fservice%2Fcustomer-experience-vs-customer-service&amp;bu=https%253A%252F%252Fblog.hubspot.com%252Fservice&amp;bvt=rss\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" style=\"min-height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border-width:0!important;margin-top:0!important;margin-bottom:0!important;margin-right:0!important;margin-left:0!important;padding-top:0!important;padding-bottom:0!important;padding-right:0!important;padding-left:0!important\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >Customer service and customer experience are critical aspects of your business. They both significantly impact your ability to satisfy and retain customers \u2014 but they\u2019re not interchangeable. Each means something entirely different to your business and your customers. I\u2019ve pulled examples of these principles being [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1399"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1455,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1399\/revisions\/1455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web-stil.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}