Customer Service

What Is Customer Service?

The definition of customer service is evolving. Here’s what every service leader needs to know.

MARCH 2022

Customer service is the support you offer your customers — both before and after they buy and use your products or services — that helps them have an easy, enjoyable experience with your brand. But customer service is more than solving a customer’s problems and closing tickets. Today, customer service means delivering proactive and immediate support to customers anytime on the channel of their choice — phone, email, text, chat, and more.

Customer service is so important that it is now considered a strategic function for organizations across industries. Three-quarters of agents say their company views them as customer advocates and brand ambassadors.

Why is customer service important?

In one word: retention. Happier customers are more likely to continue doing business with you. This helps your bottom line. It’s less expensive to keep current customers than to attract new ones.

Customer service is also a differentiator that sets your brand apart from competitors that offer similar products or services. Service teams not only answer questions; they make each experience personalized to the customer. In fact, 80% of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services.

Meanwhile, frustrating customer experiences contribute to churn. Eighty percent of shoppers will abandon a retailer after three bad experiences, for example. Great customer service is important for your brand reputation, too. After all, customers are quick to share negative experiences with the masses online.