Customer Experience (CX) vs Customer Service

Although they are sometimes confused, customer experience and customer service are two distinct concepts. Simply put, customer service is just one part of a much larger concept that is customer experience. Customer experience is shaped by all customer-brand interactions within the customer journey, from awareness to post-purchase. Customer service is just one type of interaction that takes place within the customer journey. 

Let’s examine a few more key differences between the two concepts: 

• Responsibility

Customer service is predominantly the responsibility of customer service managers and agents. Although other employees within an organization may also provide support to customers, it is primarily the support team that is held accountable for delivering great support to customers. 

The customer experience (CX), on the other hand, is a shared responsibility among all who work within the organization. Every single employee plays a role in determining the kind of experiences customers have and therefore each employee is in charge of giving customers a great experience across all touchpoints. 

• Level of Control

Organizations have more control over customer service than they have over customer experience. Customer service can be fully controlled by customer service managers, agents, and teams to ensure adequate and consistent support is provided. However, as customer experience has more to do with customers perception of a brand, it isn’t something organizations can have full control over. 

• Reactive vs Proactive

Customer service is reactive as it depends on customers reaching out for assistance after they’ve experienced issues or difficulties at a certain touchpoint. Conversely, customer experience is proactive as it involves analysing all touchpoints to enhance all parts of the customer journey before customers encounter issues or difficulties. 

• Customer Journey

Customer experience is shaped by the entire customer journey and all the touchpoints it comprises of. Customer service, on the other hand, is just one type of interaction that takes place within the customer journey.