What is Customer Service? 7 Tips To Make Your Customer Service Great
Key Takeaways
- Customer service is about more than solving problems – It’s a key driver of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term business success.
- Exceptional service can set a brand apart – In competitive markets, outstanding customer service is a powerful differentiator.
- Speed, empathy, and knowledge matter most – Quick response times and well-trained support teams lead to positive customer experiences.
What is Customer Service?
Customer service is the support and assistance businesses provide to customers before, during, and after a purchase to ensure satisfaction, customer success, and brand loyalty.
Traditionally, that meant answering questions or resolving issues. But today, it’s broader and more strategic. It is about everything from pre-purchase guidance and onboarding to post-sale support and anticipating problems before they arise.
A strong customer service philosophy plays a big role in this, and these examples of customer service philosophies show how businesses can shape their approach.
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Customer service happens (or at least, it should) across multiple channels—live chat, phone, email, self-service, and social—and often blends human help with automation.
Done well, customer service builds trust, creates brand advocates, and drives measurable business outcomes like retention and referrals. Exceptional service can set businesses apart, keep customers coming back, and drive long-term success.
Benefits of Great Customer Service
Beyond mere issue resolution, great customer service fosters customer loyalty, transforming customers into brand advocates.
When customers feel valued, they’re more likely to make repeat purchases, significantly enhancing customer lifetime value and decreasing customer churn. In fact, a majority of customers are willing to pay a premium for superior service.
In crowded markets, exceptional customer service can be the differentiator that sets a brand apart, offering an edge that translates into increased revenue and a stellar brand reputation over time. It’s an investment that pays dividends.
Providing better customer service than your competitors offers several clear benefits:
- Customer Loyalty: When customers receive excellent service, they are more likely to return. In fact, 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases and promote companies that offer excellent customer service.
- Willingness to Pay More: Great customer service can directly impact your bottom line. 52% of customers are willing to pay more if they know they’ll receive excellent customer care and be treated well.
- Positive Recommendations: Satisfied customers often tell others about their good experiences via word-of mouth. The average customer tells at least six people about their positive customer experience. In my experience, the best influencer is a truly happy customer. (But bad customer service can also cost you potential future customers).
- Reduced Costs: Keeping current customers is cheaper than finding new ones. Acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing one.
- Customer Service as a Revenue Driver: Even a small boost in customer retention can lead to a big jump in profits. Increasing customer retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.
A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.
Channels of Customer Service
This is where customer service happens in real time, whether you are the “customer” or the “service” part of the equation. Being able to help customers across different service channels is a common customer service strategy for the modern age of customer service strategy.
You can also choose between human-led or automated service, or (ideally) a blend of the two. Here are the common customer service channels companies use:
- Self-Service - AI chatbots leverage artificial intelligence to solve common customer problems. FAQs, knowledge bases, and Wikis offer easy-to-deliver know-how and can empower customers to find resolutions to service complaints without agent intervention.
- In-person - Retail stores and businesses with physical branches still need to offer in-person customer service at this crucial touchpoint.
- Social Media - Customers want to be able to engage on platforms that are easy and familiar for them to use, like Facebook, Instagram, and X.
- Live chat - Typically available over the company's website or app, live chat can be a great alternative to phone support. You can also consider integrating a chatbot to address common questions with canned responses, so human agents only need to deal with more complex inquiries.
- Customer service representative - Whether by phone, email, video, or other channels, talking to a representative directly is often the best way to handle complex queries. Customers increasingly prefer omnichannel service, so be prepared to help through on their preferred channel.
- Phone calls - A call center or, at the very least, dedicated team members who provide customer support by phone, appeals to older audiences who maybe aren’t as tech savvy.
7 Pillars of Customer Service (With Examples)
Providing great customer service isn't just about solving problems—it’s about building trust, improving user experience, and ensuring customers feel valued at every touchpoint. In my experience, here are seven ways you can do that:
1. Empathy – Understand Their Feelings
Customers want to feel heard and understood. When someone reaches out with a problem, put yourself in their shoes. Show them that their concerns matter—because they do.
Example: A customer using a project management SaaS platform is struggling with a feature and feels frustrated. Instead of jumping straight into troubleshooting, the support rep acknowledges their frustration: "I totally get how frustrating it is when something isn’t working the way you expect. Let’s get this sorted out together."
2. Patience – Stay Cool Under Pressure
Some customers will be frustrated, confused, or just having a bad day. Your job? Stay calm, listen, and guide them toward a solution. Your patience can turn a tough situation into a positive one.
Example: A customer contacts support multiple times about integrating the SaaS tool with their CRM. Even though they’ve been given instructions before, they still don’t understand. Instead of getting frustrated, the rep patiently walks them through the process step by step until they feel confident.
3. Communication – Speak Clearly, Listen Carefully
A great customer service experience starts with clear and simple communication. Avoid jargon, ask clarifying questions, and make sure customers fully understand their options. Also, make sure your customer service team listens more than they talk! Active listening, rather than just passively following along, can help you get to the root of customer issues instead of just fixing what's broken.
Example: A customer asks, "Why can’t I access my analytics dashboard?" Instead of responding with technical jargon, the support rep simplifies the explanation: "It looks like your account permissions need an update. I’ll guide you through how to adjust that now."
4. Product Knowledge – Know Your Stuff
You can’t help with what a customer needs if you don’t understand what you’re supporting. Take the time to learn your product or service inside and out so you can confidently assist customers.
Example: A new customer is unsure which subscription plan suits their needs. Because the support rep understands the software inside and out, they can confidently recommend the best plan based on the customer’s use case rather than just reading from a script.
5. Problem-Solving – Fix Issues, Not Just Symptoms
Customers come to you for solutions, not excuses. Think critically, ask the right questions, and find the best possible fix—not just a quick band-aid. Customer feedback can help improve your problem-solving processes over time.
Example: A SaaS user’s reports are loading slowly. Instead of just telling them to clear their cache, the support team investigates deeper and finds an issue with their data filters, providing a long-term fix.
6. Adaptability – Expect the Unexpected
Every customer is different. Some want quick, direct answers; others need step-by-step guidance. Being flexible in how you assist customers makes a huge difference.
Example: A busy executive asks for a one-minute answer about a feature, while another customer wants a detailed tutorial. The support rep adapts their response accordingly—giving the executive a quick summary while linking a step-by-step guide for the other customer.
7. Accountability – Own the Customer’s Experience
If something goes wrong, don’t pass the blame—own it. Follow up, make things right, and ensure the customer feels valued. A simple “Let me take care of this for you” goes a long way.
Example: A customer gets charged twice for their subscription. Instead of blaming the billing system, the support rep takes full responsibility: "That’s on us, and I’m going to fix this right away. I’ve processed your refund, and I’ll follow up to make sure everything looks correct on your end."
Every company’s greatest assets are its customers, because without customers there is no company.
Key Customer Service Metrics That Matter
The right customer service metrics (or KPIs) help you track performance, surface friction points, and tie service efforts to real business outcomes.
Here are the core customer service KPIs worth tracking:
- Average Time to Answer (ATA): How long does it take for someone to get help? Delays here often signal staffing gaps or poor routing. If your ATA is creeping up, your customer’s patience is already gone.
- First Contact Resolution (FCR): FCR, also called First Call Resolution, measures how many issues are resolved in a single interaction. Higher FCR = lower ticket volume, happier customers, and fewer “Just following up…” emails.
- Average Handle Time (AHT): Tracks how long agents spend on a case, including talk or chat time plus wrap-up. This needs balance—rushing leads to mistakes, but dragging means inefficiency and higher operational costs.
- Abandonment Rate: The percentage of customers who bail before reaching a rep. High rates here might mean your IVR tree is a maze or your wait times are unreasonable. This one is particularly crucial, because you do not want your customers leaving unhappy.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Usually gathered via a simple post-interaction survey (e.g., “How satisfied were you with this experience?”). CSAT is fast, flexible, and still one of the clearest indicators of how you’re doing.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Although NPS is not a service-only metric, it is still a powerful indicator of service quality. It asks how likely a customer is to recommend your brand. Low scores might be a sign that your service experience is the reason behind your churn.
- Ticket Volume Trends: Not just how many, but when, where, and why. I recommend using this to forecast staffing needs, spot seasonal patterns, or catch product issues early.
One piece of advice - You can’t improve what you don’t measure. But don’t obsess over benchmarks in isolation. Your metrics only matter if they lead to better decisions for your team and your customers.
The Future of Customer Service: Where Tech Meets Expectation
Remember the time when customer service was reactive? Customer service agents would wait for the complaint, respond with a script, and hope the customer sticks around. That model’s not just outdated—it’s irrelevant.
Today’s most competitive service-driven organizations are leaning into technologies that anticipate needs, connect systems, and scale empathy. Not for the sake of shiny tools, but to meet rising customer expectations and internal efficiency demands.
Here’s where the smart money is going:
AI and Automation (Done Right)
We’re way past chatbots that get stuck at “I didn’t understand that.” AI is now powering dynamic routing, agent assist, sentiment analysis, and real-time resolution suggestions. Done right, it shortens queues, improves accuracy, and frees humans for higher-value work. The trick is to keep it human-first, not AI-first.
Omnichannel Service Platforms
Customers don’t care about your internal silos. They want seamless omnichannel service. That might mean your team's customer interactions start on X, escalate via email, and finish over chat. The future lies in platforms that unify all these touchpoints with context baked in. (Looking at you, CCaaS and CRM integrations.)
Predictive and Proactive Support
It’s not just about reacting to customer complaints anymore. As a CX leader, you have the opportunity to use data to anticipate needs before the ticket arrives. Proactive support can include surfacing FAQs at the right time, flagging accounts at churn risk, or auto-triggering check-ins post-purchase.
Real-Time Analytics & Voice of Customer (VoC)
Let's be honest—survey results and a view into last month's metrics can help you fix some things but it won't bring back a lost customer. The future of customer service is being able to act on feedback before it snowballs. In my view, CX professionals should expect to see more tools that analyze customer sentiment as it happens, across every channel.
Modular, API-Friendly Tech Stacks
Gone are the days of monolithic support tools. Integration is table stakes now. Scalable, API-first platforms let you plug into your existing ecosystem—connecting support with product, sales, and success data in real time.
The future of customer service isn’t about replacing humans. It’s about equipping them with the right tools so your team can do less ticket-chasing and more relationship-building. That shift from reactive support to proactive, personalized engagement is what transforms CX into a true growth driver.
Customer Service FAQs
Here are some common questions I get about customer service:
Customer Service vs. Customer Support: How are they different?
While often used interchangeably, customer service and customer support serve different functions.
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Customer service is the broader umbrella. It includes any assistance provided at any stage of the customer journey—before, during, or after a purchase. This can be helping a customer choose the right plan, navigating an invoice, upselling, or resolving a complaint.
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Customer support is more technical and reactive. It typically kicks in when something breaks or needs fixing—like product troubleshooting or bug reporting.
Support is a type of service. But great customer service also includes proactive guidance, relationship-building, and retention-driving touchpoints across the full customer lifecycle.
What is the role of empathy in customer service?
Empathy in customer service is essential for building trust and fostering a positive experience, ultimately leading to increased customer loyalty. As I often tell people, understanding what the customer needs and why is the first step to delivering exceptional customer service. Not only does empathy help you give the customer what they ask for, it allows you to anticipate what they will need in the future and proactively nip potential issues in the bud.
What are the common challenges in customer service? How can they be overcome?
Delivering consistently great service isn’t easy—especially at scale. The biggest challenges in customer service include:
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Limited resources: Understaffed teams, shrinking budgets, and rising ticket volumes can stretch even strong support orgs thin.
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Tool fragmentation: When customer service reps have to jump between platforms, context gets lost—and so does the customer.
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Inconsistent training: Without standardized onboarding and upskilling, service quality can vary wildly across agents or locations.
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High expectations: Customers expect fast, personalized, and omnichannel support. Meeting that bar (and staying human) takes serious orchestration.
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Lack of visibility: Without real-time data or feedback loops, it’s hard to spot issues before they escalate.
To overcome common challenges in customer service, it’s important to adopt proactive service, ensure effective communication, and promote a collaborative team approach. Smart organizations do this with clear processes, integrated tech stacks, and a culture that values CX (and employee experience, for that matter) at the leadership level—not just in the support queue.
How does technology enhance customer service?
Technology enhances customer service by providing quick responses, enabling 24/7 support, and allowing for consistent experiences across various channels through tools like automation, AI, and chatbots. This leads to improved efficiency in customer service.The future of customer service isn’t about replacing humans—it’s about equipping them. With the right tools, your team can do less ticket-chasing and more relationship-building.
Next Steps
If you are just learning about customer service, I have a few common sense resources that might interest you next.
- Learn more about customer service and customer experience: You can read books, for example, to glean new insights, more contextual examples, and real-world case studies. There are also customer service podcasts that I recommend following.
- Skill-up in customer service and customer experience: If you are thinking about entering this dynamic and fast-paced field, you can take a customer service course to learn the basic customer service skills required to succeed. You can also target a more specific field, like customer success programs.
- Leverage technology or outsource customer service: You might be looking for customer service tools or software to help you solve customer problems with your product or service. In some cases, customer service outsourcing companies might be what you need.
- Meet people who do customer service: Join online or in-person professional communities for meet-ups, mentorship, or knowledge-sharing. You can ask questions like: "What is it like to work in CS?" and get some real, boots-on-ground responses from people doing the job.
- Advance your knowledge into customer experience: Customer experience (CX) is the overall journey a customer has with a brand, while customer service is just one part of that journey, focused on direct support. CX is a great learning topic for folks in retail, software-as-a-service, or hospitality, for example.
Master the Art of Customer Service
Customer service is all about helping customers, solving problems, and making their experience smooth and enjoyable. Whether through a quick response, a kind gesture, or expert guidance, great service builds trust and loyalty. By focusing on clear communication and empathy, anyone can deliver outstanding customer experiences.
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