Understanding the Difference Between B2C and B2B Customer Service Interaction

Customer service shapes a consumer’s perspective of a product and business and plays a huge role in the long-term success of a company. The way companies provide client support has changed tremendously over the years. Technology has allowed us to automate customer interactions, thus putting more of the control in consumers’ hands. This allows businesses to streamline their support teams and provide a more personalized customer experience with tools such as configurable customer support software. However, there’s still a big contrast between B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) customer service interaction. Let’s go over some of the primary differences.

More Importance on Support Integrations for B2B

Although the process of digital customer support systems is now integral in B2C relationships, especially for e-commerce businesses, the B2B community places more importance on support integrations that serve their external and internal systems. Why? Software for B2B customer service has a much bigger impact on a company’s bottom line. Because B2B relationships are more tightly-knit, having poor service integration can be disastrous to a company. The effects aren’t as detrimental for the B2C marketplace, where companies cast wide nets, service countless customers, and provide multiple channels for client interaction.

The Decision-Making Process for B2Bs

In B2B relationships, the role of a customer support agent is much more integral in the decision-making process. The wrong decision could result in huge financial losses. A B2B customer support solution that provides access to accurate data and knowledge is invaluable. It turns a service agent into an important asset to the company and their customers. They can provide information regarding your product and industry to help guide companies and their clients to making more informed decisions. These decisions aren’t as important in the B2C community.

B2C Places More Emphasis on Self-Service

Self-service support options have given rise to a whole new way of communication with customers. B2C organizations have found that giving their customers more control and allowing them to find their own answers streamlines their process and saves money. Because B2Cs target millions of customers, losing some here and there as a result of their self-service portal isn’t as significant. This simply isn’t an option for B2Bs, whose relationships are more critical to their bottom line. This said, even B2Bs are starting to embrace the benefits of self-service and are implementing it into their software for B2B customer service.

Mobile Means More to B2Cs

With mobile search dominating the digital marketplace now, it’s crucial for business-to-customer organizations to fully embrace the change. If their customer experience doesn’t translate well to mobile, they risk losing business daily. For B2Bs, the mobile landscape isn’t as important for customer service interactions. Their clients are typically working on their desktops for most of the day, and this makes for a more logical and convenient means of connecting and doing business.

Whether you’re a B2C or B2B entity, staying on top of your customer interaction framework is imperative. It helps to know exactly what will best serve your bottom line before making any big decisions regarding the software you choose and the features you wish to provide to your clients. PhaseWare can guide you in the right direction and help implement a B2B customer support solution that’s perfect for your needs. We are ready to find the right solution for you so contact us today to learn more.

 

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