We often talk about customer service as a function, a team or a workflow. But if the last few years have taught us anything, it's that great customer service is not just what happens at the helpdesk. It's what happens at every touchpoint. It's in the email tone, the speed of response, the clarity of communication and ultimately, the care. In 2025, customers expect more than efficiency. They want to feel heard. Whether you're a small business owner, a customer service agent, a sales manager, or an executive, your role is part of the customer experience.
Culture is the Real Competitive Advantage
Peter Drucker once said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." This is especially relevant to your team's client interactions. You can have the best ticketing system, the cleverest bots and the sleekest dashboards, but if your people aren't empowered to care, those tools fall flat. Research by PwC (PwC. (2018). Experience is everything: Here's how to get it right.) found that one in three consumers will walk away from a brand they love after just one bad experience. Not two. One. And that stat isn't just about big brands. For SMEs and entrepreneurs, it's even more important. One frustrated client can leave a review that impacts your next ten leads.
Pro tip: Start by making it safe for your team to escalate a problem instead of hiding it. People don't fear accountability when they trust the culture behind it.
AI Is Not the Enemy of Human Connection
As AI automates more tasks, the human moments become even more powerful. Your frontline staff aren't just handling requests. They're representing your brand's values. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 75% of customer service interactions will be powered by AI or automation (Predicts 2022: CRM Customer Service and Support), but warns that over-automation risks alienating customers. The trick is in the blend. We've seen companies succeed not by removing the human element, but by using technology to free up time for deeper conversations. AI can sort, tag, predict and draft. But empathy, curiosity and tone? That's all human.
Pro tip: Revisit your canned responses and templates. Do they sound like you? Or like a robot dressed in corporate jargon?
From Touchpoints to Relationships
Most businesses map out journeys. Few commit to relationships. Relationships require consistency, memory and a bit of soul. One way to build that relationship is to ensure that service doesn't live in a silo. If your sales, project and support teams aren't aligned, customers will feel it. They'll repeat their details. They'll wonder if anyone is actually talking to each other behind the scenes. That's why we've been intentional about creating features that bring teams closer together — not further apart. It's also why our July roadmap includes the release of a flexible forms engine. While this might sound like a tech detail, it speaks to something bigger: the ability to ask the right questions, at the right time, and store those answers where they can actually be used — across support, sales and delivery.
Pro tip: Don't wait for your customer to say something twice. Make every interaction feel like a continuation of the last, not a reset.
Your Culture Shows Up in the Little Things
Culture is shaped in day-to-day decisions. Do your teams follow up after a solved ticket, just to check in? Do they share praise and feedback internally to improve? Do they ask, "What would make this experience easier?" and actually listen? When service is viewed as everyone's responsibility, the ripple effect is powerful. Projects run more smoothly. Sales teams close faster. Renewals happen with less resistance. Customers don't just get answers, they get advocates.
Pro tip: Encourage every department to own one customer experience metric. Not just support. This changes conversations in real time.
Key Takeaway
Customer service isn't what happens when something goes wrong. It's what happens all the time. It's the culture you build, the tone you set, the systems you design and the questions you ask. In a world increasingly shaped by AI and automation, your real advantage is how human your business can stay.