Customer Service Organizational Structure Outline
Customer Service Organization Chart Template
Learn MoreCustomer Service
Customer Service includes all of the activities associated with satisfying customer needs before, during and after the sale of a good or service. The customer service function can often make or break a company, especially in highly competitive markets with several similar product offerings (examples: cable television, mobile phone providers or insurance).
Common Customer Service job titles: Chief Operating Officer (COO), EVP/SVP of Customer Experience, EVP/SVP of Service Delivery
Account Management
The Account Management function acts as an intermediary between the customer service and sales teams, ensuring that the customer is satisfied with the products or services that they have purchased. Account managers, or account executives, stay in contact with customers throughout their lifetime with the company to provide support and, when possible, sell additional products and services (i.e., renew accounts/contracts, cross-sell related products, etc.). An account manager may be responsible for a single customer (in the case of a high profit account) or a larger group or pool of customers.
Common Account Management job titles: Account Executive, Account Manager, Account Representative, Customer Service Account Manager, Retail Customer Account Manager, Client Relationship Manager
Customer Incentives & Rewards
The Customer Incentives and Rewards function is responsible for managing programs and initiatives that reward customers in some way for their patronage. They create, implement, and analyze the performance of customer loyalty programs (and one-time incentives; i.e., buy one get one free) that are aimed at providing monetary incentives that promote customer spending and long-term retention. Well thought out, successful customer incentive programs can improve brand loyalty, customer retention and revenue, as well as provide a competitive advantage in highly competitive markets.
Common Customer Incentives & Rewards job titles: Customer Experience Specialist, Customer Loyalty Specialist, Customer Success Specialist
Incident Management
The Incident Management Group is responsible for handling customer issues that have been escalated beyond the call center and require additional action to resolve. This function is also responsible for documenting fixes or responses for common customer problems and communicating issues to the product development team so that they can improve existing products and services based on customer needs.
Common Incident Management job titles: Incident Management Specialist, Incident Analyst
Returns & Warranty
The Returns and Warranty function is responsible for processing all customer product returns and implementing the most suitable course of action (e.g., replacing the product, providing a refund, requesting additional information for claim, etc.). This function is also responsible for maintaining warranty guidelines and customer warranty expiration dates, as well as addressing any questions customers may have about their warranty's coverage.
Common Returns & Warranty job titles: Customer Care Specialist, Product Sales Specialist, Warranty Operations Specialist, Order Fulfillment Specialist
Technical & Product Support
The Technical and Product Support function provides customer service as it relates specifically to a certain product or service offering. For example, there may be several customer service groups within a bank, each of whom is responsible for providing support for a specific banking product or service (e.g., mortgages, savings accounts, online banking, retirement services, etc.). Customer service representatives in these specialized groups are trained to address problems related specifically to the product or service being supported.
Common Technical & Product Support job titles: Product Support Representative, Customer Support Analyst, Technical Support/Service Representative, Help Desk Administrator