In a constantly shifting business landscape, customer service is the cornerstone of success. ESTO is a financial services leader serving both B2B and B2C customers — what that means, and why separating the two matters, is what this article breaks down. Everything ESTO does is built on a commitment to excellent customer service in both segments, and understanding how to apply the right customer service skills to each is a competence we're eager to share.
Why customer support matters more than you think
It's the main link between a business and its customer, responsible for building relationships and driving loyalty. Great customer service doesn't just meet expectations — it exceeds them, building the lasting trust and confidence in a brand that any business needs to succeed. Technology keeps evolving and it's worth tracking closely, but it's the quality of customer support that separates one modern company from another. Make the buyer feel like a well-looked-after, long-awaited guest, not an anonymous consumer in an equally anonymous world of technology.
How B2B and B2C shape your customer support approach
Knowing how to tell the two apart is the foundation of high-performing customer service. B2B (business-to-business) runs from one company to another, while B2C (business-to-consumer) runs from a company to a customer — any individual who wants the service. So how does supporting a business buyer differ from supporting an individual?
- B2B: both sides want to grow their own sales, so relationship-building needs to drive mutual long-term growth, trust, and ideally a lasting partnership. Support aimed at this segment needs to deliver personalised, tailored solutions.
Be patient
In B2B, resolving issues usually takes longer, since the customer isn't a single buyer but a company with multiple people involved — which means every B2B interaction carries more weight for revenue.
Listen to reviews
Statistics show that 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to make a purchase after reading a trustworthy review than without one, and showing just five product reviews can lift conversion rates by up to 270%.
Publish the negative reviews too
Showing both the positive and negative reviews of a company on its website builds the next potential buyer's trust in your brand, since it signals the reviews aren't staged and the company is credible. That said, if there are too many negative ones, your team may need soft-skills training — offered in Latvia by providers like the BDA training centre, for example. Courses like this help support teams sharpen active listening, emotional intelligence, and other key skills.
If you want to raise your company's customer support quality but don't have the funds on hand, ESTO can help with a small loan — fast application review, a flexible repayment schedule, and quick, responsive support if a question comes up.
- B2C: transactions are about immediate customer needs. B2C customer support prioritises effective problem-solving and fast service.
Deliver a fast response and a working fix
FCR (first contact resolution) is a key B2C metric that improves customer satisfaction. It means an issue gets resolved on the first call — which, ideally, is also the last. This matters most when customers need a fast answer to a question about their small loan. ESTO's efficient customer support always delivers fast help, offering solutions and easing concerns before they turn into problems.
! Worth remembering
If a company bases its entire customer support strategy on FCR alone, it can backfire — driving up negative reviews, since support staff will aim to close a ticket as fast as possible without properly hearing the customer out. In business, time really is money, but focusing only on speed blurs the line with carelessness — something good customer support never allows.
Keep it simple
Aim to simplify financial jargon and give personalised guidance, keeping in mind that the customer may be encountering your service for the first time, may not fully understand or trust the technology, and may be wary of fraud — as e-commerce grows more active, so do cybersecurity threats. Often, the customer just wants to know there's a real person behind your online shop — customer support that can give individual advice.
ESTO small loan
Check out our ESTO "small loan" payment solution
Five-star customer support principles
ESTO's excellent customer service is built on a mix of different skills: reliability, responsiveness, empathy, and professionalism. It's worth stressing that support staff's soft skills — their personal skills — can't be neglected. In a world where everyone's chasing professional growth in their own field, it's worth remembering that technology makes life easier but can never replace the human values that matter in both life and business. The customer needs to feel empathy and understanding, and to feel heard and valued throughout the process, whether or not the issue gets solved immediately.
It's no accident that when asked what the key customer service skills are that ESTO specialists use to deliver top-level service, an ESTO expert answers:
Deep knowledge, transparency, openness, and always looking for a way to solve whatever problem comes up. Since the customer comes first, our customer success team is also some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. Like attracts like — good people attract good people.
Read more about ESTO's customer support experience on our blog: Excellent customer support and trust in fintech — ESTO's unique experience.