Improving the Customer Experience
In the age of e-commerce, many consumers can feel detached from the companies they are doing business with, relying solely on reviews and ads to determine which products best fit their needs. It is our job as tech companies to put our best foot forward and be available for our customers on as many channels as possible. Customer service is the new marketing: we must learn how to translate the human element and experience once brought by retail to the online world of e-commerce.
At BoxLock, those channels are customer support (live chat, email, phone), online retail pages, and social media. Our number one goal is to be available to our customers whenever and wherever they may need us. There is nothing worse than being excited to purchase a new product, running into an issue, and then not knowing where to go for assistance.
The first step in this process was examining the tools and methods we had in place to support and empower our customers. Immediately we noticed that the support software we were using was not clear around expectations for what sort of interaction our customers were about to have, with whom they were communicating with, and when they could expect a response. With this in mind, we began to explore new customer support platforms and settled on Help Scout. Help Scout is built around supporting customers in the most human way possible.
Next, we looked at our support team. We set out to build a team of personable, intelligent, and, most importantly, folks who were passionate about our product and goals. Since the inception of our company, we have outsourced our support team. But we knew that to meet our goals, we needed to develop a world-class support team based here in our Atlanta office. Only then could we ensure the support team had a full understanding of the product and vision. Additionally, they would have direct contact with our engineering and development team. This ensures we can resolve technical issues with unprecedented speed, and create a culture where customer feedback becomes a critical ingredient in developing the best product.
Lastly, we needed to look at how we were gathering customer feedback. Customer opinions are everything. Previously, we were only receiving feedback through our customer support and product review channels in a reactive fashion. This led to a scenario where most of the feedback we received from support interactions was not positive. Feedback, both positive and negative, is essential in building a roadmap to an improved product offering.
How do we proactively engage our customers?
We chose Net Promoter Score from Delighted. NPS is a tried and true, simple 0 to 10 rating survey that we can share with our customers via email, in-app, or on our website. NPS allows us to keep tabs on customer happiness almost instantaneously. Allowing for real-time feedback that we can take into consideration to enhance the customer experience.
Our goal here at BoxLock is to empower our customers. We do this by creating thoughtful content and focusing on human-centered interactions to ensure that the things that matter most are safe upon arrival.