Case Study: CPG, Consumer electronics
Driving new revenue, efficiencies, and an industry-leading CX
HGS achieves stellar average-order and basket value increases for an international coffee company
At a glance
- The client caters to moderately affluent B2C and B2B customers in the UK and Ireland
- HGS provides 24/7 inbound and outbound voice, email, chat, and white mail
- HGS provides premium customer and technical support, sales and order processing, warranty, and refund services
- Client has 40+ boutiques in the UK, in high-end locations (e.g., Chelsea, Edinburgh)
- HGS provides 60 advisors in Selkirk, Scotland
- HGS is actively modernising the customer experience and internal operations
- The program started in October 2016, using a mix of HGS and client technology
The solution
Breakthrough sales achievements
How we do it
With monthly sales targets, customer data, enticing sales incentives, scripts, and tools to convert, and advisors sensitive to potential objections, the HGS team generates substantial revenues for the client.
As incentives, HGS advisors get free coffee on the job, discounts on capsules for home use, and 40% off coffee machines. Advisors compete for quality and sales awards, participate in contests, track progress on leaderboards, and attend daily review meetings to discuss performance and targets. Sales responsibilities are blended with other customer service duties so that customer conversations flow more naturally, and advisors have many opportunities to upsell and cross-sell and hone their sales skills over time.
Business result
Today, HGS exceeds sales goals by 14%. We continue to beat benchmarks, including a 10% Increase in basket value and 8% for order size.
Cost Savings and Efficiencies
How we do it
When HGS assumed the program, there was significant client money being lost to machine service for no-trouble-found (NTF) machines. The service vendor at that time was unable to effectively troubleshoot with customers to prevent inefficient shipping and maintenance of non-defective machines.
With HGS’s insights team diving into root cause, user error was increasingly determined as the issue source. We also provided critical reporting that identified a particular defect as the key cause of a select few defective machines.
For further cost savings, HGS has tightened up the training program, set up a temporary seasonal contact centre in Chiswick to handle extra volume, provided advice on PCI compliance, worked with the client to find ways to improve forecasting, and launched a live-chat channel.
Business result
Due to the shipping and maintenance issues, HGS has created efficiencies for the client to drive up to 50% cost savings. With our custom insights and reporting, HGS provides the client a foundation for enhanced research and development and product improvement. As a result, HGS outperforms an outside vendor as well as the client’s own in-house service to achieve preferred provider status.
On the training front, HGS has worked with the client to shorten 14 days of initial training on products, company info, coffee flavours, equipment, soft skills, and procedures to 8.5 days by asking advisors with 6 months of experience to cut material. Armed with this feedback, HGS piloted a new course and measured the quality impact of the changes.
Additionally, HGS advised on the PCI setup at the client’s office by suggesting methods of streamlining capture of credit card information. We suggested having customers enter their own credit card by phone so advisors never see or hear the card number.
Industry-leading customer service
How we do it
At HGS, advisors are well versed in current campaigns, seasonal preferences, and the subtle flavours, aromas, and differences between products. Through the customer consumption data collected as part of the club membership and HGS’s full-lifecycle vantage point, advisors have a deep understanding of customer concerns and respond accordingly. Advisors delight in providing white-glove services to the customer, which ultimately pave the way for capsule purchases.
B2B and tech support calls are the most complicated, with up to 30% of calls pertaining to machine hardware and software. The HGS team handles both routine issues (e.g., capsules mishandling) and adverse events (e.g., burns) by consulting a knowledgebase, using emotional intelligence to correct problems, encouraging customers to send photos of malfunctioning parts, and working with products hands-on as they provide advice.
The close collaboration with the client and focused product education are also at the heart of our CSAT success. At our client-branded site, HGS showcases every make and model of this client’s machines for easy access to advisors. With this product-lab ambience, our advisors can easily and effectively replicate issues and troubleshoot for customers.
Business result
Today, HGS is the only vendor to handle multiple channels and contact types 24/7. HGS responds to inbound emails within 12 hours and answers 80% of calls in 20 seconds. With a completely dedicated and branded centre, the HGS team is providing a level of service, commitment, and degree of innovation the client cannot get anywhere else for a program of this size. For our voice services, HGS today achieves NPS® scores of 44.6 versus 33 for our competitor. Our customer effort scores are 42, versus our competitor’s 19. As a result of our customer care excellence, the client has extended contact centre support for their high-end boutique stores to HGS.
Results
14% exceeding sales goals
10% increases for basket value
8% increase for average order value
50% cost savings to client
on technical troubleshooting
40% cost savings to client
on training efficiencies
42 customer effort score
vs. competing vendor’s 19
NPS® beats competing service vendor
The way forward
This client partnership continues to expand, with HGS looking to layer in new technical and digital innovations and reintroduce advanced metrics. This should yield data that drives additional revenue increases and cost savings. The client also is in discussions with HGS to build on our digital portfolio with social media customer service. HGS will continue to be an unlimited partner and brand ambassador to employ our people, process, and technology to drive breakthrough results for this client.
