Case Study: Customer Loyalty

Territory and Supply Chain Support Cultivates B2B Loyalty for Household Dental Brand

Long-tenured agents and technology optimization lead to high quality within a tight budget for CPG company

Overview

For this healthcare and hygiene client, HGS provides a mix of contact center, back office, field sales support, and supply chain management services.

We fulfill a unique function – one that helps to sustain loyalty among the professionals who promote ongoing product use and who introduce new products to consumers.

At the core of this long-term relationship is trust built through consistent quality, accuracy, and problem solving, all within budget.

+95%average quality score
in the past 12 months (2022-23)

98%budget accuracy
in the past 12 months (2022-23)

<5%agent-driven attrition
in a budget-focused account

Client background

This Fortune 500 company first engaged HGS in 2005 for consumer-related services. In 2012, HGS also began providing professional services. Although the B2C services are no longer required, our ~35 agents and 4 team leaders still assist 100+ field sales reps and thousands of orthodontist, dentist, and hygienist offices across the US and Canada in English, French, and Spanish. Our agents manage and adjust monthly, preplanned, packaged orders of toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, whiteners, mouthwash, and more. Through calls and emails, we take custom orders, ensure accurate imprinting of products, answer renewal inquiries, provide status updates, address shipping issues, and beyond.

Business objectives

Relationships with dental practices enable this CPG client to build its brands, introduce new products, and create customers for life. From end to end, the client relies on HGS to cultivate the loyalty of dentists (and, in turn, consumers), to adhere to a monthly budget, and to support territory sales managers so they can reach more practices and generate more revenue.

While loyalty is paramount, cost containment and scalability are also goals. By choosing FTE-based billing, the client is ensuring pricing predictability, even when volumes increase, products change, or extra channels are required for optimal customer engagement.

Solution strategy

While tempting to classify this account as straightforward, meeting performance targets year after year despite dynamic economic and market conditions requires unwavering enthusiasm and creativity. Key deliverables are as follows:

Ensure Order Flow

The lead time for orders is several weeks, and it’s important to ensure a smooth, accurate flow for manufacturing. While most dentists receive shipments on a regular schedule, agents capture all the additions, exceptions, and changes on top of the prearranged plans and coordinate with a third party to ensure even the alterations arrive on time. We set expectations, prevent errors, and avoid the disappointment that can negatively affect loyalty.

Retain High-quality Agents

HGS retains agents who are not only effective communicators, but also proactive problem solvers. Agents work with highly educated entrepreneurs, make updates across numerous databases, and calculate impacts of changes. Our approach is to lead, not manage. We provide training, performance targets and incentives, inspiring team leaders, predictable shifts, and a home-based work environment in which they can thrive. As a result, the account boasts a less than 5% (annualized) employee-initiated attrition rate.

Manage Workforce to Target

To stay within the monthly budget, our team leaders and real-time managers make the most of our mix of part-time and full-time agents. Headcounts can fluctuate from 32 to 45 people from month to month – that’s ±30%! In half-hour intervals, we ensure we have enough agents to meet demand. With a time-to-onboard of three weeks and a 20% shrinkage rate in mind, we review volume forecasts, upcoming renewals and campaigns, new product release plans, etc. to determine where we can offer agent time off, training, breaks, and so on.

Partner Attentively within Budget

Even in light of extreme volumes or unexpected incidents, we manage without adding headcount. Budgets have shrunk and processes have changed, but we continue to deliver. (From 2022-23, client efforts resulted in a ~50% reduction of calls from territory managers, and we have nimbly adjusted our approach.)

Enable Data-based Decision-making

While the client provides ERP software and manual processes to manage orders, HGS is responsible for the contact center technologies. Over time and at the client’s desired pace, we have introduced systems and analytics to optimize performance. For example, we now use Twilio cloud telephony to distribute calls, generate reports, and manage to KPIs, and we have proposed automation and a chatbot to more efficiently support territory managers. We bring a continuous stream of new, fresh ideas so the client always sees value.

Results

In the past 12 months (2022-23), HGS has provided admirable results.

+95% average quality score

>98% budget accuracy

<5% agent-driven attrition

<5% call abandonment rate

+78% service level
over a 70% target

~50% reduction
in field calls absorbed

±30% monthly,
client-initiated headcount fluctuation managed

#1 ranking toothpaste by dentists, hygienists, and NIH
(and HGS contributed!)

Global locations

USA • UK • Canada • India • Philippines • Jamaica • Australia • Colombia

Global Headquarters: GHS, Bommanahalli, Hosur Road, Bengaluru – 560068

Registered Office: Tower C (1st floor), Plot C-21, G Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai – 400 051

CIN: L92199MH1995PLC084610

Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)