Customer Service
How to win back customers with exceptional customer service
Discover how a subscription-based sports publisher utilizes workflow automation to exceed customer service expectations resulting in “win-backs” of customers and higher subscription retention.
March 10, 2022 by Liz Tsai — Founder and CEO, HiOperator
Maintaining and winning back loyal customers starts with exceptional customer service, meaning brands should prioritize quality agents and brand integrity.
Because of this, it's imperative for companies to find more ways to optimize customer service agents and empower them to tap every ounce of their potential productivity and care provided to clients.
Customer service-as-a-service solutions allow retailers to handle client tickets faster and more accurately through the combined and balanced power of human and artificial intelligence technology.
Through this strategy, companies are able to compete with offshore labor prices by keeping agents U.S.-based and better paid. The e-commerce boom has increased by over 18% from January 2020 to July 2021, meaning retailers and companies alike will face more demand and a higher volume of customer service tickets to handle — a challenge for companies when it comes to providing customer service that exceeds standards.
By utilizing technology, specifically automation, companies can give more leverage and efficiency to agents. This makes it so that customer service agents are doing fewer manual tasks and can increase efficiency in addressing priority customer tickets. Customer service agents who are more supported by technology and other resources to fulfill their job responsibilities are likely to be more satisfied with their job, reducing turnover for companies.
When brands have high standards of customer service mixed with quality agents, this gives them more opportunity to win previous customers back, and maintain loyal shoppers. For example, if a customer has unsubscribed to a service, but the company's customer service continues to treat them as a valued customer, they have a much higher likelihood to return as a subscriber. This may include continuing to send special offers, discount codes, or other incentives.
Many retailers, including The Athletic, a subscription-based sports publisher, have implemented customer service-as-a-service practices to provide exceptional customer service and maintain customer retention and win-backs.
Below are three ways The Athletic is utilizing workflow automation and increasing customer retention by 8%:
1. The Athletic receives invaluable data at their fingertips — including an evaluation of how happy customers are. New data points can be added to reports that reflect specific trends. If needed, workflows and macros can be adjusted in order to reflect specific situations brought up from the data points.
2. Data is followed throughout the week for any spikes or off-putting results, allowing for quick solutions for any potential issues.
3. Customer service doesn't stop over the weekend. When something out of the norm happens, like a bug in the system, that causes an influx of nearly a thousand inquiries, the problem can quickly be identified and responded to in a timely manner. Customers shouldn't be lost over something that can be easily communicated.
Without workflow automation, The Athletic would not have as much insight into the company's customer tickets, nor the transparency of what is happening day to day.
By balancing quality customer service agents and technology, companies can work smarter to exceed customer service expectations and maintain a strong customer base.
Liz Tsai is the founder and CEO of HiOperator
About Liz Tsai
Originally from Texas, Liz went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 15, where she was a stand-out student among her peers and was recognized for her involvement in building robots and 3D printers. After completing her BS and her MS at the MIT Media Lab, she spent several years working in the physical commodities trading industry in Geneva and Singapore. Liz recognized that pairing software automation with people had the potential to create a more efficient commodities world and saw that customer service could experience a similar evolution.
