Challenge
An early emphasis on tech-driven solutions in both their manufacturing process and the design of their products accelerated their growth. It also demonstrated the value of IT-based approaches to challenges to their management.
This recognition of technology’s value led Kross to give their Customer Service team a modern upgrade. Kross was one of the first bike manufacturers with a significant ecommerce footprint. They knew how important the CS team was in making their online operations a success. The drive towards automation was part of a broader ecommerce strategy.
From the beginning, Kross knew what they wanted to get out of the addition of chat automation to their site:
- Learn more about their customers and the issues they have
- Create the first chatbot that helped customers select a bike
- Focus more on sharing expertise at the customer service touchpoint
- Create 24/7 response capabilities and support for expansion of their ecommerce offer to new markets
Results
The results they achieved with Zowie show that they got all they wanted and more:
- 86% of all chats were automated
- 0% change in customer service team despite company growth
- Increased sales from agents sharing more expertise and customers making better choices when searching for the right bike online
- A better understanding of customer preferences, problems, and habits
“Even though our ecommerce sales have grown, the support we get from automation means that we haven’t had to proportionately expand our support team.”
— Katarzyna Walc, Contact Center Coordinator
Chat Automation Delivered Immediate Results for Kross’ Customer Service Team…
Kross had a company culture that emphasized the role of technology in the latest business practices. They were aware of the results other brands had achieved by automating customer service tasks.
Working with Zowie, they implemented automated replies to customer messages. The impact was almost immediate—86% of customer inquiries were handled by a chatbot. Now, Zowie handles about 1,000 out of approximately 1,400 daily customer inquiries—a 73% reduction in the number of tickets that customer service agents had to handle. Without automation, every one of those 1,400 customers would be stuck waiting. Kross’ customer service team would feel the pressure of having to move quickly to answer their questions.
“Chat automation has enhanced our ability to plan ahead, knowing that we have a powerful tool to help us in different areas.”
— Paweł Jarecki, Director CX | Contact Center | Mobile at KROSS S.A.
Instead, simple, repetitive questions were removed from the queue and customer service agents began focusing on more complex issues that demanded their attention.
Not only did the addition of chatbot functionality change the nature of work in Kross’ customer service team, but it also expanded their virtual availability. Instead of being confined to business hours, Kross was now able to engage with customers at any time of the day.
They also quickly recognized that Zowie’s language capabilities would be a huge asset as well. By offering automated chat replies in many of Zowie’s 60+ languages, Kross was able to offer more personalized service across more markets and support their ambitious international growth goals.
“Adding a personal touch through technology isn’t something you get to do often. Chat automation allows us to do exactly that at a level that everyone is satisfied with.”
— Karolina Wierzbicka, Customer Experience and RPA Specialist
…and Kept Surprising Them with Unexpected Benefits
But Kross soon discovered that the introduction of automated chat brought other, equally useful benefits they were not expecting.
Kross realized that the questions customers asked on chat were in fact an unfiltered look at what was most important to them. Each question received on chat was like a live insight into what was on customers’ minds. By gathering customer questions written in chat, Kross was gaining valuable market intelligence.
But an even more impressive effect of chat automation took a bit more time to reveal itself. As mentioned earlier, since automation took care of simple, repetitive questions, Kross’ customer service agents were able to devote more time to having conversations with customers.
This meant that they gradually became more like advisors and product experts than conventional agents answering questions about orders and returns. By giving expert advice, they became a key touchpoint in the customer journey. Customer service agents began to play an important role in the buying process—recommending models, accessories, and other items and taking the time to talk to customers to get to know more about their needs.
In other words, customer service agents at Kross became an even more valuable part of the team. In many organizations, customer service departments are treated like a necessary feature that doesn’t add much value. CS teams cost money, but they don’t contribute much in terms of generating revenue, helping customers along a conversion path, or promoting the brand as ambassadors or experts.
Chat automation helped change all of that at Kross.
“Chat automation from Zowie enables our team to focus more on customer issues that require more operational work to resolve, the more complex issues that need personal attention.” — Katarzyna Walc, Contact Center Coordinator at KROSS S.A.
Kross CS is Now Able to Support Sales and Deliver Expertise Thanks to Automation
At Kross, the customer service team became an integral part of the company’s core mission to provide a great customer experience. Now, the CS team adds value, creates leads, makes customers happy, and welcomes them into the world of Kross bicycles.
And all because chat automation gave them the time to do this by answering repetitive, time-consuming questions. Rather than becoming a threat to their positions, chat automation made the CS agents more satisfied with their jobs and turned them into an even more valuable part of the Kross team.
Chat automation became a kind of teammate in the effort to provide the best customer experience possible while moving the company forward.
“Zowie chatbot has become like a teammate that allows our customer service agents to be spokespeople for our brand and spend more time talking about what customers are looking for.”
— Karolina Wierzbicka, Customer Experience and RPA Specialist
Kross’ Customer Service Team Became Better—Big Time
Ironically, by focusing their work on fewer customers, Kross’ customer service team became better and learned more about the company and its products. That meant greater job satisfaction for them and the pride that comes with knowing you’re making a vital contribution to the success of your company.
Want to see how Zowie can deliver the same benefits to you? Book a demo today and start thinking about happier customers, a more effective customer service team, and cost advantages in your business!