Case Studies > On-Demand Apps, Retail, Visual IVR

Arts & Crafts Retailer

Visual IVR Drives Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty

Problem

The customer care team at one of the largest arts and crafts retailers in the U.S. had been utilizing a traditional IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system to help handle WIZMO (Where’s My Order) calls and return status calls. While traditional IVR is helpful in providing consumers with a self-service option, the containment rate is very low and 60-70% of calls end up with an agent.

The other trend impacting customer care is customers’ desire for a 24/7 self-service option, with most calls (up to 60%) being initiated from a mobile device. Since the customer service department is not available 24/7, an automated self-service option provided the best opportunity to provide the desired capabilities. The retailer als wanted a way to keep their customers informed of their order’s shipping status to further mitigate WIZMO calls.

Arts and Crafts Retailer
Leading Arts & Crafts Retailer

About the Client

Founded in 1973, the client is the largest specialty retailer in North America providing the best assortment of curated arts and crafts componentry. Their mission is to cater to creatives, connecting content, commerce, and community in their stores and online. The brand operates over 1,270 stores in 49 states and Canada.

Solution

The retailer agreed to pilot the Zappix Visual IVR digital self-service solution during the peak holiday season to help improve their self-service options while lowering costs and increasing customer satisfaction rates. The Visual IVR platform is designed to cut down on costly live-agent transfers and greatly improve the mobile service experience. The solution gives mobile consumers a highly intuitive visual interface as an alternative to a traditional phone tree (which tends to culminate in calls being forwarded to live agents).

With Visual IVR, the arts & crafts retailer’s customers can choose to quickly navigate a visual menu optimized for smartphones, and then simply select options by touch instead of listening to a list of options and interacting via voice. The result is a much faster, frictionless, and satisfying support experience that gives customers exactly the information they want — using the channel and device that they prefer.

"We want our customers to have seamless and frictionless experiences with us. We have a loyal customer base, so continuously improving customer satisfaction is important. Visual IVR helped us keep our customers happy with a self-service care option while helping keep our customer care costs down throughout the peak holiday season"

Result

The Zappix Visual IVR solution gave this large arts & crafts retailer’s customers a self-service option that mitigated low IVR adoption rates. Now, when customers on a mobile device call the contact center, they are given the option to proceed using an online interface where they can quickly and independently answer order and tracking questions.

The pilot allowed the retailer to control and reduce costs associated with live agent interactions. The company experienced over 75% call containment, saved over $47k, and prevented 13k calls from going to an agent in the first three months alone.

Customers had positive feedback and gave the solution an NPS score of 83. Average Handle Time (AHT) for calls where no agent was needed was reduced from over 6 minutes per call to under 1 minute. Overall, the Visual IVR solution was a win/win for both the arts and crafts retailer and its customers.

Visual IVR Journey
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First Three Months By The Numbers

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Call Containment

Cost Control: 75% of Visual IVR users resolved their interaction without transferring to a live agent, saving the retailer over $47,000

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Calls Deflected

Win/Win: The retailer and its customsers benefitted from thousands of deflected calls with an AHT reduced from 6+ minutes to under 1 minute

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NPS Score

Customer Experience: Customers were highly satisfied with the experience, averaging an NPS score of 84