Providing end-to-end customer journey support to a high-end global brand

Introduction

Our client is one of America’s largest manufacturers and distributors of artificial Christmas Trees. Their mission is to provide the most luxurious and high-quality Christmas trees, wreaths, garlands and other holiday décor to customers worldwide.

The organisation is based in Northern California and serves customers in North American, European, and Australian markets. The client’s sale of Christmas Trees is completed exclusively through the organisation's online website. As the product is seasonal, the peak period for sales is the 4th quarter of the year. The client company aims to have a 30% increase in sales annually which is assisted by Arema Connect’s dedicated team of agents assigned to the account.

Arema Connect has been partnering with this client since 2014. We provide customer journey management to their UK and Irish markets.  During this time our service offering has continuously evolved. Our support services include sales inquiries, delivery queries, the processing of orders, refunds and order amendments across telephone and email channels.

Arema Connect supports the client's end-to-end customer journey - pre, during and post-sale. This seasonally focused business type allows us to demonstrate our experience in dealing with peaks in demand and our ability to ramp up personnel in line with our client’s needs.

Providing Complete Customer Journey Management

Due to the nature of the account, the main challenge faced is extreme seasonal fluctuations. With their seasonal product offerings and the peak period for sales being Q4, they require a scalable, highly knowledgeable customer journey management solution. 

Arema Connect supports our client’s staffing requirements through a dedicated agent support model which includes a Key Account Manager (KAM) as well as Team Leaders to train, monitor and supervise the team. Each year the account’s management team travels to the client’s US headquarters to review the previous year’s performance and plan for the coming year based on quality, staffing requirements, and feedback. 

With the gradual onboarding of 20+ agents from October each year, this requires a direct focus on staff management. The nature of the contract involves a large knowledge base of products to enable agents to achieve up-selling targets. A Global standard of training is provided to the frontline team in line with the client's other outsourcing partners in the US, Mexico, Hungary and The Philippines.

Solution 

Arema Connect and this client have developed a strong partnership approach to our customer journey management solution since 2014. The structure of the account mirrors our client’s approach to their in-house operations, ensuring that our internal processes on the account are a seamless extension of the company’s values and culture.

Our team is primarily responsible for call answering services, but due to our commitment to supporting the customer’s complete end-to-end journey, we additionally utilise emails in order to enhance customer experience. Should an issue arise wherein follow-ups may be necessary, or photos of products may be required by the agent to provide the most accurate support, email supports are provided by our team. 

The management team appointed to the account have in-depth knowledge and experience of our client’s procedures, having been assigned to the account for a number of years. There are year-round agents assigned to this account, with both internal and external recruitment taking place in the lead up to the peak period. This consistency of staffing is extremely beneficial to the Christmas tree company, who can be assured of our top-quality customer journey management each year. 

Training from the client’s in-house team is delivered annually using a train-the-trainer approach. Typically the account management team travels to the U.S. each year for training and then relay the information back to the frontline team. Agents assigned to the account are continuously monitored and furnished with the most up-to-date information.

Our customer journey management currently covers both the UK and Ireland on a 9:00AM-5:00PM basis, Monday to Friday. During certain times each year, such as after Black Friday or those leading up to Christmas, we also provide weekend support. 

Our team is responsible for liaising with a number of partners on behalf of the client. The primary couriers utilised by the client include: UPS, Parcel Force, AIT Home Delivery, and occasionally FedEx. Because the company works with so many couriers, the knowledge base of agents must be all the more comprehensive in order to convey accurate information. 

Systems used 

• AMS (Assisted Service Mode) and Hybris (Website Back end): Orders are processed through this ecommerce CRM. This enables our KAM to keep track of orders taken by each agent and the number of telephone orders and online orders placed.
• Gladly: Our team uses the company’s in-house CRM system Gladly to handle all calls, emails, WhatsApp and SMS communications. The account management team has full access to Gladly for reporting purposes and our client’s in-house team has live access to all data enabling full transparency on our team’s performance. 
• IBM: All orders and cases are managed via IBM. Our team can provide updates to customers on orders and shipments ensuring the most accurate information is shared at all times. 
• Slack: To seamlessly communicate with the company’s in-house team we use Slack for queries, internal escalations and account requests for setting up new agents,  

Support functions 

Our customer journey management support on behalf of our client include:

• Placing orders, including cross-selling and upselling to achieve sales targets;
• Processing payments in line with Payment card industry (PCI) compliance;
• Management of logistical queries (Order Status, Delivery tracking including Where’s My Order (WISMO);
• Product Troubleshooting including tree assembly, tree lights not working etc.;
• Processing refunds, discounts and management of warranty cases.

Due to our long-standing relationship with this client, the Arema Connect team has been granted significant decision-making authority on behalf of the client. Our approach to customer journey management enables us to act as an extension of the company’s in-house team. Our agents’ strong product knowledge means that our agents go above and beyond to ensure that customers are supported at every step of the purchasing process. Our team is highly skilled at answering queries, giving advice, upselling, and generally ensuring that customers are satisfied with their products and their experience purchasing from the Christmas tree company.

Project Management Services for the account include:

• Staff capacity planning;
• Daily, Weekly and Monthly activity reports;
• We organise a daily conference call to discuss day-to-day any queries/issues that may arise; 
• Working with the client’s in-house team, and other outsourcing providers in the U.S, Mexico, Hungary and The Philippines;
• Yearly visits to the client’s headquarters in Boise, Idaho. Extensive training takes place during these visits. A train-the-trainer approach is then taken to train all account members including current agents and new recruits. The visit also allows systems and policies to be collectively reviewed to ensure the account is working to the best of its ability. 

Benefits from the partnership

• A dedicated team of customer journey management agents, thus enabling the client company to serve their customers across different markets
• Flexibility to meet the demands of the client's seasonal products
• Partnership approach with an emphasis on a mutually beneficial relationship
• Integration with client’s in-house systems and processes enables Arema Connect to become a seamless extension of its operations

Conclusion 

Arema Connect’s ideal location in Europe, combined with our scalability of services were the dominant reasons why this client chose Arema Connect as their preferred outsourcer. Since 2014, our service offering for customer journey management has continuously grown to include more support functions on behalf of the client company. Additionally, we have demonstrated that we have sufficient resources at our disposal to scale up and down at short notice to meet the client’s needs.