Breanna Moreno has always been an expert at efficiency. That’s why, when she joined True Classic in 2020 as the brand’s first employee, her mandate was to build and scale teams to ensure processes were cost-effective but always served the customer well.
“I always look at processes to understand them from a consumer standpoint, asking, ‘What is friction? What is causing a pain point? How do we eliminate that to generate a better experience?’” Moreno said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “All in all, I’m very laser-focused on efficiencies and consumer experience to ensure that we eliminate friction at all touch points because we have to earn that trust, which is going to then drive retention and help consumers rely on the brand.”
Moreno has helped build and scale the True Classic customer support team, social media moderation team, and consumer insights team, equating to a single unit of nearly 20 employees. “We’ve maintained the same size team because we just continue to get more efficient and [have been able to] drive down costs,” Moreno said. The core of this operation’s success is a data-driven approach that includes classic metrics such as Call Data Record (CDR) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), as well as a Voice of the Customer (VoC) strategy that “extrapolates the data from our help desk using AI and then feeds into the various departments throughout our company.”
Emphasizing Empathy with Customers’ Concerns
Building out this VoC strategy has helped Moreno and her team better understand and empathize with the customer and then provide the right kind of support and service. “It has really allowed me to laser-focus in on those experiences and drive the team to exceed expectations,” she said.
Post-purchase was one key area of friction that Moreno was eager to address, largely because the delivery stage of the customer experience hinges on fulfilling a promise and, most importantly, exceeding expectations.
“We need to make sure that we show up [for customers] and earn [their] trust,” Moreno said. “If you’ve never ordered from us before, we need to show we’re a legitimate company and you’re going to get your product, even if something goes wrong or there’s a delay. You’re going to be fine if I proactively communicate that to you because it settles your concerns.”
Taking the Pain Out of Post-Purchase
True Classic wanted to provide more clarity and transparency into that post-purchase experience, which had some communication gaps because it was powered by a third-party vendor. If customers wanted updates on their orders, they would be rerouted to that third-party site, which would create unease and, in some cases, frustration. This was especially true among True Classic’s growing international audience in Australia, Europe, Mexico and multiple additional markets, who were largely trying the brand for the first time.
True Classic implemented ParcelLab, which uses AI to provide accurate delivery estimates, in order to integrate post-purchase into the brand site. The solution has greatly reduced customer inquiries — especially “Where is my order?” questions. And by setting up automated updates and a dedicated tracking page on the True Classic site, customers can have more seamless experiences that ultimately build trust in the brand.
That isn’t always an easy task. International consumers are especially critical of experiences that don’t provide guaranteed delivery times, which True Classic didn’t initially have from its carrier. “What happens is the consumer just sees that ‘N/A,’ which is not providing assurances,” Moreno said. “What we’ve done in response is use AI to tap into the typical transit time for a specific region and local area, and we pop that in. The good news is we’re hitting that. We can track SLAs to make sure we’re not over-promising and under-delivering. We saw an immediate response; our CSAT increased and negative third-party reviews were eliminated. That’s when I knew this was our best move.”
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With ParcelLab and general post-purchase journey mapping, “I was solving a need, especially from an international perspective,” Moreno said. “I was building and scaling that post-purchase journey, which in turn has generated ROI in that people are coming back to us as a brand, because we’re eliminating that friction. It was all about automating the process.” One metric that shows the improvements: True Classic has since seen a 29% increase in revenue per email, improving overall customer lifetime value.
Evolving from Utility to Value
True Classic saw that its utility-based communications, such as the standard “Delivery Email,” have become true value drivers for the business. In fact, Moreno noted that the “Delivery Email” has the highest value of revenue, which means it’s turning one-time purchasers into repeat customers.
“The reason is because we’re hitting them at the most exciting time,” Moreno explained. “At this point, the product has shown up, but if something has gone wrong or you have a question, you’re going to go back to that last email, and that’s going to, in turn, provide so much insight and educational benefit. And then, once we know you have your product, we’re going to follow up and ask what you think.”
This follow-up stage is when the relationship-building really begins, Moreno noted, because it’s the time that shows the customer that True Classic isn’t just interested in winning a one-time conversion. “We’re showing that was our ‘first date,’ and now we’re really going to invest in you, the customer,” she said. “I’m going to continue to build that trust so that we can evolve our relationship. The goal, obviously, is that True Classic will be your end-all, be-all brand.”
Even customer journeys that include shipping delays or product returns and exchanges still reap these rewards, because the “Deliver Email” has all the essential calls to action for the customer, including contact information. “If something goes wrong, there’s already an answer for you in that email, which has just instilled more trust,” Moreno said. “We’re not going to pretend we’re perfect; things will go wrong. Carriers are going to lose packages. Things are not going to fit. But we are going to be here for it all. We’re showing up for you before you even have to ask.”
