More than half (52%) of consumers engage with customer care representatives through three or four different communication channels, according to research from Ovum. In addition, 64% of U.S. consumers believe it is extremely/very important to receive equal quality and efficiency of responses across all touch points, reported LiveOps, a cloud-based contact center company.
To keep pace with customer expectations, Ideal Living, a direct marketer of health and wellness products, is now taking an omnichannel approach to customer service.
“We’re a vertically integrated company and market to consumers in multiple formats worldwide,” said Katie Williams, President of Direct Marketing at Ideal Living, in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “Customer service is a top priority, regardless of the channel being used. It is vital that we establish a direct relationship with our consumers.”
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Ideal Living is using online chat and social media, as well as a call center — all from LiveOps — to address customers’ questions and concerns. “We get very valuable feedback from customers on social media,” Williams said. “They share everything, from their thoughts on product changes to improvements we should make in our marketing efforts.”
The ROI Of Customer Service
For Ideal Living, social media is a valuable vehicle for communications, but not a direct source of revenue. “Social media is not something we measure or think has a big payout,” Williams explained. “I see it more as a relationship asset than a sales asset. It’s important that we track the feedback we receive via social, reach out to any disgruntled shoppers and help improve their experience and overall perception of the Ideal Living brand.”
On the other hand, the call center delivers significant sales and revenue for Ideal Living. The retailer measures the ROI of the call center by tracking the number of calls coming in and overall call response time, according to Williams. Ideal Living also compares the number of unique calls versus repeat inquiries, as well as the percentage of calls that convert to sales.
By partnering with LiveOps, Ideal Living has improved call center performance, and agents answer customer inquiries quickly and efficiently. Ideal Living taps LiveOps to accelerate the inbound sales and marketing side of the business. For example, if a consumer has a question regarding specific products or the ordering process, he or she is transferred to a LiveOps representative.
Approximately half of all calls result in orders, Williams added. For some campaigns, LiveOps generates between 60% and 65% of total sales.
Although the call center plays a pivotal role in driving direct TV and online sales, it also helps Ideal Living maintain positive relationships with retail partners, which currently include Best Buy, Kohl’s and Target, among others.
“It’s important that our retailers have low return rates and that their customers are happy,” Williams explained. “We place our call center phone numbers on all product packaging to ensure customers come to us with their questions before they go back to a store.”
