Customer service that benefits more than just the customer

There are about 10,000 stores on the Shoper e-commerce platform, and each month a new test version is set up by about 1,500 entrepreneurs. This is a huge amount of data and quite a challenge for the customer service department. To make it easier to get in touch with users and at the same time start using the collected information in a constructive way, Shoper created its own concierge onboarding system to support customers at the beginning of their e-commerce adventure.

First, tests

The management of Dreamcommerce, the operator of the Shoper platform, entrusted Lukasz Kozlowski with building the system. He analyzed the conversation process of a customer service employee and structured the types of questions asked and answers received. After creating a dedicated database, the DOK part of the system began to work on it. It quickly became apparent that this part of the department boasted twice as many conversions, calculated as the number of e-shops whose owners switched to subscriptions after the free trials ended. And the accumulated amount of data made it necessary to change the structure of the database.

Professional system

The customer deployment system has been refined and equipped with a clear graphical interface. As a result, instead of describing the customer with notes taken by DOK employees, the system presents him - and his e-store - in a picture. The graphic is supplemented on an ongoing basis with information obtained during conversations with consultants, and data from the test version of the store and online surveys are also loaded into it. The image shows information about the owner, his knowledge and needs, the type of business, how prepared he is to open a store and the features integrated into the store.

Thanks to the universal representation of the customer's degree of sophistication, each service employee can quickly discern the customer's situation, answer his questions and suggest next steps. On the basis of the information from the concierge, a store audit is also carried out - consultants monitor on an ongoing basis the changes made by salespeople and after a few weeks call with advice on how to optimize the operation of the store at a given stage.

- In the system, we focus on customer needs. They are the key to further service. The customer service advisor needs to know the attitude and requirements of the store owner, whether it is his beginnings in e-commerce or an experienced seller, how much time he wants to devote to his business. We will suggest and hint at different things to a mother on maternity leave who is taking her first steps in e-commerce, and other things to an e-commerce manager who is expecting a million-dollar turnover. For sellers we are also often a coach, through advice we mobilize them to develop," explains Lukasz Kozlowski, the originator of the Dreamcommerce customer service system.

Onboarding in Europe and Asia

Concierge onboarding was implemented in all the countries where Dreamcommerce operates, namely Poland, Turkey and India. Simultaneous integration in three different markets was a challenge, as the system had to be customized for each market. Using it in these several markets makes it possible to observe the differences between them. It turns out, among other things, that in Turkey e-tailers are much quicker to make decisions and open a store even two days after the test version is completed, while Poles take up to several months to think about it after testing. Indians, on the other hand, think of business more globally and allow foreign customers to store in the store right away.

The pros alone

Testing of the system began in mid-2016, and the entire department switched to it in October. After six months of working with the new model, the results were noticeable. Customers rated the service staff as more professional and customer-oriented. And this had an impact on conversion - in some months it was 20-30 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier. The system's development plans for the near future include covering e-stores with year-round monitoring, not just in the start-up phase.

- Building user loyalty to a brand is the most important trend in customer service today, and one that cannot be underestimated. Especially in subscription solutions, like the SaaS model in which we provide our software. Recognizing the true needs of customers is crucial for us - these are very often people at a particular moment in their lives, changing their career path, making economic decisions that are important to them. That's why we want to not just passively accompany them, but actively advise them, and when necessary, even guide them," explains Tomasz Tybon, director of marketing and sales at Dreamcommerce.