Complaint and suggestion books have finally lost their popularity, so the major players in FMCG-retail are looking for new ways to get feedback from customers. The executives of the Karusel retail chain have gone the way of messengers and increased the number of new customers by a factor of 5. We tell how they did it, and how Chat2Desk service helped in this.
About the company
“Karusel” is one of the leading hypermawriterket chains in Russia. It is managed by X5 Retail Group, which also owns “Pyaterochka” and “Perekrestok” chains. Since 2004, the chain has grown to 91 hypermarkets nationally, generating 87.4 billion roubles in revenue and 120 million visits a year.
Problem
High customer traffic required the introduction of omni-channel messenger customer support.
The company needed to perform the following tasks:
- Increase customer loyalty.
- Increase the speed of responding to problems in the Karusel shopping centre.
- Increase quality of communication with customers.
- Increase the share of communication with customers.
How the problem was solved
To introduce omni-channel support, the Karusel executives connected two messengers: WhatsApp and Viber.
What this gave customers:
- Convenient communication with the company
Shop visitors now have the opportunity to ask any question to helpdesk. The messengers allow sending not only text messages, but also pictures, screenshots or videos. Customers can leave a complaint or feedback about the cleanliness of the sales floor or that goods are not on their shelf.
- Resolving issues
Customers were able to ask questions about the loyalty program and bonus points on the card, promotions, the operation of the mobile app and personalised offers. There was an opportunity to make a complaint about goods of inadequate quality and to enquire about refunds. If there is a queue at the checkout, the customer reports this to the chat and management orders another checkout to be opened.
What this has given the company:
- Customer loyalty
The company has been able to introduce a personalised approach to customer communication. Correspondence with the customer is saved, so the operator can continue the dialogue without asking unnecessary clarifying questions. This has helped to increase the loyalty of shop visitors and to increase the share of messages via messengers by a factor of 5.
- Improved service
“Karusel” was able to improve the quality of service thanks to customer feedback. Feedback left in this channel helps to solve problems on the sales floor or quality of service.
- Saving the budget
An operator can handle three or four conversations at the same time. Therefore, the company does not need to maintain a large staff.
Which functions have helped to achieve the result
“Write first” option
The option works in the two messengers connected by Karusel, WhatsApp and Viber. This function allows you to send feedback to the customer on the request left. For example, you have come to the shop to return a low-quality product. After the company makes a decision, you will receive a message on messenger, saying that you will get a refund.
“Quality Control” feature
With this option chat centre supervisors have started to receive feedback on the performance of helpdesk specialists. If an operator receives a low rating, supervisors can identify the cause of poor service and rectify it.
What this option has yielded:
- User engagement;
- Improved service quality.
What the Karusel retail chain has achieved
1. Thanks to Karusel's messengers, it was possible to introduce customer support in a user-friendly communication channel. The new way of communication has helped to solve customers' questions, to collect feedback and to improve the hypermarket performance.
2. The average waiting time for an operator's response is 30-50 seconds.
3. In 2020, messenger traffic has increased by 5 times, compared to 2019.
4. The number of new customers in offline network outlets has also increased by 5 times.
The essence of communication with customers in FMCG-retail is customer support: resolving questions, collecting feedback, complaints and suggestions. Messengers complement the existing lines of communication – phone and email – and help to introduce omni-channel customer support. The ability to contact a large retail chain in any convenient way will not leave customers indifferent. The case of the Karusel retail chain proved this.
If you often communicate with customers and want to implement customer support, contact us via the widget in the bottom right corner and we'll tell you where to start.
