An Outsourced Solution Helps a Client Manage Growth and Improve Customer Retention
Relationship:
Since 2020
Service Provided:
Customer Retention, Service Sales, and
User Account Management
Channel:
Inbound/Outbound Voice
Industries:
Privacy and Cybersecurity
In the past decade, cases of identity theft and fraud have tripled. One-third of all Americans have been victims, and the issue is not confined to the US. Data breaches have cost consumers billions. Depending on the research company that is involved and how it defines those terms, this market is expected to increase by 145% by the end of the decade. One of our clients in this sector and the growing demand for service was starting to become an issue.
That may sound counter-intuitive; virtually every company wants to expand its customer base. But a truism in business is that when there are more consumers of a particular good or service, there will be a parallel increase in the need for quality customer support. That was the dilemma our client was facing.
A truism in business is that when there are more consumers of a particular good or service, there will be a parallel increase in the need for quality customer support.
How Initial Success Paved the Way for Program Expansion
01 The Challenge
The internal support team was struggling to keep up with demand, and the company was also facing a retention problem from customers who were getting lost in the activity.
02 The Solution
Agents handle thousands of calls per week on various issues that invariably circle back to giving consumers the peace of mind that comes from having a digital sentry.
03 The Results
Since the program’s inception, the team has tripled in size while taking on several additional responsibilities and consistently achieving KPI goals in quality, CSAT, and retention.
01 The Challenge
This company has been in the identity protection business for years, specializing in various digital solutions for individuals and organizations. Every time a new data breach erupts, there is a wave of new demand. That was the case after a health insurance company was attacked, exposing scores of people’s personal information.
The internal support team was struggling to keep up with ever-growing demand, and the company was also facing a retention problem from customers who were getting lost in the activity. They were not getting the high-touch care they had come to expect. That’s where we came in, with a secondary mission of helping a sister company that acts as a ready-response unit after a breach occurs and the impacted business is required to pay a settlement to the people affected.
02 The Solution
The initial focus was on helping new identity protection services customers realize the total value of their investment. Agents handle thousands of calls per week on various issues that invariably circle back to giving consumers the peace of mind that comes from having a digital sentry.
The campaign is voice-only, and one unusual facet is that the client has little interest in average handle time, a standard metric among phone agents. This payoff is the outcome of interactions, and if delivering quality takes a bit longer than “normal” to achieve, then the call was successful. The bar is set at 90%, but we have established an internal mark is 93% to make things more interesting. In addition, a QA team reviews a sample of every agent’s phone calls to address potential improvement opportunities and highlight success so that it can be replicated. The team’s leadership conducts weekly coaching sessions to reinforce the point.
03 The Results
Along with the initial service role, we now have separate teams specializing in member onboarding, retention, and sales. The sales team has exceeded its monthly targets, even as they have been repeatedly raised. If there is a ceiling, we have not yet reached it. The retention team is attuned to the word “cancel,” springing into action to save memberships. And the welcome team calls new members, listens to why they signed up, and looks for potential upgrade opportunities.
Since the program’s inception, the team has tripled in size while taking on several additional responsibilities and consistently achieving KPI goals in quality, CSAT, and retention. Meanwhile, the relationship with this client’s sister company – which began as a temporary assignment – has become permanent and it, too, has grown to include a white glove resolution service for fraud victims. In those cases, an agent will help the customer contact all relevant financial institutions and government agencies, providing templated letters and staying on the line for as long as necessary. In many instances, that can mean 90 minutes to two hours.
The ramp-up for this project was based on a sense of urgency – the company was facing an immediate problem that was threatening to escalate into a crisis. 
The internal support team was struggling to keep pace with new accounts, and the business was also bleeding its existing market share. We triaged the problem, lending stability and addressing systemic issues.
The relationship benefits from the closed feedback loop that is part of every program and encourages regular dialogue between the client and us. In this case, contact is several times a day informally along with the usual formal business reviews. The conversations have led to various process improvements, such as an expedited verification process that is much faster and leads to a better user experience.
