When the online order for a foot massager arrived without a power cord, the buyer faced a second problem: he had to call customer service.
We dread that call because it usually means navigating an automated phone system, waiting, being bounced from one agent to another, waiting again, and having to repeat the reason for our call.
In this case, a “customer obsession representative” answered and immediately expedited delivery of a replacement.
The customer was impressed at how fast the consumer goods company Thrasio responded. And he was delighted by the follow-up when a supervisor checked on the delivery. In fact, he was so happy he sent the Thrasio team a signed copy of his book with a note expressing his gratitude.
It’s a common story for Thrasio. The company’s Global Services team resolves similar issues thousands of times every day, earning Thrasio an 89 percent CSAT score. This puts the company in the top tier of all firms, across all industries, according to the experience management firm Qualtrics.
Founded in 2018 to reimagine how the world’s most-loved online marketplace products become accessible to everyone, Thrasio connects exceptional customer experience (CX), digital experience (DX), and employee experience (EX) in the service of its brand promise, “how goods become great.”
“Aligning with our leadership principle, ‘Good Is Not Good Enough’, we’re tireless in our pursuit of excellence.That 89 percent CSAT score is not good enough, so we are executing on initiatives to improve it,” said Gershwin Exeter, the vice president for Global Services.
That’s why, in a consumer-centric business, Exeter pushes for an unrivaled technology stack.
On the Leading Edge
The representative who took the call for the missing power cord was able to pull up the order and initiate a replacement in a matter of seconds thanks to the customer service platform Zendesk. The CX side of Thrasio’s technology stack also includes ChannelReply, which expedites personalized support through automated replies; Brandwatch, a social media management platform with AI-powered analytics; and Tethr, which extracts insights from every single customer conversation to improve agent performance.
On the EX side, Thrasio leverages Assembled, a workforce management platform that enables maximum visibility into team performance, productivity, and staffing accuracy; AmplifAI, which strengthens Thrasio by replicating the actions of top agents; and Disprz, a learning platform that ensures every team member receives hyper-personalized learning journeys based on their role, competencies, 360 feedback, and performance. This is all supported by NXT Generation Training and its management coaching for frontline and middle managers.
Though Thrasio uses multiple platforms, everything is integrated with a single pane of glass, creating a seamless experience for employees and customers alike.
This was Exeter’s goal when he arrived at Thrasio in 2021 after over 23 years with TTEC, a global CX consultancy and solution provider.
“I saw the gaps immediately. Our performance was subjective because there were no business metrics or standards,” he said. “So we didn’t have clarity or agreement on what constitutes good customer support or how to make it better.”
He set about building a plan that would touch all aspects of the organization — strategy, organization, process, insights, culture and, of course, technology. And he equipped his team and partners to execute.
Another win was technology optimization. Global Services partnered with Thrasio’s technology division to remove 66 redundant or minimal-use technologies and focus on the seven strategic technology platforms.
The results are stellar by any accounting. Thrasio achieved top 10 industry metrics in multiple categories, including:
- Reducing the time from first reply to resolution to less than an hour.
- Lowering the total cost of ownership to $6.49 per ticket.
- Improving the employee satisfaction score to +71.
And Thrasio did all of this while reducing the overall costs by 43 percent.
“It’s an amazing story of what happens when you combine the right leadership with the right technology,” said Andrew Pryfogle, founder and CEO of CX Effect, a technology outfitter.
Thrasio is “a model for these times,” according to Pryfogle, who was a pioneer 15 years ago in helping enterprises embrace cloud technology and telephony. “The company is resolving the seemingly contradictory objectives of automation vs. customer delight, containment vs. personalization, and lower costs vs. greater revenue.”
Getting Better
But Thrasio is not resting on its laurels. Exeter keeps his team focused on the company’s leadership principle “Good Is Not Good Enough.”
Team members tie Thrasio’s continual improvement to their own development. Reducing call resolution time, for instance, requires team members to have greater product knowledge. Another goal, that Global Services becomes a profit center, requires leaders who can strategize across the enterprise to manage costs and grow revenue.
Enter the One Percent to Greatness initiative. Thrasio empowers employees to spend one percent, or five minutes, of their working day to discipline themselves on self-betterment. Improving that one percent each day leads to long-term growth, within and outside of the workplace.
“The crazy part of personal development is discipline,” Exeter said. “The discipline to wake up every morning to work out and eat healthy to remain physically fit. The discipline to read to expand your mind. The discipline to meditate or pray to practice spiritual balancing. The discipline to control your spending to manage your finances. The discipline to forgive and love to grow emotionally.”
The technology stack itself contributes to employee growth. Learning and development tools are integrated into several of the platforms, making training part of the daily work rather than an add-on. AmplifAI and Disprz manage the formal coaching and learning, which is delivered through Zendesk’s single-pane-of-glass interface for employees. AmplifAI gathers data from the other technology platforms and provides employees with AI-powered coaching suggestions based on their individual performance. Disprz creates personalized learning paths unique to each employee.
Exeter leverages his own role to provide regular opportunities for team members to stretch, including presenting to Thrasio’s executive leadership and partners.
“I started my career as a frontline employee selling cable television at TTEC. I was blessed with regular development that allowed me to grow personally and develop professionally. It is my responsibility to help others along the same path,” Exeter said.
Getting better also means that Thrasio makes the most of its technology. Full platform utilization is the goal. Thrasio asks its suppliers to regularly score the company on this metric. Exeter and his team expect suppliers to orient them to the complete range of services and features provided by each solution.
And when Thrasio has an idea that the suppliers haven’t contemplated, the company pushes its partners to think bigger.
Climbing Higher
Generative AI is the next big thing for Thrasio. The company is working with Assembled to create personalized support tickets based upon the customer’s history and sentiment. The AI-powered advancement will help Thrasio’s agents up-sell and cross-sell the company’s 190 brands.
Thrasio has enlisted CX Effect to help evaluate technology options. “Generative AI will fundamentally change the retail industry and how goods are sold,” said Pryfogle of CX Effect. “No one knows the time horizon for this change — it could be two to five years — but Thrasio is not waiting to see how this plays out. The company is leading the way.”
Exeter wants his team to scale the mountain. To get there, Thrasio must be outfitted with the right technology. And employees will need enhanced skills. It’s a steep climb.
Others may wonder why Exeter and his team work so hard when Thrasio is already in the top 10 percentile for customer experience?
The answer goes back to Thrasio’s motto — how goods become great and Thrasio’s leadership principle, “Good Isn’t Good Enough”
Why scale the mountain? “Because,” as climber George Mallory said of Everest, “it is there.”
Or, as Exeter put it: “It’s our responsibility to leave everything better than we found it. We have the ability to create a completely new standard for our customers through our CX and our employees through our EX. You wrap a personalized, adaptable DX to that, and boom — magic!”
Daniel Pryfogle integrates the disciplines of leadership and culture formation, organizational development, and marketing. He is the CMO of CX Effect.