COMRAD
Fast growing sock company, Comrad, switches to Kustomer for an increase in AOV by 26%
Challenge
Comrad found Intercom to be difficult to use with limited integrations leading to limited view of the customer.
Solution
Comrad chose Kustomer in 2018 and has been impressed with how the platform has supported its growth and even directly contributed to its bottom line.
Success
Kustomer played a pivotal role in transforming Comrad’s customer service operations.
Company
Comrad
www.comrad.com
Industry
Switched from
Key Outcomes
40%
increase in return customer rate
26%
higher average order values (AOV)
Introduction
As the longest-standing employee at Comrad, a rapidly growing retail company specializing in compression socks, Heather Kunert has overseen customer experience (CX) from its inception. “When I started, my boss told me, ‘It’s just gotta be great.’ With Kustomer, we’ve been able to make it great. It’s never about the socks; it’s about making every interaction with our customers exceptional,” claims Kunert.
Previous Solution
Before adopting Kustomer in 2018, Comrad faced several challenges with its previous system, Intercom, which was not meeting the needs of its growing business. As a company with a compact team and a wide customer base, ranging from young adults to seniors, Comrad required a solution that could offer a comprehensive, unified view of customer interactions across multiple channels without duplicating efforts. Intercom did not meet these needs.
Need for Exceptional Customer Service
Comrad’s customers called with questions about how compression socks would help their health concerns. Customer questions could be complex in relating to medical requirements prescribed by doctors, sizing complexities, or fabric preferences, which go beyond just everyday sock wear.
“Our customers don’t just buy socks; they’re often addressing specific health concerns,” says Kunert. “This might be after a medical diagnosis or a recommendation from a health professional. Our job is to ensure they get what they genuinely need, not just another pair of socks.”
According to Kunert, prospective buyers will call into support and say, “My doctor said get compression socks and I have no idea what to buy or what size because there’s wide calf and there’s regular calf.” This matters to customers because the compression socks are meant to help heal the health condition, which can be stressful for the customer.
“When I started, my boss told me, ‘It’s just gotta be great.’ With Kustomer, we’ve been able to make it great. It’s never about the socks; it’s about making every interaction with our customers exceptional.”
Heather Kunert
Head of Customer Experience
“One thing that my team and I really love about Kustomer is just that holistic view of the customer”
With Kustomer, Comrad Cultivates Long-Term Customer Relationships
Kustomer provides a seamless, intuitive platform that integrates various service channels, including email, live chat, SMS and phone support, into a single customer view to streamline customer communications. This holistic approach gives Comrad better management of customer interactions and ensures a consistent and personalized customer experience.
The full Kustomer Timeline feature is particularly beneficial for handling complex queries where historical data on past purchases and interactions could be leveraged to provide tailored customer support. “One thing that my team and I really love about Kustomer is just that holistic view of the customer,” says Kunert. “It’s just so nice because that means we don’t duplicate effort. Plus, we have that history of everything that went back and forth with the customer.”
With Kustomer, Comrad significantly reduced the manual effort involved in managing customer data. Integrations with other platforms like Loop and Okendo automated tasks that were previously manual, thereby freeing up team resources for more strategic activities. Having access to this data in Kustomer allows Comrad agents to be more proactive in how they service customers, which has led to improvements in customer satisfaction.
“The Kustomer integration with Loop has been wonderful for us because having return data on every customer’s profile saves us so much time. This is a benefit for both our agents and customers,” says Kunert.
The Kustomer integration with Okendo allows Comrad agents to follow up on every customer review published, especially those below five stars. “This demonstrates to our customers that we really care and are commited to their satisfaction,” explains Kunert.
Kustomer Scales to Support Comrad’s Growth
As Comrad’s business boomed, Kustomer proved crucial in scaling their customer service operations without proportionally increasing their headcount. The intuitive nature of the platform allowed for quick onboarding of new service representatives, which was essential for maintaining service quality during periods of rapid growth.
“Adding new reps is really easy because the system is intuitive. There’s not an extended training period on the software, which is crucial for us as we grow,” reflects Kunert.
Kustomer Transforms Comrad CX from a Cost to Profit Center
By powering a proactive and empathetic customer experience, Kustomer has increased positive customer interactions with Comrad’s CX team that has driven more revenue for the company. “We’ve found through Kustomer’s wonderful tracking that our orders tend to be a little bit bigger when they are handled by customer service, which is awesome and allows me to justify our existence,” exclaims Kunert. By tracking sales attributed to customer service interactions, Kustomer highlights the CX department’s role in driving higher average order values (AOV) through effective service for Comrad. Plus, this additional revenue attributed to the CX team helps offset CX costs.
Conclusion
Kustomer played a pivotal role in transforming Comrad’s customer service operations. By providing a unified platform that integrates various customer service tools, Kustomer has enabled Comrad to offer exceptional service quality, handle growth efficiently, and turn customer service into a strategic asset that drives customer loyalty and revenue.
