With its stores shut, mobile network operator and phone retailer Three has seen improved online sales and service levels after focussing on how to better answer customer questions on its web and mobile sites.
With the lockdown forcing more shoppers than ever to turn to online and mobile to interact with brands and retailers, the move to better service online interactions – especially non-FAQ questions – is now vital. And Three has shown just how effective it can be when you get it right.
Working with Yext Answers, Three set out to make it easier for customers to find answers to their questions via the website for improved customer service accessibility. And after the first two weeks of implementing it, the retailer saw a 42% reduction in the number of customer support contacts initiated due to incorrect, irrelevant, or “no results” responses delivered to customer queries on Three.co.uk.
Additionally, Three fielded more than 400,000 searches and drove more than 253,000 clicks within the first month of integrating Yext Answers.
“Our customers were visiting our website and weren’t able to find the answers they needed using our existing search bar,” explains Graham Johnston, Head of Omnichannel at Three. “That ultimately led them to exploring other customer service options such as calling our contact centre or walking in-store. This is inconvenient to customers and adds additional layers to the customer experience where we want to be able to resolve their queries as quickly as possible. Yext Answers has been the perfect solution to help our website do the heavy lifting, resulting in more conversions and a better first-time resolution rate for customers.”
Johnson continues: “People have been even more dependent on their mobile devices during this current COVID-19 crisis, so it’s critical that our website is up-to-date with important information that is easy to access,” Johnston added. “Having the ability to understand what questions are being asked on our website and across third-party platforms, means we can move quickly to ensure we’re responding to our customers swiftly when they need us the most.”
“Retail footfall has been hugely impacted by this pandemic, so the online experience has never been more important,” adds Jon Buss, Managing Director of Yext UK. “By using Yext Answers, Three has been able to react quickly to the current situation to build consumer trust, improve performance and deliver results.”
In addition to Yext Answers, Three has leveraged other solutions within the Yext Search Experience Cloud, including Listings, Reviews, and Pages. In the 16 months since adopting these products, this has resulted in more than 1.3m clicks to their online listings, a 25% increase year-on-year.
