Stuck in an ineffective circle of communication, this company was losing clients fast, and requested a complete overhaul of its customer onboarding process.
THE CHALLENGE:
Client onboarding is the start of a customer’s journey with your business.
It can define your company’s reputation with a client, and if communication is lacking during onboarding, it can harm the relationship between the client and your company.
Vendors of this Fortune 500 pharma company faced constant back-and-forth emails and phone calls while trying to schedule their onboarding sessions.
These outdated methods wasted time for both parties, trapping vendors in ineffective communication and depleting the time customer service experts could spend on actual onboarding tasks.
Furthermore, the bulk of the customer service experts’ day-to-day tasks remained unfinished as they had to stay on the line manually booking and rebooking appointments.
The company noticed a decline in customers, despite positive marketing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
This led to a startling realization: the client onboarding process needed to change, and fast.
THE OBJECTIVES:
Seeking a fresh start with maximum customer satisfaction, the client approached SUMO with an onboarding process in dire need of an update.
SUMO conducted a thorough analysis of the client’s day-to-day operations, and gathered key stakeholder opinions to understand the most pressing pain points.
After the analysis, SUMO and the client chose to focus on the following objectives:
- Data security through top-shelf
- Automatic scheduling options for vendors through the website
- Real-time reporting, developed within the Salesforce infrastructure
- Specific welcome team interactions through queue management
- Automated reminder engine, to free up the customer service experts
THE SOLUTION:
First and foremost, as a Salesforce native application, SUMO assured bank-grade data security, HIPAA compliance, and seamless integration with the Salesforce platform.
Thus, the client onboarding overhaul began by allowing the vendors to self-schedule their appointments through the community portal within Salesforce.
First, SUMO’s Online Scheduler provided vendors with multiple ways to book an appointment through the following process:
– Once a customer service representative qualified the vendor, an email was sent to them with a self-scheduling button.
– From a self-scheduling button embedded in the email, the vendor could now set the date and time most convenient for them.
– After the vendor self-scheduled, they were placed in a queue for the welcome team.
Second, through SUMO’s Assignment Engine, the vendors were distributed to a specific welcome team member to start the onboarding process, depending on the date, time, or location. Third, SUMO’s Reminder Engine sent email confirmations to the vendor and customer service expert, assuring both parties were synced. Subsequent reminders leading up to the appointment date were then sent at timely intervals.
THE RESULTS:
SUMO’s scheduling solution provided bank-grade security measures, ensuring the level of protection required by a Fortune 500 business.
The client’s data was stored securely within the Salesforce environment for convenience and safeguarded by some of the strongest firewalls available on the market.
By using SUMO’s Online Scheduler and the self-scheduling feature, customer service experts saved valuable hours. This allowed them to refocus on onboarding tasks instead of wasting time on back-and-forth calls.
Additionally, the Assignment Engine matched each vendor with a free expert based on factors such as date, hour, and location. This enabled seamless connectivity and region-specific interactions.
Finally, SUMO’s Reminder Engine helped both experts and vendors prioritize their meetings. As a result, vendors were less likely to miss their appointments.
THE FUTURE:
By adding self-scheduling to the onboarding process, the Fortune 500 client has reported:
- A 45% increase in call center agent usage, shifting time spent on phone exchanges to onboarding activities through the Assignment Engine
- Over 200 appointments processed per month, a company record achieved via the Online Scheduler’s automated links
- A 27% reduction in no-shows, a direct result of the Reminder Engine’s automated follow-ups
Prior to SUMO’s solution, timing was a major blocker to completing the onboarding process.
Now, the Fortune 500 company is once again revered for its client onboarding process, rehabilitating its reputation and image on a global scale.
