Hugo Enhanced Customer Service For A Kids’ Subscription Box

The Client

The client, a leader in educational subscription boxes, delivers engaging STEM, art, and science projects to families’ doorsteps. Their goal is to foster hands-on learning experiences for children, bringing joy and curiosity to each box.

The Challenge

Main Takeaways:

• Overwhelming Where Is My Order (WISMO) queries and issues with pausing, canceling, and billing.
• Managing customizations based on children’s age, interest, or special needs.
• Increased difficulty handling peak season spikes.

As the client’s business expanded, their customer service team struggled with increasing volumes of WISMO queries and subscription management issues like pausing, canceling, and billing. These challenges intensified during peak seasons and holidays, when new accounts and subscription changes further strained the team, leading to frustration, cancellations, and increased refund requests.

“Customizing boxes based on children’s age, interests, or special needs is core to our value proposition but also logistically challenging,” the CX Manager noted. “We saw a rise in refund requests and dissatisfaction due to long response times and ineffective handling of issues. It was clear we needed a more proactive approach to address these problems effectively and prevent issues from escalating.”

The Solution: Hugo’s Approach

To address the client’s challenges, Hugo swiftly assembled a team of parents, teachers, and individuals with childcare expertise who could empathize with parents and address their concerns effectively.

Streamlined Inquiry Management

• Hugo deployed an AI chatbot and built a knowledge base to handle common queries on product safety, educational value, and order status, reducing reliance on human agents and speeding up response times.
• For more complex issues, including account inquiries and special offers, Hugo provided 24/7 support via SMS, chat, and email.
• To enhance service, Hugo segmented inquiries by user demographics and previous interactions, allowing the team to redirect customers who preferred human interaction to agents versus those who preferred self-service/automated support.

For optimized subscription management:

• The team developed a subscription workflow to automate processes for pausing, canceling, billing inquiries, and renewal reminders, minimizing unexpected charges and cancellations.
• Hugo implemented a pre-cancellation strategy to identify customer pain points with targeted questions and tailored solutions, reducing cancellation rates and improving retention.

Efficient Order Customization

• Hugo enhanced the existing CRM system to better manage customizations based on children’s ages, interests, and special needs.
• To ensure accuracy, Hugo introduced a process for confirming preferences through calls or messages. Proactive SMS and email notifications were also implemented for shipping updates, delays, and delivery confirmations.
• Additionally, Hugo set up a tracking link system and conducted timely follow-ups on undelivered packages to reduce refund requests and boost customer satisfaction.

Scalability During Peak Seasons

• To handle peak times like the holiday season, Hugo trained a dormant workforce to be production-ready within six (6) days. The team also introduced self-scheduling and pay incentives to ensure sufficient coverage during night shifts and off-peak hours.

The Outcomes

The partnership between Hugo and the client led to notable improvements:

• Customer satisfaction scores increased by 50.8% within the first three months.
• Response times were reduced from 24 hours to <2 hours.
• Order customization accuracy improved by 28.6%, reducing returns and exchanges.
• Subscription retention increased by 15.38% due to enhanced management and communication.
• Average Handle Time (AHT) decreased by 55.6%, resulting in cost savings.
• Cart abandonment and cancellations were reduced by 15%, leading to higher retention and fewer lost sales.

Expanding Horizons: A Partnership Beyond Expectations

The client, impressed with Hugo’s impact, expanded their partnership to include influencer marketing services. Hugo’s ongoing support allows the client to focus on its core mission: delivering educational experiences while knowing customer needs are expertly managed.