Increase in online transactions through use of eKomi customer service and satisfaction software boosts turnover and business confidence

Increase in online transactions through use of eKomi customer service and satisfaction software boosts turnover and business confidence

Mypure.co.uk, a UK online retailer specialising in cosmetics, toiletries and home cleaning products made from natural and organic ingredients, has seen a 12% increase in its online shopping transactions, thanks to improved customer service supported by the feedback software and services from eKomi.

As a result of this feedback from its customers, the company has also experienced improved morale and confidence in the quality of the products and services it gives its customers, which has further benefited its business.

Started in mid-2005, Mypure.co.uk has sought to be a trusted online retailer that stands out from others in its field. While the company had seen substantial growth since starting, it wanted to do more to create consumer confidence in its brand, especially for first-time purchasers.

Credible reviews stand out

Simon Golding, founder of Mypure.co.uk, told RetailTechnology.co.uk: “There are a lot of companies online that sell products similar to ours and we wanted to find a new way to stand out and be different. As the feedback we get via eKomi is independent and cannot be tampered with by the retailer, customers can have total confidence when placing an order, even if they have not heard of us before! Customers read the feedback on items such as the fulfilment on our pledge to dispatch in 24 hours and it has an instant impact.”

Mypure.co.uk already had an in-house customer reviews system for its products and services, but this was cumbersome and required users to login to leave a review and go through several clicks before they could review a product. In addition, the company was getting very limited feedback from customers at a transaction level once an order was dispatched and felt, if it could capture this feedback, it would help improve service even further.

“Once an order was dispatched, it really went into a black hole – we rarely heard back from customers on their experience. We had no way of knowing how that customer felt about the whole transaction, or their experience of us as a company,” added Golding. “It was critical for us to know that customers were not only happy with the quality of the products, but the quality of service we gave them. We wanted to hear all feedback, so that we could pat ourselves on the back, and improve where we needed to.”

Simple integration, growth plans

The eKomi software appears on the Mypure.co.uk website as a simple widget. The full solution was up and running in just two weeks since September 2009 and has felt the benefits this has brought to its business. It works by emailing customers who have purchased from a retailer’s website to ask them for feedback on their shopping experience with the retailer.

Five star responses are automatically posted to the eKomi application on the retailer’s website, which is customisable to match the look and feel of the site. Every response with less than four stars is individually managed by eKomi’s customer service team to ensure, for example, that the lower review was not as a result of the customer providing inaccurate information, therefore helping the retailer to ‘problem solve’.

Mypure.co.uk had very few pieces of negative feedback, but those that it has had have been identified through eKomi’s customer service team, who have helped Mypure.co.uk to resolve them. For example, one issue that eKomi helped identify was the fact that e-mails to customers confirming orders were frequently getting trapped in ‘Junk’ email folders on customers’ PCs – so customers did not know what was happening with their orders. This led to a change in process that has completely removed the issue.

Positive return from investment

“Since using eKomi we have seen our conversion rate rise by 12%, our staff are more motivated from the positive customer feedback they see, and we have been able to refine some of our processes through that feedback to give customers an even better experience,” said Golding. “The way that eKomi has affected morale was really unexpected, and something you can’t really put a value on. Our staff feels closer to customers and that their work is valued.”

Mypure.co.uk is now planning to extend its use of eKomi’s services to incorporate their individual product review software alongside the basic transaction feedback over the coming months and to link transaction feedback to the salesperson the customer communicated with, in order to aid staff training.