Client
OnBuy
Business type
Online marketplace
Business area
E-commerce business
“After a very slick selection process, again fully supported by Contact Centre Panel, we were able to confidently choose a partner that exactly matched our business requirements. Six months into the relationship, we’re still very pleased with the team, their performance and the support we receive.”
Sophie Cotton, Head of Customer, OnBuy
OnBuy is the fourth largest online general marketplace in the UK and has recently been recognised by the Financial Times as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. Since launching in 2016, they have become the home for thousands of retailers from small specialist outlets to major household names. Their online catalogue features millions of products, including household goods, electronics and toys.
Client challenge and requirements
In the past 4 years, OnBuy has seen significant growth, which has resulted in a continued expansion of its customer service department. This rapid growth, boosted by increases in online purchasing over the pandemic period, meant they had outgrown their in-house customer service capability.
When Sophie Cotton joined the business as Head of Customer it quickly became apparent to her that a review of customer service activities was required to ensure that the quickest and best support was available to OnBuy customers and retailers.
Sophie explains: “One of the issues identified from our review was the time to recruit agents within the UK and the negative impact these resourcing delays were having on customer service delivery.”
Primary objectives
Sophie approached Contact Centre Panel to help OnBuy to overcome this challenge by finding an outsourced contact centre partner who would work alongside their inhouse customer service team.
OnBuy’s main objective was to improve customer response time and in turn raise their CSAT score. They wanted a partner who could consistently deliver customer service excellence, whilst helping OnBuy to improve their internal processes and raise the standard of service delivered by their inhouse team. It was essential that the partnership was commercially viable, and that the outsourcer had the capability to scale quickly if required, supporting OnBuy through a new period of growth and investment.
- Home for thousands of retailers from small specialist outlets to major household names
- Experiencing significant growth
- Outgrown their in-house customer service capability.
- OnBuy’s main objective was to improve customer response time and in turn raise their CSAT score
Solution
Using our tried and tested approach, we were able to quickly document OnBuy’s brief of requirements and identify six best-fit nearshore and offshore outsource partners. We were able to guide OnBuy through the briefing process, which included setting up and hosting partner introduction sessions, creating tools and matrices to help them score the proposals, providing support and thoughts around the commercial models and help to facilitate the contract review and initial project kick-off with the partner of choice.
The result
Since go-live of the selected partner, OnBuy has seen positive downtrends in their average handling time (AHT) and the average time of response to digital channels such as chat and email.
Sophie stated: “Almost immediately after engaging with the selected contact centre outsource partner, customer response times improved.” OnBuy is now delivering quick and efficient service via various contact channels and has seen a significant improvement in customer satisfaction as well as response times.
Sophie continued: “CSAT feedback has been exceptionally positive regarding the contact centre agents. This has resulted in a significant positive turnaround on social media channels. Instagram’s positive rate increased by 77%, which is a great measure of success.”
OnBuy has also noticed negative engagement on Facebook decreased which is due to a drop in negative comments, ultimately improving brand perception.
Other than improving key customer service metrics, the selected partner has been working very closely with OnBuy to optimise their Zendesk platform. This has helped OnBuy to gain more value from the system, as well as to build a digital-first platform, improving their customer’s journey to service. Therefore, customers are now better able to self-serve, rather than having to come directly to a contact centre agent.
Client comment
“I am delighted with the service and support we received from Contact Centre Panel. They took the time to fully understand our requirements, helped us construct our RFP and presented several well-matched potential partners.
After a very slick selection process, again fully supported by Contact Centre Panel, we were able to confidently choose a partner that exactly matched our business requirements. Six months into the relationship, we’re still very pleased with the team, their performance and the support we receive.
One of the key things for me is that Contact Centre Panel really do know their partners. They genuinely have a ‘best of breed’ to select from and their years of experience in this sector brings great value to the process. I would thoroughly recommend.”
Sophie Cotton, Head of Customer, OnBuy
