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Case Study: Retail & E-Commerce: Business-to-Consumer

This Fortune 100 leading designer, marketer and wholesaler of branded apparel, footwear and accessories relies on Working Solutions to capture phone/online sales and provide customer service.

The Challenge

The client’s main business focus is on their retail stores, but they also maintain a phone and online sales presence to meet the needs of an additional segment of their customer base. This additional service had historically been costly for the client and took time and energy away from their primary focus of developing and maintaining their retail operations.

Year-round sales specialists for online and phone support were both expensive and in short supply within commuting distance of their New York City office. In addition, the company was using temporary staff to fill the need for additional headcount during seasonal spikes in call volume – an expensive solution in the New York City area given the high cost of labor within that geographic region.

The client needed to find a cost-effective way to maintain online and phone sales channels throughout the year as well as maintain quality of customer service experience during seasonal peak times without the high costs that had historically plagued the retailer.

After evaluating several options, they turned to Working Solutions, industry leader in remote-based sales and support specialists, for a resolution to their dilemma.

The Solution

Working Solutions is like an extension of our company. Using Agents OnDemand has enabled us to cut the cost of our call center operations, while increasing revenue. It feels so great to have complete confidence in your team. Company Executive

First discussions with the client began in early fall, just prior to the heavy spike in call volume that typically hits e-commerce retailers in November. Working Solutions’ team of industry experts worked with the client to identify an initial group of sales specialists from their community of more than 76,000 sales and service specialists to begin the project. Because Working Solutions has sales specialists dispersed throughout the country, they were able to easily select agents outside the costly labor market in the New York City area.

Within 30 days and just in time for the holiday spike, Working Solutions’ Agents OnDemand were fully conversant on the client’s brand and products. The agents began taking calls just as effectively as the company’s in-house staff and at a significantly reduced cost.

Within four weeks, the number of agents was increased to meet the heavy call demand extending through January. Additionally, Working Solutions was able to work with the client to help discover ways to increase the internal effectiveness of their in-house call system infrastructure, resulting in improved ROI. This turnaround was significant; the company was able to realize profit in an area that had previously been viewed as a necessary, but costly expense.

The average Agent OnDemand:

• Has 5-7 years of industry experience
• Is College educated
• Is 15-19 years more mature than in-house counterparts

The Result

Today, the client focuses their attention on their core business of retail sales stores knowing Working Solutions has effectively and efficiently streamlined their online and phone sales channels. Costs for maintaining an online and phone presence for customers have been greatly reduced and the quality of service has been greatly enhanced.

The client currently routes all first level calls through Working Solutions, using a scalable group of Agents OnDemand to meet peak demands while maintaining a consistent level of superior quality. Working Solutions provided an alternative to integrating with traditional outsourced ACDs, by leveraging the company’s internal investment and the integrity of their own secure network. High quality sales specialists backed by the operational expertise of the Working Solutions management team have allowed the client to enjoy:

• Greatly reduced overhead
• Dramatically decreased attrition, resulting in a more knowledgeable sales staff
• Enhanced customer service quality
• Improved flexibility and scalability of their online and phone sales channels
• Ability to focus on their core business

Working Solutions continues to provide the client increased flexible capacity and superior quality customer care at a reduced cost through their seasoned, professional specialists.