Well hello there!
I’m super new to Flip – like writing this on my second day with the company, new. Don’t let that fool you into thinking I’m not a credible voice on what we do here. Rest assured, I’m a girl who does her homework.
To put things briefly, Flip automates routine phone support requests so the real humans can focus on more complex cases. We focus on e-commerce and can implement in minutes with businesses that run on the likes of Shopify, Magento, Salesforce Commerce, and WooCommerce.
As a marketer (and avid online shopper), this product sold itself to me and saying yes to coming on board here was a no-brainer.
There’s nothing like feedback to kick my brain in gear.
We got some feedback from a prospect today that got me doing the kind of mental gymnastics that I’d usually expect in Week 2, not Day 2.
The prospect said Flip wasn’t for them (no harm, no foul). They said they’re a luxury brand and because of that, human touchpoints were necessary to maintain their reputation with their clientele. I definitely understand, but I disagree. Let’s get into why.
As I mentioned above, e-commerce is something I get. I shop online probably a little more than I ought to, and what made this particular piece of feedback so inspiring is that in one category, I am what you’d define as a “luxury shopper.”
You see, I’m a shoe girl. I love shoes.
For much of my early shopping years, I focused a lot on low- to mid-range shoes because it meant I could buy more shoes with less money. But one day in my mid-twenties after a pair of shoes broke a pair of bones in my right foot, I realized that my feet always hurt (even pre-broken foot) and I was constantly getting rid of shoes that either resulted in too much pain or broke themselves after a wear or two.
After that come-to-Jesus moment between myself, my feet, and my wallet, I changed my approach with shoe shopping. I began to realize that luxury brands tended to fit my narrow feet best, were thus more comfortable, and lasted far longer than the cheap heels I had been wearing for years.
So with that, I became a luxury shoe shopper. Valentino, Gucci, Isabel Marant, Jimmy Choo, I love and own them all. I don’t buy shoes as often as I used to, and don’t own as many pairs as I once did, but quality over quantity works for me (and my poor feet).
Now, where I am going with this and how does it relate to Flip? Here we go.
Simple = Luxury
As a luxury shopper, one thing that I prize when shopping with the brands I know and love is the ease and simplicity of the online shopping experience.
Is finding the products I’m searching for in my size easy? Great. Is the checkout process a breeze? Beautiful. Are issues with orders resolved quickly and with minimal interaction? That’ll keep me coming back for years.
Let’s stay on that last question for a minute… I can understand why a purveyor of luxury goods might think that “issues with orders” would require a human touch in any and all cases, you’ve got a reputation to uphold and that requires people in interactions who can represent your brand well. But in this day and age, it’s unlikely the customers shopping with you would agree that the “human” part is all that necessary for most cases.
As an example: if I’ve ordered a pair of shoes from a high-end brand and I’ve misplaced the tracking number and want to know when my shoes will arrive, if I call the brand and sit on hold waiting for a human to assist me, I will automatically be less apt to shop with that brand again. Time is important and having to wait to resolve a basic issue isn’t luxury. (Or as our friends at Thankful so perfectly put it, “not very posh.”)
In this case, what I’d prefer instead is to have this particular kind of request—and other such simple problems—handled in an automated fashion that has me on-and-off the call in just a few minutes well-heeled with all the information I was seeking.
Now certainly, if there’s a more complex issue going on, please send me to a human. But for simple requests? I’m all about the bot, baby. And the best voicebot in the phone support biz is Flip.
Don’t believe me? Check it out here. Your customers will thank you for making calling you a walk in the park.
