avXperten is a fast-growing online retailer with a broad and expanding range of products. Their vision is simple: make online shopping easy, affordable and dependable. Customers continue to return not just for the products, but because they feel confident knowing support is always available when needed. This strong customer trust is at the core of avXperten’s mission to become one of the most trusted and preferred e-commerces. 

‍Wanted to grow without increasing costs ‍

Over time, it became clear that questions from customers followed the same pattern which created high pressure on the customer service department. Frederik Nielsen, Founder and CEO of avXperten, explains the economic aspect:

“We were looking to grow and increase our revenue quite a lot, but not our staff. By automating some of the inquiries, the chatbot would make us more profitable and scalable.” 

avXperten could divide their questions into technical and non-technical questions and saw that they were able to automate the non-technical ones easily. 

By letting an AI chatbot handle these questions, they could streamline responses and provide instant support. Customer service agents would then be able to focus more on complex, specialized issues, ensuring a better experience for all customers.

Compared different chatbot vendors 

avXperten started to investigate several chatbot providers such as Dift, Dixa, Intercom, Tidio, Ada and Kindly. They wanted to make sure they chose a platform that genuinely met their needs such as multilingual support, ease of use and great possibilities for integration.

“We’ve been oversold before, so I was skeptical about choosing a chatbot-provider, we didn't want the same thing to happen again. I was in a lot of calls with Kindly and raised my concerns.” 

Frederik describes how he tested out another chatbot provider, but that building the dialogue flows in the typical tree-structure was time consuming, and small changes affected the whole eco-system, resulting in a not so user friendly experience.

Smarter support ahead of peak season 

avXperten took a strategic look at their customer service setup as part of their chatbot implementation. Frederik explains that they conducted a full review of their support channels and quickly identified phone support as time-consuming for both agents and customers.

“By not making the phone number as visible, we prompt the customer to explain their question to see if it’s post purchase related, which the bot can help them with, or if an agent is needed. This has reduced phone calls by 50%.“

Redirecting more inquiries to the chatbot enabled faster, more efficient support, proving especially valuable during peak times like Christmas.

“During Christmas, we see a much higher volume of orders, and the chatbot helps us manage those peaks significantly.”

From the start, avXperten had two critical requirements: the solution needed to integrate seamlessly with their existing ticketing system, Dixa, and it had to be live before the holiday season. A two-month deadline was set, and met, with the chatbot going live three weeks ahead of Black Friday. This gave avXperten a strategic advantage and ensured they were well-prepared for the peak season.

Agents acknowledge the chatbots value 

Frederik explains how agents were sceptical in the beginning when hearing the word chatbot since it's not uncommon to have had a bad chatbot-experience. 

“They want to give quality service and were worried that a chatbot would lead to unhappy customers.” 

By ensuring that the chatbot handled only common, repetitive and simple questions, Frederik explains that the agents now recognize its value in relieving them of repetitive tasks.

Accomplished growth without adding headcount

Since implementing their AI chatbot, Xbot, avXperten has experienced several positive outcomes. With 65% of inquiries automated and only a 3% fallback rate, they've seen a 30% reduction in emails and a 50% drop in calls. The faster and more accurate responses have also led to an increase in customer satisfaction and engagement. 

Peak periods are now much calmer with fewer additional staff being brought in. Frederik talks about last Christmas: 

“This Christmas set a record in terms of orders, and we took in a lot fewer agents than we have had in previous Christmases. That says a lot”

“We’ve had some customers saying that they had waited for us to get a self-service option. If they are happy and we are saving time, then it's a success.” Frederik says. 

The chatbot has also contributed to avXperten's ability to scale without increasing their workforce, something that hadn't been the case in previous years: 

“During the last five or six years we have been growing quite steadily and our customer service department has been growing along with it. Now we are still growing but we haven’t hired anyone new. That's an indirect saving, which is a good thing.” Frederik says and continues:

“I think the chatbot works very, very well. I am very happy.”

Frederik also highlights the softer aspects of the partnership, appreciating the expertise and competence within Kindly. 

“In the more softer aspect, I think the people at Kindly are trustworthy, extremely competent and also good at teaching us what they know. They quickly understood what we wanted to do.” 

The chatbot has enabled avXperten to scale efficiently by reducing overhead costs and handling a growing volume of inquiries without the need for additional support staff. As avXperten continues to grow, the chatbot ensures streamlined customer support and operational efficiency.