Grupo SOMA transforms the experience of external and internal customers

Grupo SOMA: how technology transforms the experience of external and internal customers

The constant need for efficiency and differentiation in relation to competitors are two of the main points of attention for any business manager. And this is accentuated in the Retail sector, given the accelerated pace of change it faces – whether in the launch of new products, the discovery of new customer expectations or, even, the emergence of new technologies which affects all of the previous points.

As one of the pioneers in understanding the value of experience, Grupo SOMA, leader in the women’s fashion segment, has been investing since 2014 in technologies that can improve the experience of its customers, whether external or internal. But the challenge has always been significant, if we think that, today, there are 10 different brands (among them Animale, Fábula, Farm, Hering and Maria Filó), ranging from basic to luxury, with unique customer profiles, but with one thing in common – the search for a memorable experience.

Innovation in customer service with Zendesk

When choosing Zendesk as a technology partner on this journey, Grupo SOMA initially invested in chat and email support solutions. And, in 2019, the company expanded its channels with the adoption of the WhatsApp customer service solution integrated with the Zendesk platform, an innovation at that time. As a result, Grupo SOMA managed to increase its service satisfaction rate by 26 percentage points – from 69 percent to 95 percent.

According to Virgínia Santana, Customer Experience manager at Grupo SOMA, the strategic decision proved to be essential for maintaining business results even in the face of a global crisis such as the one faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the addition of WhatsApp to customer service channels ensured a significant competitive advantage by offering personalized and convenient experiences tailored to consumers’ needs at that moment.

The group’s support team has around 200 agents – considering all brands – which combined with the use of messaging technology already integrated into Zendesk solutions, manages to directly impact important metrics such as contact rate. Grupo SOMA had a high volume of multiple contacts via chat and email to solve the same customer issue, increasing the contact rate by up to 100%. The volume of these contacts was drastically reduced with the use of WhatsApp, reaching around 20 percent.

This same integration also boosted the dynamics and efficiency of the back office team, facilitating and speeding up access to essential information in customer service. With its own back office team, Grupo SOMA was able to internalize problem solving, resolving 70 percent of contacts within two hours.

And the success of the initiatives does not stop there. The investments in the service operation are offset by the area itself, which started to contribute to the group’s revenue by creating a team that also carries out sales. For the company, the use of Zendesk solutions is so aligned with the purpose of offering to the consumer that, today, it allows them to have a dedicated team to retain customers and recommend new products.

But what about internal customers?

Investing in technology brought such significant benefits to the group that the brand decided to explore the use of WhatsApp not only for external customers, but also for its employees. Recently launched and still in the initial phase of use, SomaON is an internal customer service system based on WhatsApp that transformed communication between departments at Grupo SOMA.

Santana explains that the company is very focused on improving SomaON, with the aim of further raising the standard of excellence in the service offered, whether for external or internal customers. A process, according to the executive, of experimenting with new tools, such as artificial intelligence, and updating technology in all forms of service offered over the next few years. After all, focusing on the future of the market, service efficiency, and an excellent consumer purchasing journey form the path to success.