Seemingly, an abundance of online b2b customer service initiatives evolved from the Covid-19 pandemic, many out of necessity as businesses found themselves unable to engage in simple face-to-face meetings, and the traditional account management landscape suddenly changed due to restrictions on movement.
Mike Boswell
Aside from the surge in Microsoft Teams or Zoom activity to replace the communications void that followed, it’s clear that in many cases the increased digitalisation of account management has helped add value to the customer experience through knowledge and enhanced engagement.
Case in point is Plastribution’s recently launched Plastribution Plus platform, an online self- service portal for customers that provides account information, orders, invoices and a live chat link with a dedicated customer service team. In essence, a convenient one-stop-shop for centralised resources. Dave Gray caught up with MD Mike Boswell to find out more.
Although the development of Plastribution Plus certainly increased in momentum as a result of the pandemic, the creation of an online customer service portal had been on the Company’s radar for some time.
DG: Ok, so tell me, what was the impetus behind the initiative?
MB: The business holds a number of continuous improvement projects throughout the year. This is effectively a team collaboration exercise to discuss new ideas or projects that can be developed to improve a current process or activity, with the aim of increasing efficiencies and benefiting thecustomer. Some provide successful outcomes, while others unfortunately don’t. What was rewarding about Plastribution Plus was that we knew very quickly that we had the makings of a great initiative, enabling us to manage customer relationships in a more scalable and enterprising way.
DG: And what does the platform actually provide?
MB: In providing a personalised experience for customers, the platform provides a dashboard via which users can manage transactional data, like order history, invoices, credit terms and demographic information, like address changes and personal profile records. The live chat functionconnects customers with their dedicated Plastribution account team, i.e. the people they speak to regularly who understand their business. Clearly, we will be looking to add to the user experience over time by providing exclusive information and updates to increase the value of the portal bykeeping customers in the know.
DG: So do you think this will replace face-to-face contact for your customers?
MB: Plastribution Plus is all about providing choice. We are not looking to replace human interaction, more give the option for customers to be able to track important information in oneplace online as and when they choose. Clearly, having an effective online customer platform will decrease administration support over time, but it’s not just about cutting costs - we are focused on providing real value for our customers.
DG: Security is an important concern though, with a platform like this, surely?
MB: The portal has been developed very much with security in mind. Protecting our customers’sensitive data is our highest priority, so for this reason, we’ve worked with ISO27001-certified development partners to ensure the best practices have been followed. Encrypted passwords, 2-factor authentication and manually verified user accounts will all help keep vital account information in the right hands.
DG: What was involved in the development process and how long did it take?
MB: The development has taken two years to come to fruition due to the levels of interactionrequired with our existing CRM platforms. To help us develop the portal, we initially shortlisted 3 development partners, before finally selecting a leading digital design, web and mobile development agency. It was important that they not only were familiar with our variousmanagement platforms such as NetSuite, ERP and CRM, but could also translate our user interface vision into a unique customer experience.
Happily, they didn't disappoint! The project was largely defined by customer requirements - we spent a great deal of time talking to customers and understanding their needs during a ‘discovery’ phase, which enabled us to map out a suitable framework. The Plastribution team managing the project also had a good idea of what they wanted from the platform and the development were very good at translating and implementing that rationale.
DG: So is it live as of now?
MB: Yes, following successful beta testing, I’m delighted to say that the portal is now live at plb.ltd/plus/ and operating as expected. We are currently marketing it to our customers and providing access and we intend to conduct a short survey to assess feedback on initial responses,but all positive right now.
DG: As this is your first version, what plans do you have for future development of the portal?
MB: We are currently in discussions with the developers regarding version 2.0 and have a number of ideas. We’d like to potentially provide an online whiteboard for customers to share their views on what they would like to see. After all, we need to find ways to motivate our customers to utilise theportal by making it a worthwhile platform for both them and ourselves.