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Case Study – Elektro Wandelt Answers Questions 24/7 in Chat and Messenger Apps with the OMQ Chatbot
Elektro Wandelt is always and everywhere reachable with the OMQ Chatbot in the website chat, WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram. Thus, more than half of the incoming requests are solved immediately with the OMQ Chatbot.
Elektro Wandelt puts their customers first at all times. The company aims to provide friendly, solution-oriented and, above all, expert advice. It thereby relies on a mix of synchronous and asynchronous customer service with automated software that supplies the best possible service to customers even outside of service hours.
A wide range of products and service channels ensures customer satisfaction. Elektro Wandelt uses OMQ’s automation software for this purpose. Customers can get in touch with the company via chat (the messenger service WhatsApp is particularly popular) or be guided to the solution via FAQ with OMQ.
Who is Elektro Wandelt?
The company is Europe’s largest online shop for electrical installation equipment and is characterised above all by its proximity to customers. As a specialist retailer, Elektro Wandelt wants to support their customers with all projects and requests. Founded in 2005 by owner Ronny Marco Wandelt, the company now employs 80 people and is the market leader of its kind.
Our vision: A comprehensive offer on a professional platform with customer-focused service, easy purchasing and low pricesRonny Marco Wandelt, Managing Director
Elektro Wandelt’s range of products includes switches and sockets, meter systems, renewable energies, home automation and tools. The company also offers first-class customer service, free technical advice and a user-friendly online shop thanks to automation.
Automate your home with Elektro Wandelt
Automation of service channels
Prior to the use of OMQ’s automated customer service software, there were templates in the company to respond to queries, but not to the extent that has evolved over time. An easy way to pass on the information to the customers was needed.
Both the proximity to the customers and the easy operation of the online shop are very important factors for Elektro Wandelt, which reinforced the decision to automate. Direct communication with the company is possible via e-mail and chat (live chat, WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook Messenger).
Customer enquiries have always been handled by a personal contact person in the company. This underlines our desire to be close to our customers. However, this manual processing also entails unpleasant waiting times for the customer. For this reason, we looked for an automatic solution for the direct delivery of important and helpful information and came to OMQ through Userlike’s recommendation. Through this further development, we want to improve our service standards even outside of service hours and offer a corresponding added value for our customers!Christopher Hesse, Team Leader Customer Service & Technology
Challenges
The electronic retailer receives various inquiries about the order process and the operation of the online shop around the clock. At the same time, questions are asked about the installation and use of products. Customers must be able to contact the company and, in the best case, receive an answer immediately. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, because in addition to a quick response, a company should also take care of customer enquiries professionally and thoroughly.
As a result, various customer enquiries cannot be answered in a timely manner. In addition, customers have the right to ask their questions 24/7 and throughout the year. However, a direct contact person works at fixed service times and of course also has holidays. It can happen that more and more tickets are accumulated in the backlog and can no longer be answered, which leads to dissatisfaction on the part of customers and employees.
Finding solutions
Elektro Wandelt has also noticed these developments in its customer service. The company also realized that many standard service requests had to be answered every day, which theoretically could be solved automatically. Another wish was to guarantee the right to service even outside of the service hours. For Elektro Wandelt it was clear that automation software was a suitable solution.
We were looking for a professional way to achieve our goal. Since we already used Userlike for the chat interface, it was a good idea to work with a cooperation partner. On the basis of our previous trust with Userlike, we decided to use OMQ because we were allowed to test the chatbot right away and received a lot of information right from the start.Christopher Hesse
Implementation
Before the introduction of the OMQ system, Elektro Wandelt already used Userlike’s chat software. The company opted for the OMQ Chatbot and OMQ Help to automatically answer standard queries in the chat and on the help page.
I.V.O. the chatbot in use on the company website.
At the end of 2021, the service was automated thanks to a rapid implementation of the OMQ system and the OMQ knowledge database. OMQ supported the Elektro Wandelt team in integrating the existing service knowledge into the knowledge database. In various discussions, Elektro Wandelt was also able to work out with OMQ how the flow of information for customers and employees can be optimally ensured. Customer feedback was also used to create more categories in the knowledge database.
The best feedback always comes from the customers!Christopher Hesse
There was not much time between the initial discussions, the filling of the knowledge base and the implementation, as the implementation of the OMQ system works quickly and easily. In addition, the AI works out-of-the-box, which means it is ready for use immediately after implementation.
The whole process went very fast and the integration was simple.Christopher Hesse
The solution: The OMQ Chatbot in use
With the start of the chatbot conversation, Elektro Wandelt immediately has a special feature: The start message offers customers the opportunity to choose whether they want to be connected to technical advice, i. e. employees, or to the automated customer service. The reason for this is that the company did not have many active operators to answer the enquiries in the beginning.
Meanwhile, the chatbot is used in such a way that the live chat is offered during certain service hours, during which customers interact with service agents. During and outside service hours, the chatbot additionally answers the inquiries and helps the company to provide 24/7 service. On the Elektro Wandelt website, there is a white-red chat bubble icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. This is part of the chatbot “I. V. O” (“intelligent “virtual “operator”), which accompanies customers everywhere on the website and can therefore offer help at all times.
When customers decide to use the chatbot, the chat opens and the chatbot introduces itself. In doing so, he immediately makes it clear that he is a virtual assistant and leads the customers to the said selection first. If customers choose the “Customer Service” path, they can ask their questions to the chatbot and get their answers directly in this communication. If the customers choose the second path “Technical Advice”, a selection of the existing products is displayed, from which the customers choose the appropriate category for their request. After that, the question can be asked and is already restricted to the subject. The customers click their individual request together in the chat and are eventually connected to employees. The live agents take over the request directly. For this purpose, the message is stored in the database and is thus immediately visible and editable for the agents. The customer’s information is already available and does not have to be queried first, which saves time and effort.
The focus should be on contact with our team! In addition, the chatbot should offer a certain added value for our customers and employees during and outside service hours. We don’t want to shield ourselves from the customers, but we are looking for a way to provide them with the best possible, fast and orderly flow of information.Christopher Hesse
Service times can be set in the behavior mode of the chatbot. This means that the company can choose whether the chatbot actually only operates outside of service hours or if a human operator is not available at the moment. More than half of the incoming requests can be solved instantly thanks to the OMQ Chatbot.
Always available via WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram integration
In the online shop, Elektro Wandelt can offer the best chatbot communication thanks to the integration of Userlike’s live chat software and the OMQ chatbot, but there is a much easier, faster way to get in touch with companies. In fact, messenger is the most popular customer service channel. Via Userlike, the OMQ Chatbot can be easily integrated into the messenger services WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram.
The OMQ Chatbot is available on all instant messaging platforms.
There are several reasons for this. Messengers such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram can be used anytime and anywhere, as users usually have their mobile phones with them. In the case of Elektro Wandelt, this means, for example: If a problem occurs spontaneously during the installation of a device, customers can use their mobile phone to get in touch and simply ask their question.
Communication via WhatsApp is the same as with friends and acquaintances. In addition, the chat history remains on the mobile phone, so customers can use it again and again. Relevant information can be sent and received quickly and effectively, while on messenger platforms it is also possible to send different media (photo, video, voice message) to solve the problem.
We now receive more than twice our requests via WhatsApp.Christopher Hesse
The self-searching FAQ
Another useful tool from OMQ, which Elektro Wandelt uses to answer customer and employee queries, is the intelligent help page OMQ Help. The page is divided into clear categories, which make it easier to search immediately. In addition, frequently asked questions are arranged on the help page according to the frequency of requests.
The smart help page is easy to use and helps with finding solutions.
It is easy for customers and employees to access information and they can rely on the AI software to keep it up to date. With intelligent auto-completion, customers and employees are immediately guided to the right solution. The AI sorts the requests according to their frequency, draws the same knowledge from the database and distributes it across all channels. The knowledge can also be easily adapted by the employees. The advantages that Elektro Wandelt has by using OMQ Help are:
- easy orientation through clear categories
- Real-time FAQ
- Intelligent auto-completion
- Changes in the knowledge database appear immediately on the help page
The auto-complete function leads customers to their solution in seconds!
As mentioned already, the FAQ is not only useful for customers. Employees of the company can also find out about it and be sure how they can explain the facts correctly to customers.
Our employees love our FAQ because they can find information and get feedback right away, which helps them answer cross-departmental enquiries.Christopher Hesse
Conditional Answers in the FAQ
Another special feature on the help page are conditional answers, which are embedded in the answer field. It is possible to give the appropriate answer for a specific case. A good example of this is the shipping costs. These may vary from country to country. When customers search for shipping costs at Elektro Wandelt, they first click on their specific destination country and then receive the appropriate answer. Because not all options are presented in a long flowing text, the help page still looks clear and is easy to navigate.
The result of our cooperation
By automating the communication channels, Elektro Wandelt can offer the preferred communication for any customer. Online customer service is possible via chat (also in messengers such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram), e-mail and in the FAQ. What is striking is that WhatsApp is a very popular service channel not only in private communication, but also in customer service. Elektro Wandelt registers more than twice the number of requests compared to website chat via the Messenger platform, which can be explained by the fact that many customers need information on the move and always have their mobile phone with them.
OMQ’s intelligent help page also helps both customers and employees to answer their requests faster. Customers already find a solution and therefore do not have to send a request to the service. This increases customer satisfaction and at the same time reduces manual work in the service. This saves the company time and money. Thanks to automation, the best service can now be offered even outside the service hours, which was the company’s goal from the start and is now realized together with OMQ and Userlike. Considering the chatbot it shows that it offers 24/7 service and therefore always helps the customers.
Plans for the future
OMQ’s new user interface allows the company to edit chatbot texts themselves, giving them more impact on the overall system. Standard texts, such as the Small Talk, can be rewritten and adapted independently. There are also various settings, such as whether to ask questions.
OMQ is a holistic system that automates all channels with the help of the central knowledge database. In addition to the intelligent FAQ and chatbot, this includes the self-responsive contact form OMQ Contact, OMQ Assist for the ticket system and OMQ Reply for automating the e-mail inbox.
If you would like to improve your customer service with our AI software and would like to benefit from our FAQ and chatbot, you can arrange a free demo with us. If you have any questions about us, our system or our tools, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to seeing you!
