BRANDS & RETAILERS
The Secret’s Out: Murphy Door Unlocks Hidden Benefits with BILT
See how Murphy Door minimized friction to cut customer service calls, increase sales, and reduce returns
AT A GLANCE
Challenge
Reduce installation friction to relieve sales team of time-consuming support calls
Solution
Provide 3D interactive instructions and refer callers to the BILT app
Outcome
Sales nearly doubled annually, returns and calls to customer support decreased
Murphy Door is the industry innovator in creative door solutions. They manufacture customizable hidden bookcase doors, dresser and hamper doors, and Murphy beds that add functionality to wasted space. Founded in 2012 by firefighters seeking supplemental income and a flexible schedule, the company is customer and employee centric. CEO Jeremy Barker believes these two focal points go hand in hand: “Happy employees create happy customers. You must eliminate as much friction as possible in the customer experience.”
Relief for Customer Support
In 2017, Barker recognized the toll installation support calls were taking on his team. He looked for ways to minimize the stress of fielding calls from installers. At the time, Murphy Door provided paper instructions, demo videos, and relied on phone calls and FaceTime to answer questions. The inside sales team handled all customer support calls. But Barker realized the assembly and installation calls took much more time to resolve than sales calls. Says Barker, “so every time a support call came in, we delayed a sale. It was affecting our revenue.”
When Barker saw 3D interactive instructions, he knew BILT could help Murphy Door scale for revenue growth. “We had an idea of what we wanted our business to look like. With that end goal in mind and in order to hit that target, we needed BILT,” he says.
The Solution
Murphy Door was one of the original 30 brands to provide 3D Intelligent Instructions®. Once their products were available in BILT, sales reps could refer callers to the mobile app to determine precisely where the installer was having trouble. Sales & Marketing VP Spencer Bowen says by the time a caller saw and interacted with the 3D animations, they understood exactly what needed to be done next. “BILT simply showed them what I was trying to explain,” he says. “It’s the easiest thing in the world to say, ‘just go to BILT.’ Then they get it.”
Not only did BILT reduce calls to support, but it shortened the calls they did receive. Barker says the only calls they still occasionally get are from installers stuck in the paper instructions. “BILT shows the workflow. Still images can’t convey it the same way, even video doesn’t work like BILT.”
Why Intelligent Instructions?
Barker says 3D interactivity allows users to see each step from every angle. They can zoom in, spin the animations around, and “really dig in to see what needs to be done.” The opacity feature helps users understand where the parts fit together inside the bigger picture. Barker says the BILT app is also minimal, showing only what needs to be done in each step without a lot of visual ‘noise’.
Barker says, “It’s very empowering to go through the 3D instructions at your own pace with the app talking you through it. To be able to hit instant replay and watch a step from a different angle is a huge asset.”
What About the Cost?
“At first, we worried about the cost of this slick new high-tech solution,” says Barker, who was still fighting fires part-time before the company began to grow exponentially. “But if you think the cost of 3D instructions is expensive, let’s talk about returns. BILT has reduced our return rate. It’s been a huge savings for us because it’s a much better customer experience. If someone messes up in the middle of a project, they just put it in the box and send it back. That’s expensive. How do you keep prices down? You remove as much friction as possible.”
Results
Murphy Door’s sales have almost doubled every year over the past five years, but installation-related calls to customer support dropped 45 percent, according to Bowen.
While the company has added employees to accommodate dramatic growth, Barker says he had no idea when he partnered with BILT to provide 3D instructions he would also be solving future employment issues. “Even though we’ve scaled dramatically, our customer service team hasn’t changed. We went from ‘we can’t handle the calls’ to almost no phone calls. We’ve added salespeople, but our phones aren’t ringing [with installation concerns]. BILT handles our instructions, warranty, and registrations.”
“In the time we’ve saved answering support calls, we’ve focused on increasing sales, expanding our product line, and improving other aspects of the customer experience,” says VP Curtis Leishman who supports business development, product development, logistics, and operations.
Analytics inside the BILT portal indicate more than 60 percent of 3D instruction users give Murphy Door a 9 or 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10), based on how likely they would be to refer Murphy Door to a friend or colleague. At least 40 percent of those Net Promoters say the primary reason for the high score is because of the ease of assembly and 3D instructions. Murphy Door currently has nine products on BILT and is launching the Murphy Bed on the app this winter.
Murphy Door has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America the last four years. The Murphy Flush Mount Pantry Door was named the Best Indoor Product by the National Association of Homebuilders at the International Business Show in 2022. Murphy Door is the #1 recommended brand for hidden door solutions.
“BILT carries on the quality of our product all the way through installation,” says Bowen.
“BILT eliminates friction, multiplies sales, decreases customer service costs, improves the installation experience, and reduces returns,” says Barker. “Whatever you have to do to minimize those frustrating phone calls for your customers AND your employees, you have to do it. For the kind of growth we needed to scale, we needed employees to keep the excitement, and to really step it up to take us to the next level. BILT has been a huge part of that.”
What an awesome set of instructions. Makes the buyer more confident that he/she made a right decision to purchase the Murphy Door.
After assembling & installing the Flush Mount Door, 5 stars
Awesomely addictive and great way for your fans to be able to get it done.
After installing the Flush Mount Door, 5 stars
Love it. It was everything we expected. Very easy to install.
After assembling & installing the Flush Mount Door, 5 stars
Assembly was a snap! Very good product — well made and the 3D instructions were perfect.
After assembling & installing the Flush Mount Door, 5 stars
Good, clear installation instructions and sturdy product.
After installing the Flush Mount French Door, 5 stars
Door is great — exactly what I pictured it to be
After installing the Flush Mount Pre-hung Door, 5 stars
