BRANDS & RETAILERS
Major National Brand Improves Star Ratings & Slashes Support Costs by 30%
Customer support calls can be a costly investment for any business with products that have assembly-intense steps. A national brand tested the adoption of BILT to weigh the value of their software investment. Read on to see how they reduced those costs—and boosted their star ratings and Net Promoter Score.
AT A GLANCE
Challenge
Reduce assembly-related support calls and returns
Solution
Provide easy-to-follow, always up-to-date 3D instructions on the BILT app
Outcome
Immediate impact on profitability drove extensive rollout and a forecasted 22x ROI
Returns, damages, and calls to support have traditionally been higher than average for several product categories at this major national brand. Most products in these categories required extensive or complex assembly and were typically responsible for 75% of total customer complaints.
For this brand, the assembly-related support calls alone cost $750,000 annually for the products in the assembly-intense categories.
4-Month Test
The brand ran a 4-month test on the effect of BILT 3D Intelligent Instructions on a product that ranked among the top offenders in complaint call volume. The test product was selected not only because of call volume, but also because it was representative of the average assembly time for the category (roughly 7 hours), and Q&A analysis revealed that ease of assembly was a top concern for potential customers.
The national brand included BILT Intelligent Instruction callouts on the online product information page but could not affect packaging or instruction manuals until the last 2 months of the test phase. Because of the limited exposure, only 28% of customers used BILT for assembly, but the results were immediate and exceeded all expectations.
BILT Delivers Immediate Gains
In 4 months, with 28% BILT adoption on the test product, the brand experienced:
- 30-point swing in the Net Promoter Score (+32 to +62 NPS)
- 5% increase in star rating, from 3.75 stars to 3.95 stars
- More than $72,000 sales lift in 4 months — a small percentage of the expected long-term lift
- 30% reduction in calls (more than $4,500 cost avoidance within 4 months)
- 3.7% drop in returns (more than $10,000 cost impact in 4 months)
Combining the sales lift and savings on support costs and returns meant BILT 3D instructions positively impacted a single test product by more than $86,500 within 4 months.
The brand expects the full-season cost avoidance to exceed $100,000, with the total impact to exceed $250,000 for the single test product.
Strategic Rollout for Maximum Impact
The brand has moved forward with upgrading their customer experience for hundreds of additional products. The first round of products was selected based on the following criteria:
- Ability to impact top-line sales
- Opportunity to affect profitability
- Existing customer sentiment & complaint analysis
- Assembly complexity & pain points
22x ROI Forecast
As the brand upgrades their product instructions with BILT, executives anticipate a 22x total ROI from BILT by the first half of the year. The company expects to reduce returns & support costs for the entire company by 15%, with some products seeing a 70% improvement.
This estimate comes from forecasted improvements throughout the business on several key metrics, including the following:
- 15% increase in NPS & star ratings
- 20% reduction in returns
- 20% reduction in customer support costs
- 7% sales lift due to higher consumer confidence
In addition to the significant profitability improvements, the brand sees BILT as a differentiator, a key selling point to retailers. The brand anticipates an increase in the volume of positive reviews resulting from an improved customer experience. The BILT app collects ratings, reviews and product registrations, as well as assembly data analysis.
Customers can store and easily access warranty information in the BILT app, another benefit the brand considers important to long-term loyalty. And, as one brand executive noted, “Successful customers are happy customers.”
"...I'm telling you, I could easily engineer a space craft if they had the directions on BILT. I will look on BILT and for products that use BILT (first) from here on forward."
After assembling the Adjustable Courtside Basketball Hoop by Lifetime Products, 5 stars
I wondered initially why I would want the BILT app to build the playset we bought. Well, I'm converted, to the point I'd recommend the product to someone else just because of it, and I'd shop for products that use it just because..."
Review of BILT in the App Store, 5 stars
I just found this app, and looking through it I found the instructions to change a kitchen faucet. At 85 years old, I never thought I would be able to do it, but I did! After looking through the site, I hope more companies jump on this revolutionary idea. They should they would help their customers and also save a lot of money on fewer customer service lines and instruction manuals.
Review of BILT in the App Store, 5 stars
No more messy, bulky returns, seriously! I just love that I don’t have to bring a package home, go through the pains of trying to assemble the product, and then realize half-way through that it is too hard for me. At that point, I’m doomed if I have to undo everything I did, repack and return, I’m doomed if I continue to pretend that I’m fine. With this app, I can now check out these cool 3D instructions on my tablet or phone (step by step with such beautiful details!!!), before shopping...How can I ask my favorite manufacturers to publish their assembly instructions on your app?
Review of BILT in the App Store, 4 stars
