When customers need extra support for products that require repair or replacement, the right customer service at the right time can make or break the long-term relationship. According to the CMO Council, 47% of customers will stop doing business with a company that frustrates them.
That said, providing excellent customer service is not free, especially when warranty programs are not set up in an ideal way for either customers or retailers. Most retailers want to find ways to improve the profit and loss (P&L) of their customer service teams. The good news is, working with a modern extended warranty company can help reduce the customer care team’s operating costs and increase margins for retailers -- all while improving customer satisfaction. Sound like a win-win? Here are the top three ways an extended warranty company can help improve P&L for customer service.
Supporting Customers Throughout the Lifecycle
Throughout their journey, customers may have questions about the type of support or extended warranty coverage they may receive for their big-ticket purchases. For eCommerce retailers, having an extended warranty partner in place can help convert customers at the time of purchase, by making product protection simple to add to their shopping cart, thus increasing sales.
Once a customer completes a purchase, an extended warranty company can also provide personalized content and contextual messaging about how to use and care for their product. This type of reassurance can help increase customer confidence and reduce the number of inbound calls or chat sessions with customer support, thus decreasing costs.
Providing a Destination for Warranty Claims
One of the most important roles of an extended warranty company is providing a destination for customers’ warranty claims, where they can easily file a claim (without the need for a receipt) and check the status of their repair or replacement. Most of the customer frustration arises when the warranty claims process feels like a black box, with no obvious resolution to their concerns.
A warranty portal can also provide coverage details to customers at any time they have questions, even before they choose to file a claim. The ability to access this information on-demand empowers customers with the information they need. What’s more, satisfied extended warranty customers are two times as likely to make repeat purchases!
Removing Customer Support as a Middleman
Customer support representatives are on the front lines of customer complaints, regardless of whether retailers offer an in-house extended warranty program or use a traditional extended warranty company, and this can be very time-consuming. Many third-party extended warranty companies go wrong when they don’t provide customers with complete transparency into their protection plans, or timely updates on repair or replacement solutions.
An extended warranty partner should ease the burden on customer care departments, rather than increase the number of complaints they have to field. Customers should have a way to easily purchase an extended warranty, file a claim, or answer an existing question about a product. A combination of personalized content, an intuitive user interface, and responsiveness from an extended warranty company can help remove the customer support center as a middleman in the warranty process -- drastically reducing costs.
Finding the Right Extended Warranty Partner
Extended warranty programs can increase retail profit margins while reducing losses from customer service teams. However, finding the right partner is key to success. Mulberry offers personalized product protection solutions that are easy and transparent for customers and retailers alike.
Want to learn how extended warranties can actually increase profits for your business? Check out our profit calculator to see for yourself.
Interested in offering extended warranties to your customers? Reach out to us at Mulberry. We support most major platforms, are receipt-less, and customers love us.
