A world leader in laptop innovation wanted to grow in the consumer space. Marketing efforts worked and sales increased. Unfortunately, support costs did too and resulted in a very public drop in customer satisfaction ratings. Siloed efforts within the company to fix the problem failed and D2 was called in to help.

Our approach

We applied a unique, holistic D2 methodology that leverages data and human insight to drive an optimized customer experience. We started with a data assessment to evaluate data sources, quality, and missing information. From there, we analyzed data and were able to pinpoint the biggest problem areas. Our Behavioral Science team conducted various studies to better understand the information customers need and how they want to access it. These efforts led to better product specs, customer communication pieces, packaging, and proper tech support and outside salesforce training. We also helped with process improvement on the handling of returned units.

The results

Results were not immediate. It takes a while to understand necessary changes, and even longer to have changes flush through a product pipeline. Over a 2-year timeframe, our client saw a drop in tech support calls and returns, as well as increased customer satisfaction ratings. They saved $40 million in product returns alone. The cost for D2 work was approximately $100K. We made a tremendous difference in the laptop line. Had layoffs not discontinued the effort, our client could have seen additional impact from fewer support calls and improved customer satisfaction. They were, however, extremely satisfied with overall results and saw first hand what a customer-focused methodology can achieve.