Cabela’s Supports Renowned Service-Centric Brand With Rightnow®
Goals
- Extend competitive differentiation based on an exemplary customer experience
- Optimize use of online communication channels
- Minimize technology ownership costs
Achievements
- Broad recognition as one of the country’s most customer-centric retailers
- More than 300,000 questions answered every month via web, email, and chat
- Noticeable reduction in email within one week of deployment
- 2.5-hour email turnaround time
When it comes to a great customer experience, few companies can hold a candle to the outdoor outfitters at Cabela’s. Since its founding in 1961, Cabela’s has built its brand on exemplary customer care. This strategy has resulted in tremendous customer loyalty, enabling the company to reach more than $2 billion in sales last year.
The company’s culture of service has been widely recognized by independent observers. Business Week, for example, ranked Cabela’s in its list of the Top 25 Customer Service Elite—making it one of only two retailers (the other being Nordstrom’s) to be so honored. Fast Company named Cabela’s one of its 15 “Leading Listeners.” And a benchmarking study from Cisco ranked Cabela’s #1 among online retailers in customer experience, putting it ahead of such market leaders as Amazon and Best Buy.
RightNow plays a key role in delivering this differentiated customer experience. By providing Cabela’s with a highly effective way of managing web, email, and chat communications, RightNow's customer relationship management solutions help the company quickly respond to its customers via whichever channel they choose to use. RightNow also reduces the company’s service costs by maximizing the number of customers who find their own answers online without the assistance of a Cabela’s employee. Plus, thanks to RightNow’s on demand delivery model, Cabela’s has been able to reap these benefits without having to take on the technology ownership burdens typically associated with CRM software.
“With RightNow, we can better serve our customers regardless of how they contact us,” says Cabela’s vice president of customer relations Ron Spath. “For a company that values customer service above all, those capabilities are indispensable—especially as use of online channels continues to grow.”
A Streamlined, Multi-Channel Conversation With The Customer
Like many companies, Cabela’s was initially attracted to RightNow because of its highly effective self-service functionality. By enabling Cabela’s to create and continually refine a searchable online knowledge base, RightNow helps ensure that customers can easily find the information they need 24 hours a day on the company’s website. This reduces the likelihood that shoppers will abandon their purchases because of an unanswered question. It also cuts down on the volume of emails and phone calls that the Cabela’s contact center has to handle.
In fact, there was a noticeable drop in the company’s email volume within a week after implementing RightNow.
Cabela’s customer service staff can view a variety of reports that reveal what kinds of information customers are seeking. This allows the content manager to continuously refine the knowledge base to reflect customers’ changing needs. The knowledge base has grown to more than 300 question/answer pairs, providing customers with tens of thousands of the answers they’re looking for every month.
RightNow also automates Cabela’s email management. Whenever customers submit a question via email, RightNow tracks it to make sure it is answered in a timely manner. Emails are routed automatically to the appropriate person based on the type of information the customer is seeking. Cabela’s staff can also insert any one or more of 230 “frequently used sayings”—in addition to any of the 300 answers from the knowledge base—into their replies with a single click of the mouse.
As a result, the company is now able to reply to most customer emails within a mere 2.5 hours.
Cabela’s also uses RightNow to chat with its customers online. This channel is particularly useful for assisting customers with their internet shopping experience and preventing abandonment of online purchases. It’s also a boon to productivity, since experienced customer service staff can handle several chats at once.
Just as important, RightNow manages all three of these online channels in a common manner—so customers get consistent answers no matter how they contact the company, and Cabela’s staff can see if the customer they’re helping was asking questions about the same issue last week.
Cabela’s also uses RightNow to help customers locate company stores in their area. This helps alleviate redundant questions regarding physical locations, and increases the likelihood of purchase for those customers who prefer a bricks-and-mortar experience.
“RightNow is a very complete solution that enhances the overall customer experience, while also boosting the productivity and performance of our contact center,” says Spath. “It also drives ongoing improvements in our communication processes, so that we can continue to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.”
Great Technology Delivered By A Great Business Partner
Spath points out that RightNow’s value to Cabela’s is driven by more than the features and functionality of its crm software solutions. RightNow’s on demand model is a major advantage, too.
“RightNow relieves us of all the headaches associated with database administration, server maintenance, and other software ownership burdens—while at the same time providing great uptime,” he says. “The on demand model significantly alters the economics of software ownership in our favor.”
Ease of deployment and ease of use have also driven Cabela’s return on their RightNow investment. “With RightNow, people can be productive from day one,” he says.
He adds that Cabela’s has greatly benefited from the fact that RightNow’s corporate culture is similar to its own. With free annual Tune-Ups, Cabela’s RightNow administrators get plenty of insight into how to get the most out of the software. And RightNow’s highly responsive technical support ensures that Cabela’s can address any implementation issues it may encounter quickly and decisively.
“RightNow is not your typical software vendor,” he says. “They work very closely with us to make sure we fulfill our tactical and strategic objectives, and they continue to improve their applications so that we can focus on delivering a superior customer experience across all of our communication channels.”
Cabela’s Support Site | Cabela’s Homepage
About Cabela's
Cabela’s® is the world’s largest direct marketer and a leading specialty retailer of hunting, fishing, camping, and related outdoor merchandise. Since its founding in 1961, Cabela’s has grown to become one of the most well-known outdoor recreation brands in the United States. Through its direct business and a growing number of destination retail stores, the company offers a wide and distinctive selection of high-quality outdoor products at competitive prices while providing superior customer service.
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