Carsome: Enhancing Lead Conversion with Omnichannel Customer Experience and Real-Time Support

Carsome is Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, operating across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. The company aims to digitalize the region’s used car industry by reshaping and elevating the car buying and selling experience. They are ranked in the top 50 of the Nikkei-FT-Statista High-Growth Companies Asia-Pacific 2021 list. As a digital native company, Carsome introduced a new service to 'Buy Cars' in addition to the existing 'Sell Car' service. However, the new service came with its set of communication challenges that needed to be addressed to optimize their customer service and lead generation process.

Carsome, Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, was facing challenges in optimizing their customer service and lead generation process. The introduction of a new service to 'Buy Cars' led to an increase in customer queries about how to buy cars online. However, the lack of availability on their customers' preferred channels led to unanswered questions and a loss in leads. Additionally, the absence of a centralized platform to handle customer queries resulted in agent inefficiency. Agents had to manually address social media questions without conversational history and were unable to provide real-time support. This negatively impacted agent productivity and led to longer customer wait times. Furthermore, Carsome didn’t have a way to verify numbers of potential customers left on their website, leading to agents having to make verification calls. This resulted in the collection of bad leads and an expensive authentication process. To provide end-to-end solutions to their customers and used car dealers, Carsome needed an end-to-end omnichannel customer experience strategy to effectively engage potential customers and increase sales.

To address these challenges, Carsome implemented an omnichannel strategy powered by real-time support to boost customer experience and agent efficiency. They used a chatbot building platform to engage web visitors in real-time, automate FAQs, and solve simple queries with a keyword chatbot. Their digital-first contact center seamlessly connected customers to agents for more complex queries. They integrated a Live Chat solution on their website to help customers navigate effortlessly. A keyword chatbot enabled customers to find the right service and if required, the option to chat with an agent for complex inquiries. By integrating WhatsApp Business API powered by Infobip, Carsome was able to provide personalized information or messages on their customer’s favorite chat app. Automated after-hour messages ensured customers received prompt replies. This enabled Carsome to provide always-on support for test drive appointments, buying or selling cars, refunds, promotions, and feedback via a chatbot on their customer’s favorite channels. To solve the number authentication challenge, Carsome used SMS for OTP verification, filtering out invalid numbers. All these solutions were managed by one unified platform, resulting in agents having a view of the customers’ conversation history along with a friction-free customer experience.

• The implementation of an omnichannel customer experience strategy led to significant operational improvements for Carsome. The company was able to engage with customers throughout their journey and at every touchpoint through a single platform. This resulted in increased customer satisfaction due to real-time problem resolution and improved response rates. The always-on support and seamless agent takeover for complex queries led to fewer complaints and better reviews. The quality of leads improved due to friction-free verification and chatbots filtering requests before being sent to the agents to handle. The process of lead conversion was optimized by being present on the customers’ preferred channels. Furthermore, agent experience and productivity were enhanced due to keyword chatbots dealing with FAQs and simple queries. The adoption of an omnichannel customer experience strategy optimized the customer experience leading to quality leads, quicker conversions, and higher sales.

• 10% improvement in lead quality
• 7% increase in leads confirming appointments
• Lower wait times for customers