XM Knowledge Base
Softchoice + Qualtrics
CX feedback unlocks key insights—and a huge performance gain
Softchoice achieved
+7
point increase in customer satisfaction with responsiveness
+8
point NPS increase
$8.4M
business impact from the initiative
Overview
Softchoice, a software-focused IT solutions provider, believed that increasing customer satisfaction was key to improving retention. But it needed to know where to push—which areas of the customer journey contained the greatest room for improvement. Softchoice used Qualtrics both to uncover those opportunities and also to craft a strategy that helped it achieve big gains.
Identifying key opportunities to drive customer satisfaction gains
Softchoice aimed to significantly enhance customer satisfaction, and its Customer Experience (CX) leaders knew where to look—the customer feedback collected across more than ten active touchpoints and in-depth customer interviews. Leveraging Qualtrics, the CX team identified the key performance variables most strongly affecting Net Promoter Score (NPS). A clear insight emerged: customers who believed their Softchoice reps were highly responsive exhibited much higher overall satisfaction than those who didn’t. The team also hypothesized that this increase in satisfaction would impact customer retention and win rates.
Translating performance insights into actionable best practices
Softchoice then studied the daily practices of sales reps who were considered highly responsive by customers, as well as those who weren’t. The CX team documented eight best practices, including acknowledging customer requests within an hour, dedicating time at the beginning and end of a shift to customer correspondence, and ensuring that no customer emails went unanswered overnight. Armed with these insights, Softchoice developed targeted training programs and technology solutions that empowered reps to focus more time on customer communication. Gaining executive buy-in was pivotal; responsiveness was elevated to a corporate-level key performance indicator and is now regularly reviewed by senior leadership.
Improved responsiveness leads to NPS gains and ROI
Over 2 years, this initiative not only drove a substantial improvement in customers’ satisfaction with Softchoice’s responsiveness (a 7-point increase) and NPS score (an 8-point increase), but the team also observed a 4% reduction in customer churn and 10% increase in win rates amongst those districts and teams that met or exceeded the satisfaction target of 93%—resulting in a total $8.4M business impact.
Paving the way for AI-Driven CX enhancements
Softchoice is just beginning to explore the transformative potential of AI for CX, like many organizations. Building on the strong foundation of its current CX initiatives, Softchoice is now working closely with Qualtrics to integrate AI-driven insights into its program. This next phase will enable Softchoice to scale its CX capabilities even further, driving more personalized and proactive customer interactions.
Katie Duvnjak
Director of Customer Experience
Like most organizations, our customers have choices, they can procure the same products and similar offerings from an array of competitors. To stand out, we must differentiate on the experience we deliver. When we discovered that responsiveness had the strongest correlation with overall NPS, the entire company rallied around this critical initiative.
Softchoice is a software and cloud focused IT solutions provider that equips organizations to be agile, innovative, and people to be engaged, connected, and creative at work. We do this by delivering secure, AI-powered cloud and digital workplace solutions supported by our advanced software asset management methodology and capabilities. We create value for our customers by reducing their IT spending, optimizing their technology, and supporting business-driven innovation. We are a highly engaged, high-performing team that is welcoming, inclusive, and diverse in thought and experience, and are a certified Great Place to Work® in Canada and the United States.
softchoice.comIndustry
Technology
Region
North America
Company Size
Enterprise
Business Type
B2B