We’ve all been there — screaming into the customer service void in a failed attempt to get help. That’s because one of the most universally frustrating experiences is struggling to get customer support, especially to address a seemingly simple problem. When it comes to your Shopify eCommerce brand, a positive customer experience is essential and growing more important by the year. In fact, a 2021 stat found that over 65% of people had higher expectations for customer service than they did back in 2016.
There’s nothing worse than your subscription software impeding your ability to support your subscribers, which is what countless Shopify eCommerce brands experience at Recharge while trying to troubleshoot issues. When it comes to contacting the Recharge support team, it can take up to six days to hear back — which has a direct impact on your business. Look, we know that no technology is ever perfect. But when the inevitable snag comes up, you want to know that you have an efficient and responsive team ready to back you up. We’re covering why reliable support matters, both for merchants and their Shopify subscription apps — as well as why we’ve made it a priority to have the best customer support team in subscriptions.
Putting your subscribers first isn’t just wise from a qualitative standpoint, but it also has a measurable quantitative impact on your business. Research shows that businesses that focus on improving customer experience see an 80% increase in revenue and businesses that prioritize it have a revenue increase of 4 to 8% higher than competitors.
There are a few reasons why this happens, but two core factors are loyalty and customer retention. By creating a positive experience for your audience, your Shopify brand works to strengthen the relationship with your subscribers — which has proven to be powerful for any business. 57% of consumers spend more money on brands they feel loyal to, and in general, a 5% increase in customer retention has been associated with a 25% increase in profit. Think of this as lucrative karma; if you show up for your customers, they’ll show up for you.
When you utilize Shopify apps, you’re taking on equal partners to achieve your mission of a phenomenal customer experience. At the end of the day, your customers are reliant on the success of your tech stack. This means that if your subscribers run into any issues and you need support from your software platform to address them, a poor support experience for you directly results in a poor experience for your consumers — which costs you money. Unlike relying on Recharge’s support system, choosing to invest in a software team that always prioritizes the end consumer results in perceptible financial benefits for your company.
A customer success manager is not only an extension of your team but also an extension of your brand experience. Beyond the impact that great service has on current subscribers, an exceptional customer experience also increases the prevalence of word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM). WOMM is what happens when someone loves your product so much, they tell a friend or loved one about it — thereby organically increasing brand awareness and bringing in new customers. Even though this method of brand exposure is voluntary and often casual, it’s proven to be an incredibly powerful tool. We believe the people in our lives, and the authenticity of a close friend’s recommendation carries far more weight than a traditional ad. In fact, 92% of consumers around the world listen to and trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising.
Unsurprisingly, great service is directly correlated with higher rates of word-of-mouth marketing. As many as 62% of customers will recommend a brand to a friend if they receive great service, and the customers they bring in end up being valuable assets for your business. Since these referred customers are already pre-programmed to feel excited about your product, they tend to spend 200% more than the average customer. In other words: more WOMM, more brand exposure, more revenue. And the better your subscription software serves you, the better you can serve your customers.
On the flip side of the positive effects of great support, the next important consequence to consider is the potential pitfalls of a bad experience. In general, consumers don’t tend to be patient nor are they forgiving — so if Recharge’s support is getting in the way of your consumers’ experience, the impact could be substantial. After all, a single negative touchpoint can do significant damage to both your retention and your brand’s reputation. While 80% of consumers will switch to a competitor after more than one bad experience, 50% will switch after only one.
Plus, for better or for worse, the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing works both ways — and people tend to be even more inclined to talk about it if they have a negative experience. 96% of unhappy customers tend to tell nine - 15 people, whereas satisfied customers tend to tell only a few people. Quickly addressing your subscribers’ pain points is crucial to preventing this spread, meaning waiting a week for Recharge to get back to you just isn’t an option. Your Shopify subscription app should be helping improve your customers’ experience — not be the source of the problem.
If you’re feeling fed up and ready to seek out a Recharge alternative, we pride ourselves on unparalleled customer support here at Smartrr. While you get a different Customer Success Manager each time you contact Recharge, Smartrr provides you with a dedicated CSM who acts as an extension of your team. You’ll get responses from us on the same day, often in a dedicated Slack channel with your team (depending on your plan). Shopify brands that have made the switch quickly see the difference.
Take NOOMA, for example. NOOMA was created as a healthy, organic sports drink that wouldn’t cause acid reflux and would help fuel fitness performance. The NOOMA co-founders originally launched their brand with Recharge and quickly realized that the poor customer support wasn’t a fit for the vision they had. After finding and migrating to Smartrr, the team was assigned its own Customer Success Manager who helped oversee the migration — and the brand experienced a fast impact. Smartrr’s superior customer support, paired with more robust customer account portal capabilities, helped increase NOOMA’s AOV by 22%. Plus, subscriptions made up nearly 50% of the brand’s online orders in one of their first couple of months with Smartrr. NOOMA was primarily dedicated to creating a great subscription experience for their customers, and Smartrr’s responsiveness and overall support were key to helping NOOMA achieve this goal.
“I found Smartrr by doing research on best subscription apps. After reading a ton of negative reviews about experiences with Recharge and having multiple people recommend Smartrr, it seemed like a no-brainer. The entire team has been incredibly helpful from day one — I knew it was the right partnership for us. Everyone on the Smartrr team has been so responsive and quick to offer solutions whenever I have a question.”
— Joggy
Customer support goes beyond showing up only when there’s a problem. Smartrr also conducts proactive outreach long after you’ve launched subscriptions to ensure your programs are running efficiently and you’ve implemented any relevant new features that could improve your customer experience. We’re by your side through the whole process — and we mean that.
The best Shopify apps hold themselves to the same standards as you hold your business, and investing in subscription software that prioritizes customer success and support is always a smart investment for your brand.
Interested in seeing exactly how Smartrr is impacting Shopify brands through stellar customer support and beyond? Click here to read our case studies.
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