Large retailers value every minute of the sales department and do everything to make customers as satisfied as possible. And they are often helped by the integration of virtual PBX and CRM. In this use case, we will tell you how it is used by one of the most famous online stores in Azerbaijan — Maxi.az. And how such a connection was implemented and configured by our partner, AniArt.
About the project and work on it
The client’s website: maxi.az
Sphere of activity: online store
Region: Azerbaijan
The future national project was created in 2016 based on the Integral Plus chain of stores. Over time, it became clear that it was necessary to change the strategy and create an omnichannel project. That’s how Maxi.az appeared. And in 2018, the portal was recognized as the best online store in Azerbaijan and received the NETTY award.
According to Similar Web, the site is among the top 5 online retailers in the country by various indicators. And this year Maxi.az again claim the title of the best online store, preparing to take part in the competition after updating the site.
The retailer started mainly with the sale of electronics, but now the site has more than 11,000 products from a variety of categories:
- phones, tablets, and gadgets;
- televisions, audio equipment, musical equipment, and instruments;
- household appliances;
- goods for entertainment and recreation;
- clothing, footwear, and accessories;
- goods for health and beauty and much more.
Buyers have the opportunity to make online payments with all taxi cards that are available in the country — that is, credit cards with connected credit lines. And the delivery of the purchase can be ordered throughout Azerbaijan. For this purpose Maxi.az has its own fleet of vehicles and a team of couriers.
This large-scale online project was launched by the Ukrainian company AniArt. It specializes in the implementation of CRM of various levels, development of web solutions, administration and support. Companies around the world trust AniArt with their business, for example:
- Intertop, Pandora, LoveYou Jewels, SOVA, and Luxoptica are from Ukraine:
- ABV and Maxi.az are from Azerbaijan;
- GGOnline, and MONAMIE are from Kazakhstan;
- Global Swiss are from Switzerland.
Developing the project from scratch, AniArt did a great job. Despite the fact that the team faced quite complex and non-trivial tasks. Let’s list only some of them.
- Prospective scaling. The site had to be developed so that it could eventually accommodate hundreds of thousands of products. At the same time, they can have completely different accounting models. For example, not only technical characteristics, as in the case of electronics, but also colors, and sizes if we are talking, for example, about clothes.
- Regional features of payments. Buyers should be able to pay by installment cards, which were mentioned above. At the same time, credit conditions can be quite complicated, and customers can combine payment options.
- Work in the marketplace mode. Maxi.az sells not only its own goods but also the goods of other owners. At the same time, all of them are in one catalog, but information calls play an important role in the Maxi.az business model. For example, the client can always call the sales department, and the operator will make a purchase for him right during the conversation. Therefore, telephone orders account for 50-60% of all orders. In addition, even if the user has placed the order himself, the sales operator still contacts the client — unless the latter has chosen the option “do not call back” to other sellers.
The project was launched on the basis of the service of automation and optimization of business processes, which, in particular, includes a CRM-system. AniArt was also engaged in its implementation and configuration. One of the tasks was to automate the work with calls and transfer them to CRM. We will talk about this below.
How Ringostat connection solved the main pain of the project
Calls play an important role in Maxi. az’s business model. For example, a customer can always call the sales department, and the operator will make a purchase for him right during the conversation. Therefore, telephone orders account for 50-60% of all orders. In addition, even if the user has placed the order himself, the sales operator still contacts the client — unless the latter has chosen the option “do not call back”.
Knowing about this feature, the retailer and AniArt immediately understood that IP telephony would be needed. It had to provide a uniform load between operators. And the statistics collected by the virtual PBX would allow the management to analyze various indicators of the sales department.
The problem was that Maxi.az could not find a suitable IP telephony service. The company tried different services, but none of them satisfied its needs. Operators complained that they could not hear the customer, and customers complained that they could not hear the operators. Due to the complex architecture of the project, it was quite difficult to set up telephony, as many communication nodes were involved in the call process, and each of them could periodically experience problems. According to AniArt, this was the main pain of the project.
To improve the quality of communication, the integrators decided to contact Ringostat. Moreover, our platform has long had integration with the CRM system used by Maxi.az.
With the quality of communication, everything was solved very simply: one of the Ringostat telephony servers is located in Azerbaijan. And by connecting to this server, we closed the circle of Buyer — Operator — Server nodes within one country. This significantly improved the quality of sound transmission, because a delay of even one second creates problems during communication”.
Integration of Ringostat telephony and CRM
After connecting the virtual PBX, it was immediately integrated with the company’s CRM system. The connection of CRM and telephony works now with the same settings. As AniArt representatives say: “Good telephony is the one that is set up once. Click — and it works :)”.
The essence of integration is to automate the sales process, relieve operators and even increase the chances of successful closing of the deal. How such a connection works:
- during an incoming call, even if it was not answered, a lead and an entity “Call” are automatically created in CRM;
- if the operator missed the call, he will be assigned the task “Call back” with a deadline;
- if the operator received or made a call, an audio recording of the conversation with the client is attached to CRM.
If desired, the integration logic can be easily changed in the Ringostat personal account in a special matrix. It is enough to check or uncheck the box next to the desired item, following the pop-up prompts. Below is a fragment of such a matrix:
But the most interesting thing happens during an incoming call, and this is what affects the chances of a successful sale. To make and receive calls, operators use Ringostat Smart Phone, a Chrome browser extension. Every time a customer calls, it deploys and shows valuable insights about the user. If it is a customer who has already contacted and is in CRM, the operator immediately sees their name and can quickly go to the contact card or transaction via a link in the extension.
In addition, it is very important to see the customer’s history, and CRM together with Ringostat also gives us this opportunity. The operator can immediately see the customer’s purchase history, perhaps make an additional sale, inquire about the quality or convenience of previously purchased goods, etc. In short, IP telephony is an integral part of any CRM system».
How calls are processed and operators’ work is controlled
- When the customer calls the company, a voice menu is activated, which plays a message offering to choose the language.
- After that, the customer is offered to choose the desired department: online store or feedback and suggestions department.
- The call is automatically directed to the department chosen by the customer. At the same time, the call comes simultaneously to all operators. The one who picks up the phone first answers. This allows you to respond as quickly as possible.
- Even before answering the call, the operator sees what language the client has chosen and can immediately address the potential buyer in it.
Maxi.az is very attentive to suggestions and reviews. Therefore, the department of the same name deals only with their processing, without being distracted by placing orders. Suggestions can be different — up to the introduction of any functionality on the site. Depending on the complexity, issues can be discussed even at the level of senior management.
In addition, Maxi.az uses the data collected by the virtual PBX to control both departments and improve the quality of service.
The company’s management also listens to audio recordings of calls made by Ringostat. This is necessary to improve the quality of operators’ work and resolve disputes. Special attention is paid to how the operator answered the client and how he talked to him.
Summary. what Maxi.az got from Ringostat and its integration with CRM:
- improved communication quality;
- automation of the sales department — data on calls are immediately entered into CRM, deals and tasks are created on calls without the participation of managers;
- convenient reception and making calls using Ringostat Smart Phone;
- understanding whether a new or existing client is calling, and the ability to address him immediately by name;
- quick transition to the client’s card and transaction directly from Ringostat Smart Phone — thanks to this, the operator better understands the needs of the client and is more likely to make a sale;
- control of operators’ work with the help of audio recordings of calls and reports, where information about received and missed calls is collected.
