How CarMax enhances customer engagement and improves efficiency with Cresta
Summary
- Reduction in handle time
- Streamlined QA with 100% real-time visibility into associate performance
- Improved efficiency across veteran and new associates
Challenges
With a commitment to continually improving the customer experience and operational efficiency, CarMax sought to enhance its omni-channel capabilities. However, this required integrating more advanced technology that could handle a variety of incoming customer inquiries, ranging from sales to appraisals to service questions. They wanted a seamless, efficient, and effective system that could support their frontline associates, promoting and maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction.
Solution
CarMax opted to partner with Cresta, leveraging their expertise in AI and customer engagement. Cresta’s end-to-end platform was piloted through chat, a process which has allowed CarMax to gather valuable feedback from associates and drive adoption of the new technology.
In the first 60 days, CarMax was able to test the platform and identify how they wanted to configure it for their associates. Thanks to Cresta’s rapid deployment and nimble support team, the platform adapted easily and intuitively to CarMax’s specific needs, ensuring they could handle complex queries.
Bryan Ennis, Vice President of Customer Experience Centers at CarMax, recalls, “The speed of innovation has been really great. They (Cresta) absolutely take into consideration what the customer needs and help them along that journey.”
Results
Following the implementation of Cresta, key metrics saw significant improvements:
Handle time
There was a notable reduction in handle time, enabling CarMax to operate more efficiently. Associates are now able to manage more concurrent chats with a lower handle time while maintaining accuracy.
Training speed
New associates were able to get up to speed quickly, helping to enhance the overall customer experience.
Quality assurance
With greater visibility into associate performance, supervisors were able to leverage a predefined set of CarMax behaviors (termed “Vital Chat Behaviors”) to drive associate development and critical business outcomes.
Associate satisfaction
The response from CarMax associates is overwhelmingly positive. One memorable piece of feedback from an associate was, “Please don’t take my Cresta away,” emphasizing the platform’s value in their daily operations.
Return on investment
The reduction in handle time and the improved efficiency of existing associates translated into a strong ROI for CarMax. Additionally, the ability to track customer journeys from initial chat interactions to final purchases provided valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors.
Conclusion
The partnership between CarMax and Cresta has been instrumental in driving operational efficiency and enhancing the CarMax customer experience. The AI-driven insights and support from Cresta have empowered CarMax’s associates, leading to improved performance and customer satisfaction.
Ennis sums up the experience, “Bringing artificial intelligence into your business absolutely makes it more effective and more efficient. Cresta’s partnership is so important because they can give you insights and help teach you things you might not even think are possible.”
About
CarMax, the nation’s largest retailer of used autos, revolutionized the automotive retail industry by driving integrity, honesty and transparency in every interaction. The company offers a truly personalized experience with the option for customers to do as much, or as little, online and in-store as they want. CarMax has more than 245 store locations, nearly 30,000 associates, and is proud to have been recognized for 20 consecutive years as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®.