Who is Nicole?

Meet Nicole Jackson, Head of Customer Support at HERA!

About HERA

HERA clothing is an ecommerce brand focused on men’s and women’s streetwear based in Cheltenham UK. Since launching in 2015 with its signature spray on skinny jeans, the brand was reacquired in 2021, entering a new chapter of unmistakable clothing design distinguished by authenticity, quality fabric, fit, and finishes.

Nicole’s CX Journey

After earning a degree in business management, Nicole started her graduate scheme, an entry level training program in the UK, at Enterprise Car Rental. She worked her way up and became a Branch Manager. “I was dealing with customers every day and enjoyed the challenges of what that could bring,” she remembers. “I soon realized that I had good people skills.” 

After leaving Enterprise into a customer support manager role, Nicole needed a change. When the position for Head of Customer Support at Hera opened two years ago, she jumped at the opportunity. “I've never worked for a clothing brand or in ecommerce,” she says. “So, it’s been really fun.”

Nicole is inspired by the evolving landscape of CX. “There’s always new and exciting aspects to change in customer experience from how you talk with customers and strategies for improving the CX journey to incorporating AI.”

The CX Team at HERA

HERA is a small company with a CX team composed of Nicole and a customer service executive. They work four days in the Cheltenham office and Fridays at home. “It’s just the two of us, we both are involved in the touchpoint of customer service every day,” Nicole says.

Top Challenges as a CX Leader

Nicole admits that working with such a small CX team is challenging. Focus is put on striking a balance between supporting other team members while making sure customers’ needs are being met. “We never want the customer to be put in a position of having bad service because we are too busy.” 

Key Hiring Traits

Nicole looks for people who exhibit empathy and patience. She elaborates, “Customers can get frustrated. It’s important to take a step back and deal with every customer as an individual. This way, you won’t let one bad interaction cloud the ones that follow.”

Onboarding and Training New Hires

After being introduced to the team, new hires learn the role and main duties of each member. “They spend a lot of time with everyone during that first week,” Nicole says. “It’s important that they understand every facet of what we do, from how our products are made to showing them on social media and ads to how the customer thinks.” 

HERA’s CX team uses many platforms, which Nicole admits “can be difficult to get your head around.” After a brief shadowing period, new hires begin working directly with the platforms to get comfortable using them as soon as possible.

CX Team Success Factors

Optimizing Communication Channels

While email is the preferred channel of HERA’s customers, Nicole is seeing a movement toward Chat and Instagram. “The trend is observed especially among our Gen Z customers who want quick service and all-around access,” she says.

Metrics Nicole is Tracking

Nicole closely tracks her team’s CSAT and is proud of their vastly improved scores since the brand was acquired two years ago. “We worked really hard,” she says. “The customers will always be our focus with everything we do. Every decision is made with consideration to how it will impact our customers.” She also watches response and resolution times, putting priority on the latter. “I’ve received an immediate email response only to hear nothing for the next three days. It’s frustrating. I’d rather take a couple of hours to respond so we can come back to the customer with a clear resolution in mind.”

Handling Escalations

HERA uses Gorgias to address any escalations as they come in through various channels. “It actually helps that we are a small team,” Nicole reveals. “We work closely together and are in constant communication about any problems as they occur, and are handled and resolved.”

Prioritizing Proactive CX

Understanding that the CX journey starts well before a purchase is made, HERA uses social media and AD campaigns to educate people about its products. Nicole explains, “Because we are an e-commerce clothing brand, size is a big issue. If someone orders a size that they thought would fit, and it doesn’t, chances are they aren’t going to order from us again. If a person stays on our page for longer than 10 seconds, a pop-up appears asking if they need help with sizing. Other pop-ups give detailed descriptions of an item’s fit.”

Post-purchase surveys are sent four hours after they place an order and customers are asked to write a review shortly after their order has been delivered.

Driving Revenue and Retention

As a growing streetwear clothing brand, HERA is focused on retaining its customer base, driving sales, and increasing visibility.  “Last year, we started a loyalty reward program, with Yotpo” Nicole says. “Not only has the program been a great way to engage with customers, but it also encourages them to keep shopping with us with the points they earn.”

Topics of Interest

AI or No AI?

Nicole is open about incorporating AI into the customer experience but feels that advancements still need to be made for it to be successful. “I don’t know if AI is 100% there yet to give the best customer support. Sometimes, it can make a situation worse.” She points out that if a customer is having an issue and is made to engage with a bot, they are only going to become more unhappy. “They want to talk to a real person - these types of situations still require human touch,” she adds.

Advice for CX Leaders.

Nicole advises CX leaders to lead from the front, get involved, and talk to your members to better understand where they want to be within the company. “Have empathy and show that you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty. I always aim to be supportive and make sure my people are moving in the right path to get where they want to go.”

Tech Stack

Gorgias - “It’s a great platform, allowing us to pull all of our channels together.”

Shopify Plus - “We use it for our ecommerce website.”

Swap - “We partnered with them last year as a return provider. They are amazing and have streamlined the return process for our customers.”

Triple Whale – “We use it for analytics.”

Trustpilot – “We use it to send out customer reviews.”

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