Who is Nicole?

Nicole Santa Romana is the CX Lifecycle Associate Manager at INH Hair. 

What is INH Hair?

INH Hair is a premium hair extension brand. Located in Los Angeles, the company supplies extensions and other hair-related products to people all over the world. Their products are specifically designed to be accessible making it easy for people of all backgrounds to take control of their appearance. 

Nicole’s CX Journey

Nicole got her roots working for an event planner. While the work wasn’t strictly related to what she does now, she claims that the customer relations component of the work paved the way for her current work.

Nicole started at INH Hair four years ago. She began as a regular CX agent in a department of just two people. Over the years she worked her way up and now leads the entire department. For her, it’s all about the human interactions. 

“I truly love helping people out, whether it's in a small way. I think that's just what my passion is,” Nicole says. “I truly just feel fulfilled whenever I'm able to help out somebody…Even if it's just a super small gesture.”

Nicole sees the job of a CX manager as being straightforward.

“It's really all about problem-solving. I think it's so interesting taking one issue, really diving deep into it, figuring out what it is that the customer wants, [...] really listening to the problems and then seeing how as a brand, we can really transform their experience.”

While problem-solving is a natural component of CX's work, the very personal nature of INH’s product line makes it extra fulfilling for Nicole. She appreciates both what the product lines do for people, and how she can play her part in making sure that impact is realized. 

“You're helping women find something that makes them feel beautiful.”

The CX Team at INH Hair

Nicole runs a small team of just two other people—both fully remote and operating overseas. She appreciates the balance that outsourcing to international support teams provides.

“It's been super great for us. I think one of the huge benefits is because they're overseas, they're able to catch all the messages that we can't get on US-based hours. So any messages that come in overnight on US time, that's regular working hours for them.”

While many CX managers struggle to bring a cohesive culture to the team when working with outsourced support, Nicole leverages simple but effective tactics to ensure that everyone feels included. 

“I think it's really important just to check in with them all the time. We like to do little touch bases. We have weekly set meetings, but if they ever need help with anything specific, I'm happy to always hop on huddle with them and walk through certain issues.”

While the team is small, it’s also highly integrated. Nicole handles all the QA and Training herself but works closely with other departments to ensure optimal results. From marketing to product development Nicole is constantly collaborating to ensure that all of her tickets are satisfied promptly and effectively. 

Nicole also leverages seasonal help to deal with INH Hair’s busy periods. She trains all support staff herself, always with a focus on maintaining the casual, companionable tone that accounts for INH’s voice. 

“With our audience, we aim to be confident, playful, and empowering. We like to see it as we're their besties offering the best advice,” Nicole says. That sense of closeness both defines the brand and heavily influences the way support is leveraged online. 

Tech Stack

Gorgias

Delighted

Attentive

Okendo

Hubspot

Instagram

TikTok

Amazon

Omnichannel Support

Nicole’s team utilizes a diverse rotation of communication tools for administering customer support. While they regularly interact with customers through email and instant messaging, they also make a point of staying on top of social media outreach. 

“With social, it's interesting because you kind of get almost a faster response on Instagram,” Nicole explains. Due to the nature of INH’s product line, some support questions are simply easier to resolve through a visual medium like Instagram.

Nicole’s team encourages customers to send images of their hair color through Instagram DMs so that they can readily match the customer with the right product. 

INH also builds community within its customer base using Facebook. “We have a private Facebook group and that's really where our customers can talk to each other about our products, they like to post selfies in our products and show off how they styled it.”

Nicole has found that avid customers can act both as advocates and honorary customer service reps.

“They're truly experts,” she says. “Somebody will have a question like how do I detangle my hair and then another person will jump in and be like ‘hey I tried this method’…Sometimes there are even tips posted in there that I haven't even tried myself.”

Nicole’s Advice for CX Leaders

Nicole believes in the basics when it comes to continued excellence in CX. “I think number one, that's super important is communication.”

She also believes that CX leaders need to make themselves accessible. “With my agents, if they're ever struggling with something…I always want them to know that I'm there to help them out and walk them through the process.”
Nicole believes that CX managers are responsible for educating and empowering their teams. “I think it's just a matter of getting the agents comfortable with thinking on their own, thinking outside of the box.”