Neverfail is an Australian spring water delivery service. From their humble beginnings, they have delivered natural spring water to Australian homes and businesses since 1987.
Neverfail were struggling to connect effectively with their customers and needed to rebuild their trusted relationship. In addition, they knew their growth was limited with existing e-commerce platforms and tools.
An overall review of their digital and technology ecosystem found a website not fit for purpose and a lack of integration in their technology. Neverfail wanted to provide customers with a seamless digital experience. Instead, customers relied on extended conversations with the call centre to make orders, manage queries, and resolve concerns.
Although efficiencies were important, putting their customers front and centre and giving them the service they deserved was paramount.
The Escient team knew they could bring Neverfail closer to their customers and an untapped market by reinvigorating Neverfail’s digital structures. By building a new e-commerce platform, they could also give Neverfail’s employees a better experience and the confidence they needed to grow the business.
Escient managed an international team of internal staff and vendors to deliver a new e-commerce platform, on time and on budget. A comprehensive testing strategy was planned and delivered to ensure data was integrated smoothly and that Neverfail’s e-commerce platform was ready to go from day one.
The Escient Team identified that the first step to building trust with customers was to build up the Neverfail team’s trust in the new e-commerce platform, which had waned after years of managing internal technological problems.
Multiple communication channels were used to engage and encourage the Neverfail team, including interviews, training workshops, toolbox talks, frequently asked questions, and town halls. Every staff member and stakeholder had a clear view of the project, the actions, and the outcomes. Escient was visible, transparent, and on-site making sure everyone in the business felt engaged with the change process from the start and was excited by the vision for the future.
Connecting with Neverfail customers began at once and it was important that this started with empathy. Escient created and distributed written content that explained the digital transformation that was being undertaken to customers in a way that acknowledged their past frustrations and clearly articulated Neverfail’s new and improved offering. In addition, an explainer video and promotional neck tags were produced to engage all audiences across different mediums.
A refreshed e-commerce platform was delivered and customers started to change the way they interacted with Neverfail at once. The website launch was successful and after an initial lift in queries about the changes, the call centre has settled into a reduced number of unnecessary calls as customers have realised they now can serve themselves in so many ways.
The project had an immediate impact on the number of calls to the contact centre, which reduced by 12% in just a three-week period. Customer ratings of the new website were dramatically better than the old one. According to a survey of 466 customers, when asked to rate the website out of 10, customers provided the old website with an average of 5.7 out of 10, the new website was rated 7.1 out of 10. With every passing week, as customers became used to using the new website, ratings of the new website improved. As time went on, customers started to trust in Neverfail’s new digital future.
“Digital Transformations aren’t easy. Escient gave us the expertise we needed to manage complex change and build trust with our customer base in a whole new way. With Escient’s help, our people have developed a future focused culture and we feel ready to take on exciting new challenges.”
Elizabeth Miller, General Manager, Neverfail