Tolstoy and xFusion Case Study
How xFusion partnered with Tolstoy to provide world-class customer service, and customer success support to their quickly growing brand.
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Industry
SaaS
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Country
Israel
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Challenge
Tolstoy faced growth-related challenges, predominantly in customer support, with a singular inbox handler overwhelmed by the influx of user queries and concerns.
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Solution
xFusion stepped in, providing dedicated team members to revamp and manage Tolstoy's customer support system, aligning processes with the company's ethos and future goals.
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Results
The collaboration led to a surge in positive customer feedback, significant improvements in support efficiency, and a transformative elevation in Tolstoy's Shopify rankings.
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Industry
Saas
-
Country
Israel
-
Challenge
Tolstoy faced growth-related challenges, predominantly in customer support, with a singular inbox handler overwhelmed by the influx of user queries and concerns.
-
Solution
xFusion stepped in, providing dedicated team members to revamp and manage Tolstoy's customer support system, aligning processes with the company's ethos and future goals.
-
Results
The collaboration led to a surge in positive customer feedback, significant improvements in support efficiency, and a transformative elevation in Tolstoy's Shopify rankings.
About Tolstoy
Tolstoy is revolutionizing the way businesses engage with their customers through its state-of-the-art Video Commerce Platform. With a core focus on interactive and shoppable videos, Tolstoy offers a unique solution for brands to deepen consumer engagement without compromising site speed. Over 5,000 brands, including industry leaders like Culture Kings and LSKD, rely on Tolstoy to seamlessly integrate videos into the customer buying journey, enhancing both user experience and sales metrics.
The platform stands out not just for its technical capabilities, but also for its emphasis on authentic, short-form videos. This approach fosters real and lasting connections between brands and consumers. Tolstoy’s platform has proven its effectiveness through impressive statistics: it achieves an average fourfold increase in time spent on a site and doubles the likelihood of repeat purchases.
More than just a video hosting service, Tolstoy serves as a robust tool for gathering valuable customer engagement data. The personalized video feeds generate insights that help brands understand their audience better, leading to consistently meaningful ROI uplifts.Â
At the helm of this groundbreaking company is CEO and co-founder Dov Kaufmann, whose vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping Tolstoy into a trusted partner for brands seeking to innovate their consumer engagement strategies. With Tolstoy, businesses are not just hosting videos; they are creating enriched, interactive experiences that translate into tangible business results.
There was a surge of 5-star reviews on the Tolstoy Shopify app, which skyrocketed Tolstoy's ranking by 90 points.
The Challenge:
When Tolstoy’s leadership team first spoke to xFusion’s co-founder, Jim, in the summer of 2022, the company was grappling with a multi-faceted challenge that extended beyond mere customer support.
As a rapidly growing startup offering a groundbreaking Video Commerce Platform on both Shopify and non-Shopify platforms, they found themselves stretched thin operationally. The impending departure of an internal team member responsible for customer support exacerbated this challenge, creating a vacuum that urgently needed to be filled.
But the challenge didn’t end with finding a replacement for one role; Tolstoy needed a comprehensive solution. They sought an outsourced partner capable of not only handling customer support via email and live chat but also taking on responsibilities such as concierge onboarding, documentation, helpdesk efficiency improvements, and occasional client calls.
Tolstoy’s ambitious growth plans necessitated a partner who could scale quickly with them, liberating them from the managerial overhead of hiring, maintaining, and leading a dedicated customer support team.
Tolstoy needed a partner who could deliver a laundry list of services, all while maintaining the brand’s core values of authenticity and consumer engagement. From frontline customer support and scheduled calls to help with documents—Tolstoy was looking for an all-in-one solution. Each of these components was integral to Tolstoy’s business model and crucial for maintaining the seamless, interactive experiences their platform promises.
With such a broad range of requirements, the challenge was not just about finding a service provider but about finding a strategic partner who could truly complement Tolstoy’s dynamic and expanding operations.
The Solution:
Recognizing the multi-dimensional challenges Tolstoy was facing, xFusion devised a comprehensive strategy to seamlessly integrate into their operations. Our first order of business was to set up a transitional process that could cover the immediate gap in customer support created by the departing team member. This was especially crucial because Tolstoy’s rapid growth required a robust support system to maintain customer satisfaction and ensure ongoing engagement.
Beyond filling the immediate void, xFusion expanded its scope of services to align with Tolstoy’s needs. For concierge-level onboarding, we trained the team members to walk clients through Tolstoy’s product features via video calls, ensuring swift and best-practice-driven product adoption. Recognizing the disorganized state of the existing helpdesk, xFusion introduced process improvements such as saved replies and streamlined workflows. These changes would go hand-in-hand with creating both external and internal help documentation, which would act as long-term assets for self-service and team training, respectively.
Our engagement with Tolstoy expanded beyond the support realm and delved into technical aspects as well. In order to effectively manage escalations and requests from enterprise clients through a dedicated channel, we established a specialized Tier 2 team. This team was equipped to handle inquiries, address bugs, resolve issues, and devise strategies to assist with requests that required custom code implementations for the client’s websites.
The Tier 2 team also took on responsibilities such as following up on client activations as part of Tolstoy’s onboarding process. They ensured that tags, escalations, and requests aligned with the client’s specific requirements. Additionally, xFusion collaborated closely with Tolstoy’s Head of Growth to oversee the operational efficiency of the activations department.
In summary, xFusion’s solution was designed to be a plug-and-play extension of Tolstoy, capable of dynamically adapting to both current and future challenges. Through specialized teams and a comprehensive operational strategy, we aimed to become the strategic partner Tolstoy needed to sustain their rapid growth and maintain their commitment to quality customer engagement.
Shoutouts to xFusion's team members from the Tolstoy leaders
Shoutouts from the Tolstoy customers about xFusion's team members
The Results:
The partnership between Tolstoy and xFusion has been nothing short of transformative. It began as a mission to fill a critical support gap for Tolstoy, and it has since flourished into a multi-dimensional relationship that touches various facets of customer experience and internal operations.
Since the onset of our collaboration on August 18, 2022, xFusion’s dedicated team has effectively managed Tolstoy’s customer support function. Their collaboration with Dov, Tolstoy’s CEO, laid the groundwork for an efficient and responsive customer service program. The team put forward Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), generated and updated help articles, and prepared weekly reports, all while maintaining Tolstoy’s brand ethos. The efforts clearly paid off, as noted by the surge of 5-star reviews on Shopify, which skyrocketed Tolstoy’s ranking by 90 points.
As the partnership evolved, Tolstoy expanded its internal objectives, prompting them to bring in additional xFusion team members as Tier 2 support or “Solutions Engineers.” Their introduction revolutionized the way Tolstoy managed its enterprise-level accounts and escalated issues, thereby elevating the customer experience to an unprecedented level.
But perhaps the most compelling endorsement of the xFusion team’s success came in the form of internal accolades and expanded responsibilities. As Tolstoy shifted its focus towards ensuring client success, the role of the xFusion team evolved, becoming instrumental in executing this new strategic direction. This allowed Tolstoy’s core team to focus more on internal arrangements and business planning, while also freeing up their development team to enhance the product features.
The empirical evidence of this successful partnership is equally impressive. Prior to the collaboration, roughly one-third of Tolstoy’s customer conversations had to be reopened. This number has significantly decreased, indicative of the xFusion team’s commitment to accurate, first-time resolutions. In the span of one month, from March 1, 2023, to March 31, 2023, the team autonomously handled an astonishing 584 tickets. This demonstrates the level of trust and responsibility bestowed upon xFusion, allowing Tolstoy to operate more smoothly and efficiently.
Moreover, alongside handling a high volume of general support tickets, the xFusion team also managed the specific needs of Tolstoy’s enterprise clients through a dedicated channel. This proves our capability to adapt and serve a diverse customer base, ensuring specialized attention where needed.
The xFusion team has not only met the initial expectations set forth by Tolstoy but has continually adapted and scaled its services to meet Tolstoy’s evolving needs. The multitude of positive reviews and internal shout-outs are a testament to the synergistic relationship between Tolstoy and xFusion, one that continues to contribute to both companies’ ongoing success.
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