Mode uses messaging to drive better customer experiences

All the buzz around Bitcoin is inspiring a new generation of consumers and businesses to explore the world of cryptocurrency. Mode hit the scene three years ago with a revolutionary Bitcoin app for iOS and Android devices to help users buy, sell, and invest digital assets with ease. The UK-based company is transforming the way people manage their finances, while engaging a newer, younger audience. The future looks bright for this small startup with a big vision.

In October 2020, Mode listed on the London Stock Exchange, and also went on to register with the FCA as a Crypto Asset business. Compliance, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering is centric to the company’s daily operations and Zendesk has allowed them to provide that heightened level of quality assurance that protects both users and the wider economy. Mode became one of the first financial services companies in the UK and the world to go public with a consumer digital asset offering–an especially rare feat to achieve within two years of operation.

The company’s latest development, in May 2022, was an affiliate’s Bitcoin Cashback program that allows everyday shoppers to redeem bitcoin rewards by purchasing with partner retailers using the Mode App. Prior to this was the launch of a payment system based on Open Banking, allowing users to pay directly from a personal bank account to a merchant bank account, without credit or debit cards.

Mode has quickly become a trusted player in the UK market thanks to its customer-centric vision, agility, and tenacity. As Senior Customer Operations Executive Phil Andrews explains, “Our goal is to provide best-in-class customer service. We want customer interactions to be as positive and seamless as possible, whether providing self-serve options or one-to-one service, in an industry that is inherently technical.”

Achieving CX maturity using Freshdesk became challenging for the small startup, so Mode switched to Zendesk and built a robust strategy focused on providing a messaging-first experience to its app users. Mode deployed Zendesk messaging solutions across the web, Android, and iOS apps using easy-to-deploy SDKs. Leveraging omnichannel messaging with automation and self-service empowered the team to provide more streamlined workflows and a better customer experience.

Streamlining by moving from chat to messaging

The customer operations team handles all day-to-day customer support, customer onboarding, and fraud and transaction monitoring. Internally, Mode uses Zendesk voice for interbank contact and fraud enforcement, along with email for compliance monitoring and quality assurance checks. Externally, the most widely used channels for customer contact today are Zendesk messaging and email.

When Mode launched Zendesk in March 2021, the team used live chat as a go-to channel. Despite operating seven days a week, agents worked limited hours and simply couldn’t respond to every chat immediately, so customers started creating duplicate email tickets to get a response. To restore trust and reduce ticket volume, the company pivoted to a Zendesk solution that asynchronously provided consistent, real-time support.

安德鲁回忆说,“实现Zendesk消息w亚博as a smooth process, because we had access to docs and developer information that we needed to put in the mobile apps and configure them.” Mode rolled out messaging for in-app conversational support on Android and iOS, completing the full integration on both platforms in December 2021.

The decision to integrate messaging in the Mode app and on the web garnered rave reviews. As one customer wrote: “Love the latest iOS update. Makes the app a million times better.” Customers prefer messaging because it’s convenient, fast, and personalized. Agents benefit from having AI-powered features and self-service in Zendesk messaging, because it saves time and keeps customers engaged.

Better bot-to-agent handoff with automation

Mode takes advantage of the built-in automation that comes with Zendesk messaging, adding a bot to their conversations to deliver instant tailored answers 24/7 to customers. The team has seen great improvements so far. From May 2021 when Zendesk chat was running on all platforms to February 2022 when Zendesk messaging was fully integrated, Mode saw a decrease of over 65% in messaging chats. With only one third of the contact volume, agents had more time for other inquiries.

“构建自动化添加到消息和优化zing the bot flows helped us reduce friction and deliver a customer-first experience,” adds Andrews.

Including links to common FAQs in the bot’s greeting message is also key, since a majority of customers choose to self-serve instead of contacting an agent. Out of all users who receive a message from the bot, only 10 to 20 percent transfer to an agent, which suggests that Mode’s new process is working.

“Zendesk includes part of the bot conversation in the ticket so we have full context and can continue the interaction in a seamless way,” says Andrews. “From a CX perspective, it’s useful to see which options customers have already clicked. On the agent side, it’s helpful to have a record of the conversation, so we can prevent information loss and save time by not repeating answers.”

And save time they do. Since implementing Zendesk, the average resolution time for a customer operations ticket is just 15 minutes.

Going with the flow reduces agent contact by 75%

Agents handle roughly between 50 percent messaging, 50 percent web and email. Many customers are new to the Mode app and cryptocurrency in general, so the team gets a lot of repeat questions, which can easily create bottlenecks across channels.

The team found another time saver with Zendesk: adding categories to tickets for buying, selling, withdrawing, depositing, fees, and limits on using Bitcoin. Ticket tagging helps create a more intuitive, efficient routing process and generates more specific data in Zendesk that can be leveraged to adjust workflows.

Andrews says, “We have greater visibility into customer issues, so we can improve our process and make the customer journey as streamlined as possible.” Mode has already reduced agent handled contacts by 75 percent using Zendesk.

Messaging is built right into the admin panel of Zendesk, which empowers agents to make proactive changes as needed. “As a small operations team with limited tech resources, it’s important for us to own the work. Optimizing and implementing changes within Zendesk is straightforward and self-explanatory, so we don’t have to rely on engineers,” he adds.

Powering growth and retention with quality CX

Andrews believes that delivering exceptional customer service will continue to set Mode apart in the cryptocurrency industry, which is notorious for having slow, inaccessible, or substandard support. He says, “Our goal is to win over new customers and retain the existing ones. With Zendesk, we’re providing a much better customer experience than our competitors, which contributes to overall business growth and retention.”

Understanding CSAT scores and how customers use the Mode app is a big motivator. “As a young company, having a built-in feedback loop is vital. We use data and metrics in Zendesk to back up our customer activity and drive product improvement,” says Andrews.

He has also connected with the Zendesk community to share best practices and highlight growth opportunities. Although Mode mainly uses Zendesk tools and channels for B2C support today, Andrews hopes to see more cross-over between B2B communications and customer operations in the future. “Ideally, we can connect with other merchants via Zendesk and bring them into our CX world.”