Challenge
A leading outdoor equipment manufacturer with multiple brands faced persistent challenges in their customer support operations. Agents struggled with long average handle times, frequent repeat calls, and customer frustration when troubleshooting complex product issues over the phone.
The company’s customer base presented unique challenges: many customers were not tech-savvy and lived in rural areas with limited connectivity. Agents frequently encountered situations where they couldn’t understand verbal descriptions of problems, needed to verify serial numbers on equipment, or had to guide customers through complex troubleshooting steps without being able to see the issue firsthand.
Previous attempts to improve support efficiency through traditional methods weren’t delivering the breakthrough results leadership needed. They required expert guidance to evaluate emerging visual support technologies and determine if these solutions could work for their specific customer demographic and use cases.
The CTG Approach
Our consulting team conducted a comprehensive evaluation of visual support platforms, specifically focusing on solutions that could handle the unique requirements of rural customers with varying levels of technical proficiency and connectivity challenges.
We identified the client as a strong candidate due to its “app-free” approach—customers didn’t need to download any applications, which was critical for less tech-savvy users. The platform allowed agents to initiate live video support through simple SMS links, enabling them to see exactly what customers were experiencing.
Rather than recommending immediate full deployment, we structured an obligation-free 30-day proof of concept to validate the technology against real customer interactions. The pilot required at least 10 agents to complete a minimum of one call per day, ensuring sufficient data to measure impact across key metrics.
We identified specific use cases where visual support would deliver the most value: situations where agents couldn’t understand customer descriptions, needed to capture photos from less tech-savvy customers, had to locate serial numbers, needed to verify customer claims, required equipment identification without serial numbers, needed to assess physical damage, and wanted to guide troubleshooting steps visually.
Throughout the proof of concept, our team provided implementation oversight, ensuring proper agent training, measurement frameworks, and documentation of results to support the business case for broader deployment.
Results
Operational Performance:
- Up to 63% reduction in average handle time
- 23% reduction in repeat calls (improved first-contact resolution)
- Over 25% reduction in parts shipped per customer through accurate visual diagnosis
Customer Experience:
- 99% of 10,000 surveyed customers preferred video support over voice-only interactions
- 4.8 out of 5 stars average customer experience rating
- Dramatically reduced customer frustration with troubleshooting
- Faster resolution of complex product issues
Agent Experience:
- 97.17% of 2,000+ agents preferred using Blitzz over voice-only or text-only interactions
- Reduced agent stress from difficult troubleshooting scenarios
- Improved confidence in problem diagnosis
- Higher job satisfaction from successfully resolving customer issues
Business Impact:
- Significant cost savings from reduced handle time
- Lower parts costs through accurate visual diagnostics (25% fewer parts shipped)
- Improved brand reputation through superior customer support
- Competitive differentiation in customer service capabilities
Proof of Concept Success
The pilot program’s overwhelming success led to full deployment across all customer support agents, with plans to expand visual support capabilities to additional product brands within the company’s portfolio.
The methodical proof-of-concept approach reduced implementation risk, built agent and leadership confidence in the technology, and provided quantifiable data to support the investment decision. This demonstrated the value of expert technology evaluation and structured pilot design rather than rushing into full deployment.
Investment & Return
This engagement showcased CTG’s ability to guide clients through emerging technology adoption with practitioner expertise that reduces risk and accelerates time-to-value. The manufacturer gained competitive advantage through superior customer support enabled by the right technology, deployed the right way, to the right customer base.
