How Podium uses Cohere to Securely Guide, Troubleshoot, and Educate Customers

Customer Story

How Podium uses Cohere to securely guide, troubleshoot, and educate customers

Podium is a suite of messaging tools serving 100k+ local businesses. Using their platform, businesses of all sizes can connect with customers via text to do things like request payments, collect reviews, and sell products, in a modern, convenient way.

Founded in 2014, Podium has raised over $400 million and is backed by Accel, Summit Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Y Combinator.

Before Cohere

✗ With added security at Podium, their support team needed an easier and safer way to help resolve inquiries involving customer data

✗ Verbally guiding customers on how to navigate the Podium environment over phone/chat was difficult for both parties

✗ Complex or time-sensitive resolutions often resulted in lengthy handle times, especially for customers who were new to Podium and required the most support

After Cohere

✓ Podium's employees can simultaneously assist and educate customers in live support sessions

✓ Sensitive data is only accessible with explicit consent from the customer, when they are in a session with a rep

✓ Reps visually guide customers with frictionless screen sharing over phone/chat, resulting in reduced handle times and delighted customers

“

Thanks to Cohere, our IT team feels secure that sensitive customer data is only accessible when the customer is on the line, and our support team is able to delight our customers with world-class service multiple times a day.— Saydie Blanchet, Operations Manager, Podium

Challenges

Security measures restricting access to customer data impacting support efficiency

Podium serves clients from a variety of industries across a wide set of product features, ranging from review management to appointment scheduling and billing/invoicing.

Due to added security measures restricting employee access to customer data, many common inquiries could only be resolved when a client is actively speaking to a rep – impacting the efficiency of Podium’s customer success teams.

For resolutions that required live, synchronous conversations, reps needed to verbally instruct customers through navigating Podium’s web app over phone/chat.

This frequently proved to be a difficult and time-consuming process for both parties. Complex and/or time-sensitive inquiries often resulted in lengthy handle times, especially for customers who were new to Podium and required the most support.

“With added security at Podium, we wanted an easier way for our employees to help clients with troubleshooting and education within the Podium environment – Cohere’s screen sharing product does exactly that.”

The existing workflow wasn’t scaling with the company’s rapidly growing user base and customer success teams. Enter Cohere.

The Solution

A secure way to visually assist customers with the Podium environment

The company chose Cohere to enable their reps to securely access customer data only when customers are on the line, by allowing them to temporarily grant access to the Podium web app.

Podium’s employees can now visually guide customers through live resolutions in a frustration-free, time-efficient manner. Reps are also empowered to guide and educate customers who may not have a strong sense of how to work with software, speeding up conversations that were previously much more difficult.

“Thanks to Cohere, our IT team feels secure that sensitive customer data is only accessible when the customer is on the line, and our support team is able to delight our customers with world-class service multiple times a day.”

The Result

Superpowers for guiding, educating, and delighting customers

With Cohere, Podium’s employees now have the superpower of visually guiding customers with frictionless screen sharing – reducing handle times as well as subsequent back-and-forths for complex inquiries. Cohere adds a visual dimension to phone and live chat, augmenting their existing support and onboarding channels.

“Cohere is a tool that allows us to view customer’s screens on the Podium web app with their permission, and take control of their mouse to walk them through changes on their behalf. It helps us onboard customers, keep people on track, and guide conversations that previously were much more difficult. It’s a great tool to help individuals who may not have a strong sense of how to work with software by letting us guide, teach and troubleshoot at the same time.”

This time savings relieves pressure for Podium’s team members while also benefiting customers. They can focus their time and effort on where it matters most: on delighting the 100k+ local businesses that rely on Podium.

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