Customer Experience Superheroes - S16 E1 - Jacob Moelter - Managing so much more than service tickets

1 00:00:09,599 - > 00:00:12,560 SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the latest episode of the 2 00:00:12,560 - > 00:00:15,359 Customer Experience Superheroes podcast series. 3 00:00:15,599 - > 00:00:19,359 My name is Christopher Brooks, and it's been my privilege to be 4 00:00:19,359 - > 00:00:22,399 the host of this series since the very beginning. 5 00:00:22,640 - > 00:00:27,760 In this series, we bring you individuals from across the vast 6 00:00:28,559 - > 00:00:31,600 spectrum of customer experience. 7 00:00:31,839 - > 00:00:37,520 We've introduced you to leaders, to mavericks, to extraordinary 8 00:00:37,520 - > 00:00:40,159 specialists in very different fields. 9 00:00:40,320 - > 00:00:42,320 And today is no exception. 10 00:00:42,560 - > 00:00:47,679 Today we called up with the quite wonderful Jacob Multa, who 11 00:00:47,679 - > 00:00:52,000 is the chief operating officer and CFO at Support Ninja. 12 00:00:52,159 - > 00:00:55,840 Now, Support Ninja is one of those organizations that just 13 00:00:55,840 - > 00:00:56,880 make things work. 14 00:01:02,079 - > 00:01:06,159 And their focus and their ambition is to ensure that 15 00:01:06,159 - > 00:01:10,640 startups or larger companies are able to kind of scale up as they 16 00:01:10,640 - > 00:01:14,560 grow and still provide kind of a high quality level of customer 17 00:01:14,560 - > 00:01:17,280 experience as a service, recognizing how important that 18 00:01:17,280 - > 00:01:17,439 is. 19 00:01:17,599 - > 00:01:20,799 We caught up with Jacob to understand just what it is that 20 00:01:20,799 - > 00:01:23,840 they do and how they make a difference for their clients. 21 00:01:24,000 - > 00:01:27,920 So without further ado, let's jump over and meet Jacob. 22 00:01:28,319 - > 00:01:33,359 So it is a delight to welcome Jacob Moulter from Support Ninja 23 00:01:33,359 - > 00:01:35,439 to the CX Superheroes Podcast Series. 24 00:01:35,599 - > 00:01:36,400 Jacob, welcome. 25 00:01:36,719 - > 00:01:37,439 SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Christopher. 26 00:01:37,680 - > 00:01:39,519 Pleasure to be here and looking forward to connecting. 27 00:01:39,760 - > 00:01:39,920 SPEAKER_00: Great. 28 00:01:40,079 - > 00:01:40,799 That's excellent. 29 00:01:40,879 - > 00:01:44,319 Well, I'm particularly excited because quite often we have 30 00:01:44,319 - > 00:01:49,280 individuals on the superheroes podcast series who talk a good 31 00:01:49,280 - > 00:01:49,599 story. 32 00:01:49,680 - > 00:01:52,480 Yeah, in fairness, they do talk a good story, but they don't 33 00:01:52,480 - > 00:01:55,120 roll their sleeves up and actually get to work with the 34 00:01:55,120 - > 00:01:58,719 wiring, which you know you and your teams do every single day. 35 00:01:58,799 - > 00:02:02,560 So you're there in the engine room making sure things are 36 00:02:02,560 - > 00:02:02,799 working. 37 00:02:02,879 - > 00:02:04,879 And I guess when they're working, no one gives you the 38 00:02:04,879 - > 00:02:07,040 praise, but when they break, you you hear about it. 39 00:02:07,120 - > 00:02:09,439 So it'll be good to get some stories on that. 40 00:02:09,680 - > 00:02:11,759 SPEAKER_01: Yep, it's a very thankless job at some point. 41 00:02:12,800 - > 00:02:13,520 SPEAKER_00: But essential. 42 00:02:13,680 - > 00:02:15,759 I mean, it's kind of the unsung heroes right now. 43 00:02:15,919 - > 00:02:18,960 So Jake, as always, government always so supporting engine. 44 00:02:19,199 - > 00:02:21,439 Obviously, if we've got listeners in from small and 45 00:02:21,439 - > 00:02:25,520 medium-sized businesses, they may be well very familiar with 46 00:02:25,520 - > 00:02:28,319 your solution, so which is great, but we're going to help 47 00:02:28,319 - > 00:02:31,759 everybody understand its value and probably more the importance 48 00:02:31,759 - > 00:02:35,840 of having experts in that space because it's a real connection 49 00:02:35,840 - > 00:02:36,639 point with your customers. 50 00:02:36,719 - > 00:02:39,439 And if it doesn't work, boy, kind of all that goodwill you've 51 00:02:39,439 - > 00:02:42,159 built up, quality of products, investment you made in your 52 00:02:42,159 - > 00:02:44,960 brand just falls away if the experience isn't delivered at 53 00:02:44,960 - > 00:02:45,840 that particular point. 54 00:02:46,000 - > 00:02:47,439 But you've not done this forever, have you? 55 00:02:47,520 - > 00:02:49,039 I mean, I was having a look at your profile. 56 00:02:49,120 - > 00:02:54,879 You've got quite a, I'd say, a respectful and a scary 57 00:02:54,879 - > 00:02:57,520 background because you know the numbers on these sort of things, 58 00:02:57,599 - > 00:03:01,360 which a lot of people in CX are now coming to realize they need 59 00:03:01,360 - > 00:03:02,080 to know the numbers. 60 00:03:02,159 - > 00:03:04,639 They've always needed to know them, but you've always known 61 00:03:04,639 - > 00:03:05,120 the numbers. 62 00:03:05,199 - > 00:03:08,080 So give us an appreciation of your background, Jacob, and kind 63 00:03:08,080 - > 00:03:11,199 of how you've ended up in your role with the support ninja. 64 00:03:11,520 - > 00:03:12,400 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, thanks. 65 00:03:12,479 - > 00:03:14,879 Yeah, my interesting is my background is very interesting. 66 00:03:14,960 - > 00:03:15,599 I would say so. 67 00:03:15,759 - > 00:03:18,719 Started my career actually in investor relations, where I was 68 00:03:18,719 - > 00:03:22,400 partnering with recently public companies or companies that were 69 00:03:22,400 - > 00:03:25,360 planning to go public and working with their C-suite on 70 00:03:25,360 - > 00:03:27,919 telling their story to the investment community. 71 00:03:28,159 - > 00:03:28,719 So it was great. 72 00:03:28,800 - > 00:03:30,719 I got to work with a lot of different types of companies, a 73 00:03:30,719 - > 00:03:33,759 lot in the SaaS space, in the technology space in general. 74 00:03:34,000 - > 00:03:36,639 But I came across a company called support.com actually, 75 00:03:36,719 - > 00:03:40,240 which was a small, publicly listed outsourcing company 76 00:03:40,319 - > 00:03:42,000 focused mostly on telco. 77 00:03:42,159 - > 00:03:43,680 And so they they were my client. 78 00:03:43,759 - > 00:03:45,520 I worked very closely and developed a really good 79 00:03:45,520 - > 00:03:46,639 relationship with them. 80 00:03:46,800 - > 00:03:49,840 And then eventually I actually joined them internally, where I 81 00:03:49,840 - > 00:03:53,280 ran their finance organization as well as their investor 82 00:03:53,280 - > 00:03:53,680 relations. 83 00:03:53,759 - > 00:03:56,719 So I got the best of both worlds to kind of understand how the 84 00:03:56,719 - > 00:03:59,360 sausage is made and really understand the business in 85 00:03:59,360 - > 00:04:01,680 general, and then being able to tell that to the investment 86 00:04:01,680 - > 00:04:02,159 community. 87 00:04:02,560 - > 00:04:05,599 And as I kind of worked through there at Support Ninja, I really 88 00:04:05,599 - > 00:04:09,680 became enamored with the CX space and outsourcing space in 89 00:04:09,680 - > 00:04:10,080 general. 90 00:04:10,240 - > 00:04:12,639 And support.com kind of went through a number of different 91 00:04:12,639 - > 00:04:13,280 evolutions. 92 00:04:13,439 - > 00:04:16,879 But what I noticed there was that there was a gap in the 93 00:04:16,879 - > 00:04:21,040 space in terms of companies that are really catered towards small 94 00:04:21,040 - > 00:04:23,759 and medium-sized businesses, companies that are growing 95 00:04:23,759 - > 00:04:26,000 rapidly, that things may be different, right? 96 00:04:26,079 - > 00:04:28,399 I think there's a lot of companies out there that will 97 00:04:28,399 - > 00:04:31,680 outsource or outsourcers out there that are really good at 98 00:04:31,680 - > 00:04:35,120 focusing on two or three tasks and doing them as efficient as 99 00:04:35,120 - > 00:04:35,519 possible. 100 00:04:35,759 - > 00:04:38,480 But in the SMB space, things are evolving rapidly. 101 00:04:38,639 - > 00:04:41,439 And so some of these companies are really looking for a partner 102 00:04:41,519 - > 00:04:44,399 that can work with them, evolve with them over time, and help 103 00:04:44,399 - > 00:04:44,720 scale. 104 00:04:44,800 - > 00:04:46,720 And so that was the premise of Support Ninja. 105 00:04:46,800 - > 00:04:50,399 And I joined them in 2021, got introduced a little bit earlier 106 00:04:50,399 - > 00:04:50,720 than that. 107 00:04:50,800 - > 00:04:53,759 But that was really their core philosophy was really to be 108 00:04:53,759 - > 00:04:57,279 focused on fast growing organizations and a flexible 109 00:04:57,279 - > 00:04:59,519 partner to really help them grow and scale over time. 110 00:04:59,680 - > 00:05:02,079 In many cases, some of the clients that we work with have 111 00:05:02,079 - > 00:05:04,240 not necessarily outsourced when in their history. 112 00:05:04,319 - > 00:05:07,439 And so they they do really good at their products or services 113 00:05:07,439 - > 00:05:10,160 that they offer, but they they really didn't know how to set up 114 00:05:10,399 - > 00:05:12,480 really a CX function and really help drive that. 115 00:05:12,560 - > 00:05:15,519 And so it's been really great to be a part of this organization 116 00:05:15,680 - > 00:05:18,560 to really help partner with these companies and help them 117 00:05:18,560 - > 00:05:20,959 build out best-in-class support organizations. 118 00:05:21,040 - > 00:05:24,240 And the interesting thing I think about my role is I started 119 00:05:24,240 - > 00:05:26,560 really on the finance side and really helped build out the 120 00:05:26,560 - > 00:05:26,959 structure. 121 00:05:27,040 - > 00:05:30,079 And as I I do like to roll up my sleeves and get in there. 122 00:05:30,160 - > 00:05:33,199 And so as I sort of progressed through my role, I really became 123 00:05:33,199 - > 00:05:35,680 enamored with the operational component, partnering with 124 00:05:35,680 - > 00:05:38,319 clients, helping them solve the problems that they're looking 125 00:05:38,319 - > 00:05:38,480 for. 126 00:05:38,560 - > 00:05:42,160 And so it's been really great to kind of transition my career 127 00:05:42,160 - > 00:05:45,199 from both just finance to finance and operations and 128 00:05:45,199 - > 00:05:47,519 really partnering across the organization and with our 129 00:05:47,519 - > 00:05:49,439 clients to develop for really great outcomes. 130 00:05:49,680 - > 00:05:50,160 SPEAKER_00: Excellent. 131 00:05:50,240 - > 00:05:53,199 And I do see operations as kind of, whilst it's customer 132 00:05:53,199 - > 00:05:55,360 operations, we've got one particular client that calls it 133 00:05:55,360 - > 00:05:56,959 kind of custom and commercial operations. 134 00:05:57,040 - > 00:05:59,199 And I think it's a very healthy way to sort of look at it. 135 00:05:59,519 - > 00:06:02,639 I think that I mean, you just skim through the type of 136 00:06:02,639 - > 00:06:05,920 customer you have there, but I think we should just dwell on 137 00:06:05,920 - > 00:06:07,279 that because this is not your. 138 00:06:07,839 - > 00:06:13,519 I'd imagine most of your customers are probably owners 139 00:06:13,680 - > 00:06:15,279 and are probably very hands-on. 140 00:06:15,680 - > 00:06:19,279 Even if they are expanding rapidly, they've still there's 141 00:06:19,279 - > 00:06:21,759 kind of like a connection back to them. 142 00:06:21,920 - > 00:06:26,319 And what you're doing is actually probably a recognition 143 00:06:26,319 - > 00:06:30,000 of their growth and their success because they no longer 144 00:06:30,000 - > 00:06:32,800 can manage this or or have the capacity to manage it, because 145 00:06:32,879 - > 00:06:34,399 they've got to focus in on other sides. 146 00:06:34,560 - > 00:06:38,639 So give us an appreciation of the SME customer type that 147 00:06:38,639 - > 00:06:42,000 you're dealing with, because it must be, as you said, they've 148 00:06:42,000 - > 00:06:42,879 never done this before. 149 00:06:43,120 - > 00:06:46,639 And we're working with a family office, I work in the luxury 150 00:06:46,639 - > 00:06:49,680 market in some areas, and the family office owner is moving 151 00:06:49,680 - > 00:06:52,079 into using us for strategic advice. 152 00:06:52,240 - > 00:06:53,439 They've never done that before. 153 00:06:53,600 - > 00:06:57,199 And I think too many people forget how big an emotional leap 154 00:06:57,199 - > 00:06:58,959 that is for clients to go through. 155 00:06:59,120 - > 00:07:01,360 Because whilst you know everything there is to know 156 00:07:01,360 - > 00:07:04,079 about what you do, they don't know that necessarily. 157 00:07:04,240 - > 00:07:07,759 So give us some context, appreciate how interesting it 158 00:07:07,759 - > 00:07:09,920 is, and so I guess kind of challenging working with that 159 00:07:09,920 - > 00:07:10,720 customer type. 160 00:07:10,959 - > 00:07:12,560 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, it is interesting. 161 00:07:12,639 - > 00:07:15,040 I think, and like you said, in many cases, some of these 162 00:07:15,040 - > 00:07:18,959 business owners or leaders have a hard time letting go and of 163 00:07:18,959 - > 00:07:21,519 the control aspect and being able to manage everything. 164 00:07:21,600 - > 00:07:23,759 And I think that's sort of where these companies are at. 165 00:07:23,920 - > 00:07:27,600 They're in many cases, they are at this ref inflection point of 166 00:07:27,600 - > 00:07:29,680 their organization where they're not going to be able to grow and 167 00:07:29,680 - > 00:07:31,600 scale at the pace if they try to manage everything. 168 00:07:31,759 - > 00:07:34,480 And so that that's definitely one group of clients that we 169 00:07:34,480 - > 00:07:34,639 have. 170 00:07:34,720 - > 00:07:37,920 We do have larger on the SMB side that maybe they've had a 171 00:07:37,920 - > 00:07:40,879 really bad experience with some of the larger outsourcers that 172 00:07:40,959 - > 00:07:44,000 that change order them to death or that that really aren't 173 00:07:44,000 - > 00:07:47,920 willing to set up a customized solution that's really geared 174 00:07:47,920 - > 00:07:50,959 towards these companies that scope may change over time. 175 00:07:51,120 - > 00:07:54,480 And so I think that's that it is an interesting dynamic of the 176 00:07:54,480 - > 00:07:55,839 types of clients that we serve. 177 00:07:56,000 - > 00:07:59,040 I think we have about 200, a little over 200 clients that are 178 00:07:59,040 - > 00:08:00,720 across a number of different verticals, right? 179 00:08:00,800 - > 00:08:03,600 And anything from SaaS, e-commerce, health and wellness, 180 00:08:03,759 - > 00:08:06,639 fintech, and a handful of other emerging industries, including 181 00:08:06,639 - > 00:08:08,639 actually AI companies that are coming to us. 182 00:08:08,720 - > 00:08:11,839 And so I think the common thread of those is that it's really the 183 00:08:11,839 - > 00:08:12,319 mindset. 184 00:08:12,480 - > 00:08:15,680 It's that we're we work best with the types of companies that 185 00:08:15,680 - > 00:08:18,480 see CX as a true differentiator, right? 186 00:08:18,560 - > 00:08:21,600 Not as uh necessarily just a cost center or a line item in 187 00:08:21,600 - > 00:08:21,920 their budget. 188 00:08:22,000 - > 00:08:24,319 And right, these are organizations that want more 189 00:08:24,319 - > 00:08:25,920 than just agents handling tickets. 190 00:08:26,000 - > 00:08:28,319 They want a partner who's gonna help them solve problems, help 191 00:08:28,319 - > 00:08:30,399 them understand how to best engage with their types of 192 00:08:30,399 - > 00:08:30,959 clients, right? 193 00:08:31,040 - > 00:08:32,720 We have 200 clients that we've serviced. 194 00:08:32,799 - > 00:08:36,240 And so we've got really great sort of success stories of how 195 00:08:36,320 - > 00:08:38,720 you know certain companies in these industries have helped 196 00:08:38,720 - > 00:08:41,440 reduce friction points in their customer journey and really 197 00:08:41,440 - > 00:08:44,080 deliver outcomes that are gonna be great and improve their 198 00:08:44,080 - > 00:08:46,799 loyalty and their retention and their their revenue ultimately, 199 00:08:46,960 - > 00:08:48,080 which I think is really interesting. 200 00:08:48,399 - > 00:08:50,399 SPEAKER_00: And it was a point I was gonna come to, and you've 201 00:08:50,399 - > 00:08:54,960 mentioned it there that sometimes I guess when your SME 202 00:08:54,960 - > 00:08:58,960 and you're growing, your frame of reference or your selection 203 00:08:58,960 - > 00:09:03,200 criteria for the partner we need perhaps isn't as in tune as it 204 00:09:03,200 - > 00:09:03,759 needs to be. 205 00:09:03,840 - > 00:09:07,519 And you may look for a larger kind of a bigger player because 206 00:09:07,519 - > 00:09:09,759 you go, well, they'll be conf, they'll be confident there's 207 00:09:09,759 - > 00:09:10,480 safety there. 208 00:09:10,639 - > 00:09:13,360 But as they then find out, it was a cookie-cutter approach, 209 00:09:13,440 - > 00:09:14,559 which actually didn't fit at all. 210 00:09:14,720 - > 00:09:17,440 And your invoice that you're paying them is not enough to 211 00:09:17,440 - > 00:09:19,279 justify some tailored services. 212 00:09:19,440 - > 00:09:23,679 So some people come to you with a I guess almost you're carrying 213 00:09:23,679 - > 00:09:26,320 the can for bad practice in the industry, and there's a little 214 00:09:26,320 - > 00:09:30,399 bit of a prove it to us as well, rather than or save us. 215 00:09:30,639 - > 00:09:32,399 So you get those types as well. 216 00:09:32,480 - > 00:09:34,000 I mean, how do you transition that? 217 00:09:34,080 - > 00:09:36,720 Because obviously what you're describing is actually the 218 00:09:36,720 - > 00:09:38,320 solution they should have had in the first place. 219 00:09:38,559 - > 00:09:41,840 Much, much softer kind of onboarding, a tailoring to their 220 00:09:41,840 - > 00:09:42,960 particular needs. 221 00:09:43,200 - > 00:09:46,000 So, so what happens when you have a client who's like, the 222 00:09:46,000 - > 00:09:49,440 industry has let me down, you're here to fix the errors of the 223 00:09:49,440 - > 00:09:50,320 others, sort of thing. 224 00:09:50,399 - > 00:09:52,240 I mean, how do you cope with those guys? 225 00:09:52,559 - > 00:09:54,480 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think you kind of hit the nail on the head 226 00:09:54,559 - > 00:09:56,799 as it's really a really strong onboarding, right? 227 00:09:57,039 - > 00:09:58,639 And actually, it starts before that, right? 228 00:09:58,720 - > 00:10:02,240 It's like we we do a lot of work in understanding our clients and 229 00:10:02,240 - > 00:10:04,240 their business and what their pain points are. 230 00:10:04,399 - > 00:10:07,120 And in fact, in some cases, we'll actually do a mystery 231 00:10:07,120 - > 00:10:10,240 shopping exercise where we we kind of identify what are the 232 00:10:10,240 - > 00:10:11,919 pain points across their customer journey. 233 00:10:12,000 - > 00:10:14,480 And so when they come to us, we say, hey, this is the type of 234 00:10:14,480 - > 00:10:15,840 value that we're gonna deliver to you. 235 00:10:16,000 - > 00:10:20,080 We see that your common sort of pain points across your customer 236 00:10:20,080 - > 00:10:22,799 journey are refunds, are response times. 237 00:10:22,879 - > 00:10:26,000 And so that gives us really good insights and to say, hey, as if 238 00:10:26,000 - > 00:10:28,240 you're gonna engage with us, like we're actually going to 239 00:10:28,240 - > 00:10:30,480 look at what the pain points are, we're gonna address those 240 00:10:30,480 - > 00:10:33,039 right up front and really make sure that we're focused on 241 00:10:33,039 - > 00:10:35,519 outcomes and not just delivering, you know, the 242 00:10:35,519 - > 00:10:37,679 cheapest and fastest service, right? 243 00:10:37,759 - > 00:10:40,000 And so we want to make sure we're not gonna be the cheapest 244 00:10:40,000 - > 00:10:42,799 provider that's out there, but I think we really focused on 245 00:10:42,799 - > 00:10:43,759 delivering outcomes. 246 00:10:43,840 - > 00:10:47,440 And so we try to connect the work that that we do with the 247 00:10:47,440 - > 00:10:49,840 outcomes that the clients are really looking to drive. 248 00:10:49,919 - > 00:10:52,000 And in many cases, that's retention, right? 249 00:10:52,080 - > 00:10:55,279 Maybe they have had a return issue, or maybe they're really 250 00:10:55,279 - > 00:10:55,840 looking to scale. 251 00:10:55,919 - > 00:10:58,480 And we want to make sure that we're driving opportunities to 252 00:10:58,480 - > 00:11:00,879 maybe deflect some low complexity work and really 253 00:11:00,879 - > 00:11:02,639 focused on on high value work. 254 00:11:02,720 - > 00:11:04,559 And so I think that's where we look. 255 00:11:04,799 - > 00:11:07,759 We try to understand our clients holistically and understand 256 00:11:07,759 - > 00:11:11,279 really what's their underlying premise for outsourcing that and 257 00:11:11,279 - > 00:11:14,000 really making sure that we're maniacally focused on those 258 00:11:14,000 - > 00:11:16,960 areas, doing the work that we need to do, but also how do we 259 00:11:16,960 - > 00:11:20,159 bridge the gap and connect what work we're doing to the pain 260 00:11:20,159 - > 00:11:21,279 points that they're trying to solve. 261 00:11:21,360 - > 00:11:24,480 And that allows us to deliver and come up with plays and 262 00:11:24,480 - > 00:11:27,039 initiatives that I think will really help ultimately drive the 263 00:11:27,039 - > 00:11:28,000 outcomes that they're looking for. 264 00:11:28,399 - > 00:11:28,639 SPEAKER_00: Sure. 265 00:11:28,799 - > 00:11:31,440 And I can imagine it's it's it's a two-part offering. 266 00:11:31,519 - > 00:11:34,320 It's not only the solutions you're providing, but it's kind 267 00:11:34,320 - > 00:11:37,440 of hand holding and managing your customers so they feel 268 00:11:37,440 - > 00:11:40,240 confident they can eventually just leave it all with you. 269 00:11:40,480 - > 00:11:43,360 I get the in my mind, I kind of see the owner or the person 270 00:11:43,360 - > 00:11:46,080 you're dealing with looking over your shoulder heavily for a 271 00:11:46,080 - > 00:11:48,879 while until you see something go through and they're like, Oh, it 272 00:11:48,879 - > 00:11:49,279 does work. 273 00:11:49,440 - > 00:11:49,919 It does work. 274 00:11:50,080 - > 00:11:53,919 Because as you say, that letting go is really difficult when 275 00:11:53,919 - > 00:11:56,799 you're growing a business, the idea of letting go. 276 00:11:56,960 - > 00:11:59,279 So, I mean, obviously they recognize they need to if they 277 00:11:59,279 - > 00:12:02,960 come to you in in in the first instance, but is there a magic 278 00:12:02,960 - > 00:12:05,919 moment where you kind of go, yeah, they see we've got it now? 279 00:12:06,240 - > 00:12:08,320 SPEAKER_01: I don't know that there's necessarily a magic 280 00:12:08,320 - > 00:12:08,480 moment. 281 00:12:08,639 - > 00:12:11,600 I think the we care a lot about the outcomes, we care a lot 282 00:12:11,600 - > 00:12:12,080 about our people. 283 00:12:12,159 - > 00:12:15,200 And I think, like I said, we work best with clients that are 284 00:12:15,440 - > 00:12:17,679 very well aligned to that aspect. 285 00:12:17,840 - > 00:12:20,879 And so we treat our people really well, we keep them very 286 00:12:20,879 - > 00:12:21,679 engaged, right? 287 00:12:21,759 - > 00:12:23,440 We do a lot of work on our employee engagement. 288 00:12:23,600 - > 00:12:24,480 I think that's where it starts. 289 00:12:24,559 - > 00:12:27,120 And I think they understand the work that we do in setting up 290 00:12:27,120 - > 00:12:30,240 scorecards to make sure all of our ninjas, all of our team 291 00:12:30,240 - > 00:12:33,279 members know exactly what you know, what success looks like. 292 00:12:33,519 - > 00:12:36,000 But I don't necessarily think there's a magic point of, yeah, 293 00:12:36,080 - > 00:12:36,720 this is working. 294 00:12:36,799 - > 00:12:39,759 I think we just continue to look to make progress week over week. 295 00:12:39,919 - > 00:12:41,519 We continue to understand pain points. 296 00:12:41,679 - > 00:12:45,840 We try to continuously deliver insights and actionable insights 297 00:12:45,840 - > 00:12:48,240 that I think we can deliver to our clients to say, hey, this is 298 00:12:48,240 - > 00:12:48,639 a problem. 299 00:12:49,039 - > 00:12:52,159 I think that's the interesting thing about customer support and 300 00:12:52,399 - > 00:12:56,879 contact organizations, where we have the frontline view as to 301 00:12:56,879 - > 00:13:00,399 what our clients' customers are dealing with every single day. 302 00:13:00,480 - > 00:13:02,320 And so we do provide a rich feedback loop. 303 00:13:02,399 - > 00:13:06,000 And I think as clients start to see that we hire really great 304 00:13:06,000 - > 00:13:08,399 people that are truly passionate and care about the brands that 305 00:13:08,399 - > 00:13:11,840 they're supporting, and that we're delivering insights as to 306 00:13:11,840 - > 00:13:13,360 how to make their business better. 307 00:13:13,600 - > 00:13:16,240 I think that's where people start to get really comfortable 308 00:13:16,240 - > 00:13:18,080 and allow us to continue to take on more and more. 309 00:13:18,159 - > 00:13:21,200 And I think that's how we view the industry in general, is that 310 00:13:21,440 - > 00:13:24,879 the new enterprise customer is not necessarily 5,000 seats 311 00:13:24,879 - > 00:13:26,159 doing three tasks. 312 00:13:26,240 - > 00:13:29,600 It is us focusing on higher complexity work across the 313 00:13:29,600 - > 00:13:30,639 customer lifecycle. 314 00:13:30,879 - > 00:13:33,679 You may have seen Support Ninja really transition over the last 315 00:13:33,759 - > 00:13:36,960 couple of years to really be focused on full life cycle CX is 316 00:13:36,960 - > 00:13:37,360 what we call it. 317 00:13:37,440 - > 00:13:40,559 And that way we can help customers across the entire life 318 00:13:40,559 - > 00:13:43,919 cycle from customer acquisition, doing lead qualification, 319 00:13:44,080 - > 00:13:47,679 research on leads, outbound or inbound type sales activities, 320 00:13:47,759 - > 00:13:50,559 all the way to renewals, account management, and finance and 321 00:13:50,559 - > 00:13:50,960 accounting. 322 00:13:51,039 - > 00:13:53,840 And I think that's really resonated with clients that we 323 00:13:53,840 - > 00:13:56,960 support high complexity, high value work across the value 324 00:13:56,960 - > 00:13:57,279 stream. 325 00:13:57,519 - > 00:13:58,960 SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it, I mean, it's probably again 326 00:13:59,120 - > 00:14:02,080 testament to your background that order to cash process is an 327 00:14:02,080 - > 00:14:03,120 operational piece. 328 00:14:03,279 - > 00:14:06,559 And many focus in on the pre-sale and then kind of run a 329 00:14:06,559 - > 00:14:07,759 mile, hand over to another. 330 00:14:08,000 - > 00:14:10,320 You I'm sure you come across this, that they'll even hand 331 00:14:10,320 - > 00:14:11,840 over to another technology provider. 332 00:14:11,919 - > 00:14:14,320 And it's like you pass a baby with no instructions. 333 00:14:14,559 - > 00:14:15,919 What am I going to do with this? 334 00:14:16,000 - > 00:14:19,840 But being an operations expert, you recognize that is where the 335 00:14:19,840 - > 00:14:20,799 retention happens. 336 00:14:20,960 - > 00:14:23,120 That's where you reduce your cost of acquisition because 337 00:14:23,120 - > 00:14:24,480 you're providing a great service. 338 00:14:24,720 - > 00:14:26,720 Oh, if I can just come to something that I saw in your 339 00:14:26,720 - > 00:14:26,960 words. 340 00:14:27,519 - > 00:14:27,919 I really loved. 341 00:14:28,080 - > 00:14:30,639 I'd just like you to unpack what it means in both parts. 342 00:14:30,799 - > 00:14:33,919 So it says on there, and if this is your quote, then you know you 343 00:14:33,919 - > 00:14:34,879 should publicize this. 344 00:14:34,960 - > 00:14:37,120 If it's not, you should pay the agency erotics. 345 00:14:37,919 - > 00:14:42,159 It says, Great CX is powered by people and supercharged by 346 00:14:42,159 - > 00:14:42,720 technology. 347 00:14:42,960 - > 00:14:45,600 So you said about looking after people, give me an appreciation 348 00:14:45,600 - > 00:14:47,200 of what power by people means. 349 00:14:47,360 - > 00:14:51,679 What how does Super Ninja ensure the people you have working for 350 00:14:51,679 - > 00:14:55,440 you in tune, in love with your clients and providing the best 351 00:14:55,440 - > 00:14:57,840 of themselves to support your clients? 352 00:14:58,240 - > 00:14:59,440 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, thank you. 353 00:14:59,679 - > 00:15:03,279 I think the interesting thing and what there's a lot of point 354 00:15:03,440 - > 00:15:05,440 solutions, there's a lot of technology that's out there. 355 00:15:05,519 - > 00:15:08,159 I think the one thing to make sure that everybody's aware is 356 00:15:08,159 - > 00:15:11,840 that technology is also not a strategy, it is an enabler of 357 00:15:11,840 - > 00:15:12,480 strategy, right? 358 00:15:12,559 - > 00:15:15,919 And so I think whether you can implement technology and you may 359 00:15:15,919 - > 00:15:17,519 not get the outcomes that you're looking for. 360 00:15:17,679 - > 00:15:19,440 I think you really need to understand what you're looking 361 00:15:19,440 - > 00:15:22,559 to drive and look for how technology can enable and help 362 00:15:22,559 - > 00:15:23,440 drive those outcomes. 363 00:15:23,600 - > 00:15:25,919 I think there's a lot of really great examples and a lot of 364 00:15:25,919 - > 00:15:28,879 really great work that we're working on internally. 365 00:15:28,960 - > 00:15:31,360 And to give you a couple of examples, you know, I think 366 00:15:31,600 - > 00:15:35,120 there are one client that we had is an e-commerce client that 367 00:15:35,279 - > 00:15:40,720 that has sells sporting apparel and primarily for their women 368 00:15:40,720 - > 00:15:41,519 client base. 369 00:15:41,679 - > 00:15:43,360 They you call them the stylish squad. 370 00:15:43,519 - > 00:15:46,559 They have a really confident, really great brand voice that 371 00:15:46,559 - > 00:15:47,679 was across their channels. 372 00:15:47,759 - > 00:15:50,799 And when we got in there, we we understood that for the support 373 00:15:50,799 - > 00:15:54,879 organization had a slightly different type of communication 374 00:15:54,879 - > 00:15:55,120 style. 375 00:15:55,279 - > 00:15:57,679 And so they would have this really great, unique brand voice 376 00:15:57,679 - > 00:15:59,840 across their social media channel, but on the support 377 00:15:59,840 - > 00:16:03,600 side, it was very, you know, lacked empathy, it was very 378 00:16:03,759 - > 00:16:06,480 robotic and uh canned responses, if you will. 379 00:16:06,559 - > 00:16:09,759 And so some of the ways that we looked to empower supercharge 380 00:16:09,759 - > 00:16:13,120 our ninjas, if you will, is we leveraged an agent assist 381 00:16:13,279 - > 00:16:14,639 co-pilot with our ninjas. 382 00:16:14,799 - > 00:16:16,639 And so we could train that on their brand voice. 383 00:16:16,720 - > 00:16:19,279 And so it would really help supercharge our ninjas because 384 00:16:19,279 - > 00:16:22,559 we could speak in a way that was very much aligned, you know, 385 00:16:22,639 - > 00:16:26,399 across whatever channel that these end users were interacting 386 00:16:26,399 - > 00:16:27,039 with the brand. 387 00:16:27,200 - > 00:16:30,639 And so it was a very seamless experience for those end users. 388 00:16:30,799 - > 00:16:32,879 And one of the really great things we were able to do is, 389 00:16:33,120 - > 00:16:35,519 you know, because they were selling sporting apparel for 390 00:16:35,840 - > 00:16:38,639 college teams or professional teams, there's so many different 391 00:16:38,639 - > 00:16:42,000 catchphrases and things that are really important to sports 392 00:16:42,000 - > 00:16:42,639 enthusiasts. 393 00:16:42,720 - > 00:16:46,639 And so we could actually at scale really help train all of 394 00:16:46,639 - > 00:16:50,080 our ninjas on that account so that we can inject unique flair 395 00:16:50,240 - > 00:16:51,519 into those types of interactions. 396 00:16:51,600 - > 00:16:56,240 So if somebody purchased a an Ohio State sweater, we could end 397 00:16:56,240 - > 00:16:59,759 that interaction with OOH and encourage a really fun I/O 398 00:17:00,080 - > 00:17:01,039 response from the people. 399 00:17:01,120 - > 00:17:02,799 And so I think it creates like a really great experience, 400 00:17:03,039 - > 00:17:04,799 something that you can do at scale. 401 00:17:04,880 - > 00:17:08,000 You may not be able to train your handful of agents across 402 00:17:08,000 - > 00:17:10,559 every sport and across every team and what's interesting, but 403 00:17:10,559 - > 00:17:11,839 you can do that with technology. 404 00:17:11,920 - > 00:17:14,079 And so there's some really great things that can be done, 405 00:17:14,240 - > 00:17:17,039 expanding the quality, understanding sentiment 406 00:17:17,039 - > 00:17:17,440 analysis. 407 00:17:17,599 - > 00:17:20,559 If you're doing manual QA and you're only getting a handful of 408 00:17:20,559 - > 00:17:22,960 interactions every month, you know, how can you leverage 409 00:17:22,960 - > 00:17:25,839 technology to get better sentiment analysis and 410 00:17:25,839 - > 00:17:28,240 understand again what are the friction points, what are things 411 00:17:28,240 - > 00:17:29,839 that we may want to solve over time? 412 00:17:29,920 - > 00:17:32,640 And so yeah, I know if that was a great example, but it was it's 413 00:17:32,640 - > 00:17:35,039 really cool some of the things that we can do and deliver 414 00:17:35,119 - > 00:17:38,319 again, focused on delivering amazing client experiences for 415 00:17:38,319 - > 00:17:41,440 our customers and uh ultimately hopefully driving value for in 416 00:17:41,440 - > 00:17:42,559 an ROI for their own. 417 00:17:42,720 - > 00:17:44,000 SPEAKER_00: I think well that it's a great example. 418 00:17:44,160 - > 00:17:47,440 I think what it does when I had a look at support ninja, there 419 00:17:47,440 - > 00:17:49,440 were many things that you did that I wasn't aware of, and I 420 00:17:49,440 - > 00:17:52,079 can only assume they've kind of come about of conversations with 421 00:17:52,079 - > 00:17:55,359 your customers, like the content moderator, where you sort of 422 00:17:55,359 - > 00:17:58,880 identify, hang on, brand the brand voice changes across these 423 00:17:58,880 - > 00:17:59,599 different channels. 424 00:17:59,680 - > 00:18:01,119 We no one's looking into this. 425 00:18:01,519 - > 00:18:03,759 And I guess it doesn't happen in the organization because you all 426 00:18:03,759 - > 00:18:06,880 sit there in your silos doing it, you don't have some standing 427 00:18:06,880 - > 00:18:09,200 over you and saying, hang on a second, we're saying different 428 00:18:09,200 - > 00:18:09,519 things. 429 00:18:09,680 - > 00:18:12,079 We're saying the same things but in a different way here, and 430 00:18:12,079 - > 00:18:13,599 that's confusing for customers. 431 00:18:13,759 - > 00:18:17,680 No wonder there's a spike in the contact center or the chat 432 00:18:17,680 - > 00:18:19,920 because people don't understand what's happening. 433 00:18:20,079 - > 00:18:24,640 So, do some of your products and solutions come about based on 434 00:18:24,640 - > 00:18:25,920 evolving client needs? 435 00:18:26,000 - > 00:18:27,039 Would you say that's fair? 436 00:18:27,359 - > 00:18:28,000 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%. 437 00:18:28,319 - > 00:18:31,200 I think it's it would be unfair to say that there is a standard 438 00:18:31,200 - > 00:18:33,119 solution that fits across all clients. 439 00:18:33,279 - > 00:18:36,000 And I think that goes back to we actually have a center of 440 00:18:36,000 - > 00:18:39,039 excellence team within our organization that we look once 441 00:18:39,039 - > 00:18:41,519 we get a client onboarded and we kind of go through this process, 442 00:18:41,599 - > 00:18:44,319 we really understand and do journey mapping and really 443 00:18:44,319 - > 00:18:46,720 understand what are the pain points across the client 444 00:18:46,720 - > 00:18:47,279 lifecycle. 445 00:18:47,359 - > 00:18:50,559 And then again, we want to make sure that we understand what 446 00:18:50,559 - > 00:18:52,240 outcomes our clients are looking for. 447 00:18:52,319 - > 00:18:53,680 Is that scalability? 448 00:18:53,839 - > 00:18:55,279 Is that driving retention? 449 00:18:55,359 - > 00:18:56,559 Are they having a churn problem? 450 00:18:56,640 - > 00:18:59,440 Are they really looking to drive upsell or cross-sell with their 451 00:18:59,440 - > 00:19:02,319 existing staff and really looking to drive lifetime value 452 00:19:02,319 - > 00:19:02,799 for our customers? 453 00:19:02,960 - > 00:19:06,000 If some of these things will help us understand, you know, 454 00:19:06,079 - > 00:19:08,400 what are the things that are the highest priority and what are 455 00:19:08,400 - > 00:19:10,240 the things that are gonna have the most impact for our 456 00:19:10,240 - > 00:19:10,640 accounts? 457 00:19:10,720 - > 00:19:12,720 And so, yeah, I would say there's definitely not a one 458 00:19:12,799 - > 00:19:13,519 size fits all. 459 00:19:13,599 - > 00:19:15,920 It really is looking at each client, looking at the problem, 460 00:19:16,079 - > 00:19:18,960 looking at how can we leverage and able to drive those outcomes 461 00:19:18,960 - > 00:19:19,759 that they're looking for. 462 00:19:19,839 - > 00:19:22,240 And then there's so many different tools and capabilities 463 00:19:22,240 - > 00:19:22,960 that are out there. 464 00:19:23,279 - > 00:19:26,559 We don't want to be a product company, a technology company. 465 00:19:26,640 - > 00:19:29,039 We want to be the that orchestrator, that integrator 466 00:19:29,119 - > 00:19:31,599 that really helps drive outcomes. 467 00:19:31,759 - > 00:19:34,400 And I think that's where we become very sticky with our 468 00:19:34,400 - > 00:19:37,279 clients because we want to be the Switzerland, if you will, 469 00:19:37,519 - > 00:19:41,359 and really be neutral to whatever technology that our 470 00:19:41,359 - > 00:19:44,000 clients are looking for and really ultimately believe 471 00:19:44,000 - > 00:19:46,799 whatever is best for our client is going to be best for support 472 00:19:46,799 - > 00:19:47,599 ninja as well. 473 00:19:47,839 - > 00:19:49,680 SPEAKER_00: And I guess that you said you work across many 474 00:19:49,680 - > 00:19:51,920 different patterns sectors there. 475 00:19:52,079 - > 00:19:54,400 And I'd imagine you know, with within each sector, you quite 476 00:19:54,400 - > 00:19:57,680 often get kind of micro technology providers, don't you? 477 00:19:57,759 - > 00:19:59,920 And sometimes you find they've got the entire marketplace. 478 00:20:00,000 - > 00:20:01,440 You don't see it anywhere else, just see it. 479 00:20:01,519 - > 00:20:05,039 Oh, my father used to work in the automotive and kind of the 480 00:20:05,039 - > 00:20:06,480 insurance quotation system. 481 00:20:06,559 - > 00:20:09,519 It was like two men and a dog who ran it, but actually 482 00:20:09,599 - > 00:20:12,240 everyone in the industry had to use it because it was it felt 483 00:20:12,400 - > 00:20:13,279 filled as so. 484 00:20:13,359 - > 00:20:14,480 Do you how do you work with that? 485 00:20:14,640 - > 00:20:18,720 Do you find yourself needing to learn or adapt to different 486 00:20:18,720 - > 00:20:19,920 markets as you go through? 487 00:20:20,079 - > 00:20:21,359 I guess it's back to what you say. 488 00:20:21,440 - > 00:20:22,400 There isn't a single solution. 489 00:20:22,480 - > 00:20:25,519 You can just go, right, there you go, in we go, walp, move on 490 00:20:25,519 - > 00:20:26,480 to the next one. 491 00:20:26,960 - > 00:20:29,359 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think there are definitely some of the major 492 00:20:29,359 - > 00:20:32,160 players that are out there from a technology stack, technology 493 00:20:32,160 - > 00:20:32,880 stack perspective. 494 00:20:33,039 - > 00:20:35,759 And so I think we want to make sure we understand the 495 00:20:35,759 - > 00:20:37,359 capabilities and the features of those. 496 00:20:37,519 - > 00:20:41,279 I think, you know, changing tech for our clients is not, I know 497 00:20:41,359 - > 00:20:43,519 we would like to be able to believe we can flip the switch 498 00:20:43,519 - > 00:20:46,160 and switch technology, but I think that the reality is 499 00:20:46,240 - > 00:20:48,960 there's a lot of data oftentimes in those systems. 500 00:20:49,119 - > 00:20:50,799 It becomes very challenging to do that. 501 00:20:50,960 - > 00:20:53,920 And so we like we have a, like I said, a center of excellence and 502 00:20:53,920 - > 00:20:57,039 a digital innovation team that is always looking for various 503 00:20:57,039 - > 00:20:59,359 technology solutions that are out there and what might be 504 00:20:59,359 - > 00:21:02,319 applicable to our accounts, how are these differentiated? 505 00:21:02,480 - > 00:21:04,960 And so that way we can be somewhat educated when we have 506 00:21:04,960 - > 00:21:06,480 conversations with our clients. 507 00:21:06,640 - > 00:21:10,319 And in some cases, they we they may not be aware of feature and 508 00:21:10,319 - > 00:21:13,119 functionality within the tools that they have that can help 509 00:21:13,119 - > 00:21:14,720 them improve their own operations. 510 00:21:14,799 - > 00:21:17,519 And so I think we we do have to be somewhat aware of all the 511 00:21:17,519 - > 00:21:19,680 different capabilities of technology that's out there. 512 00:21:19,759 - > 00:21:22,480 But I think ultimately, again, our goal is to be somewhat net 513 00:21:22,480 - > 00:21:25,759 neutral and be a strategic partner to our clients and not 514 00:21:25,759 - > 00:21:29,039 have a strong viewpoint one way or the other, but really to help 515 00:21:29,039 - > 00:21:31,039 drive the outcomes that they're looking for. 516 00:21:31,359 - > 00:21:31,759 SPEAKER_00: Brilliant. 517 00:21:31,920 - > 00:21:34,880 And support ninja, it sounds like ninja's an attitude rather 518 00:21:34,880 - > 00:21:36,079 than a company name. 519 00:21:36,240 - > 00:21:38,079 I was just thinking here, I mean, we're talking about 520 00:21:38,079 - > 00:21:40,559 technology and we'll come on to talk about kind of what where 521 00:21:40,559 - > 00:21:41,680 you think it's going next. 522 00:21:41,920 - > 00:21:45,519 I get the confidence that actually, if you were around 150 523 00:21:45,519 - > 00:21:47,359 years ago, you'd have still had a role. 524 00:21:47,599 - > 00:21:51,440 That the solution provider would have been you guys, and you'd 525 00:21:51,440 - > 00:21:54,640 use pencil, paper, whatever was available to you to solve the 526 00:21:54,640 - > 00:21:59,039 problems, male coaches and parry, whatever it took, it just 527 00:21:59,039 - > 00:21:59,759 so happens now you. 528 00:22:00,160 - > 00:22:02,079 Got the technology to help make that job easy. 529 00:22:02,240 - > 00:22:03,279 I mean, do you believe that? 530 00:22:03,359 - > 00:22:07,200 Do you believe at the core of Support Ninja is this philosophy 531 00:22:07,200 - > 00:22:11,519 and this passion for making the kind of the mundane and order 532 00:22:11,680 - > 00:22:14,799 processing and the service better and easier for the 533 00:22:14,799 - > 00:22:17,599 customers, regardless of where we are in time. 534 00:22:17,920 - > 00:22:19,599 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do believe that is the case. 535 00:22:19,680 - > 00:22:23,279 I think Ninja, like you said, is the way of this organization. 536 00:22:23,359 - > 00:22:26,160 And that's sometimes we're, you know, we're behind the scenes, 537 00:22:26,240 - > 00:22:27,759 but we're really driving value, right? 538 00:22:27,839 - > 00:22:29,359 And you can't really necessarily see us. 539 00:22:29,440 - > 00:22:33,039 And in reality, we want to view ourselves as extensions of our 540 00:22:33,039 - > 00:22:34,559 client's brand, right? 541 00:22:34,640 - > 00:22:36,880 And so you want to, we don't want to necessarily be known as 542 00:22:36,880 - > 00:22:38,960 the outsourcer that our clients are choosing. 543 00:22:39,119 - > 00:22:41,920 We want to make sure that our clients really understand the 544 00:22:41,920 - > 00:22:44,240 brand of the company that they're supporting and really, 545 00:22:44,319 - > 00:22:46,480 like I said, view themselves as an extension of that. 546 00:22:46,640 - > 00:22:49,279 And so in many cases, some of our clients will send us swag 547 00:22:49,440 - > 00:22:52,240 and we've got it up on the walls in our sites, and our ninjas are 548 00:22:52,240 - > 00:22:53,839 really excited about the companies that they're 549 00:22:53,839 - > 00:22:54,240 supporting. 550 00:22:54,319 - > 00:22:58,160 And so I think that's definitely one aspect of this industry and 551 00:22:58,160 - > 00:22:59,839 our uniqueness in it, if you will. 552 00:23:00,000 - > 00:23:03,119 And I think in general, with the industry, the way that it's 553 00:23:03,200 - > 00:23:04,880 shaking out, there, there's a lot of uncertainty. 554 00:23:04,960 - > 00:23:07,519 And I think that for us, we're really excited about it, 555 00:23:07,599 - > 00:23:07,839 actually. 556 00:23:07,920 - > 00:23:11,359 And I think as we've seen conversations with our clients 557 00:23:11,359 - > 00:23:14,720 continue to kind of progress and the way things have shaked out 558 00:23:14,720 - > 00:23:17,920 over time, I think the way that this industry is sort of shaking 559 00:23:17,920 - > 00:23:20,000 out is that there's going to be AI and automation that's going 560 00:23:20,000 - > 00:23:22,480 to help automate some low complexity work. 561 00:23:22,559 - > 00:23:25,279 And I think what we're really excited about is a lot of the 562 00:23:25,279 - > 00:23:27,599 research that we've done and a lot of the conversations is that 563 00:23:27,599 - > 00:23:31,599 even if clients are willing to are able to drive savings by 564 00:23:31,599 - > 00:23:35,599 leveraging AI or automation, they are looking to reinvest 565 00:23:35,759 - > 00:23:37,839 those savings in other areas of CX. 566 00:23:37,920 - > 00:23:39,680 And I think that's the interesting part about our 567 00:23:39,680 - > 00:23:43,359 client base is they are not necessarily completely focused 568 00:23:43,359 - > 00:23:45,440 on driving cost optimization. 569 00:23:45,519 - > 00:23:47,839 I mean, obviously they are, and if they can drive savings, they 570 00:23:48,000 - > 00:23:51,839 they will, but they really want, they see the value of CX and how 571 00:23:51,839 - > 00:23:54,160 it can impact long-term sustainable growth. 572 00:23:54,240 - > 00:23:57,759 And so that is the really great part about our client base is we 573 00:23:57,759 - > 00:24:00,880 may take savings from one area if we're able to drive that and 574 00:24:00,880 - > 00:24:01,920 reinvest it in others. 575 00:24:02,000 - > 00:24:04,160 And that creates great opportunities for our ninjas, 576 00:24:04,319 - > 00:24:06,799 right, to continue to upskill and learn new things and 577 00:24:06,799 - > 00:24:09,519 reprofile and so into higher complexity work. 578 00:24:09,599 - > 00:24:12,960 And so I think that's why we're so excited about the outsourcing 579 00:24:12,960 - > 00:24:16,000 space in general and CX, how that all fits in, and clients 580 00:24:16,000 - > 00:24:17,599 are looking for really strategic partners. 581 00:24:17,680 - > 00:24:20,160 And so I think that's us leadership team at Support Ninja 582 00:24:20,319 - > 00:24:22,319 are really excited about the future and how that will shake 583 00:24:22,319 - > 00:24:22,400 out. 584 00:24:22,640 - > 00:24:25,200 SPEAKER_00: Well, I can imagine, I mean, the space you're in, 585 00:24:25,519 - > 00:24:29,519 many SMEs don't get to the next level because they get that bit 586 00:24:29,519 - > 00:24:29,759 wrong. 587 00:24:29,839 - > 00:24:33,200 Because this is obviously going to be an area where they can 588 00:24:33,200 - > 00:24:35,279 create certainty for repeat business. 589 00:24:35,440 - > 00:24:38,079 They can get, as you say, that that differentiation, as they 590 00:24:38,079 - > 00:24:40,000 start to get bigger, they realize there's enough players 591 00:24:40,000 - > 00:24:41,440 out there that do a similar thing to them. 592 00:24:41,519 - > 00:24:43,599 So the experience is something that they can have that's 593 00:24:43,599 - > 00:24:44,079 different. 594 00:24:44,240 - > 00:24:47,440 And also it just frees up the mind of that leadership team to 595 00:24:47,440 - > 00:24:48,960 think bigger rather than. 596 00:24:49,119 - > 00:24:53,599 I know this from doing work with SMEs, there is a kind of a 597 00:24:53,599 - > 00:24:59,359 natural desire to go back and look at the problems because 598 00:24:59,359 - > 00:25:01,440 it's safer, because this is what we've always done. 599 00:25:01,599 - > 00:25:04,640 We've thought small, and we I can't think big because I've got 600 00:25:04,640 - > 00:25:06,000 to look at this small problem here. 601 00:25:06,160 - > 00:25:09,279 And we're doing leadership work with leaders of small companies, 602 00:25:09,440 - > 00:25:12,559 trying to get them to visualize ambition and go that way and 603 00:25:12,559 - > 00:25:13,599 having the courage to do it. 604 00:25:13,759 - > 00:25:15,759 They can only do it when they have partners in place like 605 00:25:15,759 - > 00:25:18,559 yourself who say, Look, we've got this, we've absolutely got 606 00:25:18,559 - > 00:25:19,279 this back here. 607 00:25:19,519 - > 00:25:22,319 So we were talking about looking back and let's talk about 608 00:25:22,319 - > 00:25:23,200 looking forward then. 609 00:25:23,359 - > 00:25:26,480 So you've spoken about technology as the enabler. 610 00:25:26,960 - > 00:25:29,920 I had a really interesting conversation the other day with 611 00:25:30,079 - > 00:25:33,599 I have run like a leadership forum for CX leaders, and we 612 00:25:33,599 - > 00:25:36,400 were trying to position AI in the team, and it was really 613 00:25:36,400 - > 00:25:39,680 interesting that there was a concern one of the leaders has 614 00:25:39,759 - > 00:25:41,920 who is works for an international technologies 615 00:25:41,920 - > 00:25:46,640 company, that their organization was seeing the AI as the boss of 616 00:25:46,640 - > 00:25:50,960 the CX team, whereas they wanted to see them as can I introduce 617 00:25:50,960 - > 00:25:52,160 you to the new employee? 618 00:25:52,319 - > 00:25:53,279 They can do great stuff. 619 00:25:53,359 - > 00:25:55,200 There's some things they can't do that we can do, but they can 620 00:25:55,200 - > 00:25:56,640 do a lot of stuff that we can't. 621 00:25:56,799 - > 00:25:59,519 How do you see it fitting into your organization? 622 00:26:00,000 - > 00:26:00,880 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great question. 623 00:26:01,039 - > 00:26:03,200 I think we're really excited ultimately about AI. 624 00:26:03,279 - > 00:26:05,680 And I think we we talked about that in terms of the quote. 625 00:26:05,759 - > 00:26:08,960 And I think we really truly believe that it is going to 626 00:26:08,960 - > 00:26:09,920 supercharge our people. 627 00:26:10,000 - > 00:26:13,519 I do think folks that are not willing to learn AI and how it 628 00:26:13,519 - > 00:26:16,319 can help improve there, though those are the ones who I think 629 00:26:16,319 - > 00:26:18,480 maybe their jobs might be at risk, right? 630 00:26:18,559 - > 00:26:22,240 If they're not understanding how technology can improve the way 631 00:26:22,240 - > 00:26:23,039 in which they work. 632 00:26:23,119 - > 00:26:24,960 And so I think that's internally. 633 00:26:25,039 - > 00:26:28,480 We do a lot of training, we do a lot of upskilling around our 634 00:26:28,480 - > 00:26:30,960 with our people to make sure that they understand, hey, these 635 00:26:30,960 - > 00:26:32,480 are the capabilities that we have internally. 636 00:26:32,559 - > 00:26:35,119 These are kind of our roadmap of things that we're looking at. 637 00:26:35,200 - > 00:26:36,880 And this is how we expect you to use them. 638 00:26:37,039 - > 00:26:38,400 I think that's really the important part. 639 00:26:38,640 - > 00:26:41,839 There's sometimes I think there's a level of scaredness. 640 00:26:42,000 - > 00:26:43,920 I'm not sure if that's a word, but sorry, let me try that 641 00:26:43,920 - > 00:26:44,079 again. 642 00:26:44,240 - > 00:26:44,480 Yeah. 643 00:26:44,640 - > 00:26:46,240 Sorry, can you just start the question again? 644 00:26:46,319 - > 00:26:47,119 I lost my train of thought. 645 00:26:47,279 - > 00:26:48,799 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, of course, no worries at all. 646 00:26:48,960 - > 00:26:52,480 So I was I run a leadership forum with the CX leaders, and 647 00:26:52,480 - > 00:26:56,960 we were talking the other day about where AI fits into the CX 648 00:26:56,960 - > 00:26:57,279 team. 649 00:26:57,359 - > 00:27:01,119 And one lady who heads up a technologies function for a 650 00:27:01,119 - > 00:27:05,119 global technologies company said the worry was that AI was almost 651 00:27:05,119 - > 00:27:08,319 being seen as the new boss, kind of make the decisions and we 652 00:27:08,319 - > 00:27:09,519 should be respectful of it. 653 00:27:09,680 - > 00:27:12,720 Whereas her view was that actually it should be seen as a 654 00:27:12,720 - > 00:27:15,680 new employee in the team that brings their own capability and 655 00:27:15,680 - > 00:27:17,519 skills, but there's certain things they can't do. 656 00:27:17,599 - > 00:27:20,799 And I just wondered from a positioning perspective, uh 657 00:27:20,880 - > 00:27:24,160 support ninja, what where does AI fit into your world? 658 00:27:24,480 - > 00:27:25,200 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great question. 659 00:27:25,279 - > 00:27:25,759 Thanks for asking. 660 00:27:26,079 - > 00:27:29,680 I think we're really excited about how AI is going to impact 661 00:27:29,680 - > 00:27:32,400 CX and how it's going to impact the outsourcing industry in 662 00:27:32,400 - > 00:27:32,720 general. 663 00:27:32,880 - > 00:27:36,480 I think we we firmly believe that AI is a way to empower our 664 00:27:36,480 - > 00:27:38,480 people, empower our teams, and not replace them. 665 00:27:38,559 - > 00:27:39,920 And I think that is a big distinction. 666 00:27:40,079 - > 00:27:42,960 We talked about a couple of examples of how we can leverage 667 00:27:42,960 - > 00:27:45,599 AI to augment the work that we're doing. 668 00:27:45,839 - > 00:27:50,000 I think AI will replace some lower complexity work, but I 669 00:27:50,000 - > 00:27:53,599 think in general, we're we firmly believe that will free up 670 00:27:53,599 - > 00:27:57,359 people's time to really focus on high value solving actual 671 00:27:57,359 - > 00:28:00,160 problems versus necessarily managing the day-to-day. 672 00:28:00,240 - > 00:28:01,759 And so we've seen that with a lot of our clients. 673 00:28:01,920 - > 00:28:04,400 They're looking for ways to automate some of that low 674 00:28:04,480 - > 00:28:07,599 complexity work, but they want to reposition our team members 675 00:28:07,599 - > 00:28:11,200 to be focused on escalations, to be focused on another area of 676 00:28:11,200 - > 00:28:13,039 their business that is a pain point. 677 00:28:13,119 - > 00:28:15,440 And so that's why for us it's really important to be that 678 00:28:15,440 - > 00:28:18,480 strategic partner where we can identify what those pain points 679 00:28:18,480 - > 00:28:18,880 are, right? 680 00:28:18,960 - > 00:28:21,920 Like I said, we work with 200 accounts, we kind of know what 681 00:28:21,920 - > 00:28:24,559 success looks like in a variety of different industries. 682 00:28:24,640 - > 00:28:27,440 And so I think that's where we get really excited. 683 00:28:27,599 - > 00:28:29,519 We want to make sure, like I said, we understand what those 684 00:28:29,519 - > 00:28:32,400 pain points are, and we want to make sure we're upskilling and 685 00:28:32,480 - > 00:28:36,000 you know, training our team members on how AI can empower 686 00:28:36,000 - > 00:28:37,279 the work in which they're doing. 687 00:28:37,359 - > 00:28:39,279 And so I think there's a lot of education. 688 00:28:39,359 - > 00:28:41,920 There is a little level of nervousness, I think, of using 689 00:28:42,079 - > 00:28:44,079 how do we use AI to impact. 690 00:28:44,160 - > 00:28:46,000 And I think, like I said, we train a lot. 691 00:28:46,160 - > 00:28:47,680 We provide specific examples. 692 00:28:47,759 - > 00:28:50,000 And so I think some of those things, it's going to take a 693 00:28:50,000 - > 00:28:52,640 little bit of time, but we're really excited how our team is 694 00:28:52,880 - > 00:28:55,119 technology is resonating with the team and they're 695 00:28:55,119 - > 00:28:58,400 understanding the power of how this can really supercharge the 696 00:28:58,400 - > 00:28:59,440 work that we're doing. 697 00:28:59,519 - > 00:29:01,920 And we've got a great innovation and technology team that's 698 00:29:01,920 - > 00:29:02,960 looking for capabilities. 699 00:29:03,039 - > 00:29:05,680 How do we solve some of our problems internally? 700 00:29:05,839 - > 00:29:09,680 And how can we identify with our clients what those pain points 701 00:29:09,680 - > 00:29:13,440 are, and then how we leverage AI and technology to help enable 702 00:29:13,440 - > 00:29:15,839 the solution and then and enable the outcomes that they're 703 00:29:15,839 - > 00:29:16,400 looking to drive. 704 00:29:16,640 - > 00:29:18,400 SPEAKER_00: I mean, that sounds really responsible to be honest, 705 00:29:18,480 - > 00:29:18,720 Jacob. 706 00:29:18,880 - > 00:29:21,440 I mean, I'm a little nervous with some of the organizations 707 00:29:21,440 - > 00:29:26,079 that we've spoken to that it's an implementation that's going 708 00:29:26,079 - > 00:29:31,200 to happen and we'll manage the fallout from it. 709 00:29:31,359 - > 00:29:33,759 And you just think we we've not done that in the past. 710 00:29:34,000 - > 00:29:36,880 When perhaps we introduce mainframe computers, we help 711 00:29:36,880 - > 00:29:38,960 people understand, look, you're not going to need to walk down 712 00:29:38,960 - > 00:29:41,920 to the floor, but like we've helped people understand the 713 00:29:41,920 - > 00:29:45,440 impact, the learning curve's going to be high, but there's as 714 00:29:45,440 - > 00:29:47,599 you say, there's some of the mundane stuff you won't have to 715 00:29:47,599 - > 00:29:49,839 do, but it'll free you up to do other stuff. 716 00:29:50,000 - > 00:29:52,559 And it seems as if I don't know if we've just got lazy and 717 00:29:52,559 - > 00:29:54,799 complacent, but some organizations just seem to say, 718 00:29:54,880 - > 00:29:57,039 well, we're going to do it anyway, and therefore we'll just 719 00:29:57,039 - > 00:29:58,240 manage what happens afterwards. 720 00:29:58,319 - > 00:30:02,559 I'm worried there'll be a towel of kind of impact onto the 721 00:30:02,559 - > 00:30:05,920 mental health of in of individuals, because as you say, 722 00:30:06,000 - > 00:30:08,240 there is that kind of anxiety about what can it mean. 723 00:30:08,319 - > 00:30:11,440 But it it sounds as if, as you say, you're going at it at the 724 00:30:11,440 - > 00:30:14,480 right approach, you're trying to demonstrate internally how it's 725 00:30:14,480 - > 00:30:16,640 helping, so you can demonstrate that to your clients as well. 726 00:30:16,799 - > 00:30:20,960 And I would imagine in the SME space, one, they're probably 727 00:30:20,960 - > 00:30:24,079 very happy to adopt stuff that can save time and drive 728 00:30:24,079 - > 00:30:29,839 efficiencies, but two, probably aren't thinking about the wider 729 00:30:30,480 - > 00:30:32,000 opportunity impact of it. 730 00:30:32,079 - > 00:30:34,400 So you're a really good demonstration to them of 731 00:30:34,480 - > 00:30:38,000 actually you take a topic you're very familiar with and we use AI 732 00:30:38,000 - > 00:30:39,839 to a greater advantage for you. 733 00:30:40,000 - > 00:30:43,359 So you're almost kind of a bit of a role model for them in 734 00:30:43,359 - > 00:30:45,599 terms of the AI capability, I guess. 735 00:30:45,759 - > 00:30:47,920 Do you see that kind of weight of responsibility? 736 00:30:48,240 - > 00:30:48,799 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah. 737 00:30:48,880 - > 00:30:51,680 I think to your earlier point, I think it is a little scary, kind 738 00:30:51,680 - > 00:30:54,079 of where we're headed, I think, in terms of how people 739 00:30:54,240 - > 00:30:56,640 implementing some of these projects without doing a lot of 740 00:30:56,640 - > 00:30:59,680 the groundwork that typically is done for a lot of technology 741 00:30:59,680 - > 00:31:02,319 implementations that that seems to have a little bit gone by the 742 00:31:02,319 - > 00:31:03,200 wayside with AI. 743 00:31:03,279 - > 00:31:06,720 But I think going to your next point, uh a lot of our clients 744 00:31:06,720 - > 00:31:10,799 may not have a huge research team or huge IT team where they 745 00:31:10,799 - > 00:31:13,839 can explore some of these technologies and how they may 746 00:31:13,839 - > 00:31:16,160 integrate with theirs, solve some of the business problems. 747 00:31:16,240 - > 00:31:19,359 So we are in a really unique position, I think, in general, 748 00:31:19,599 - > 00:31:23,200 to partner with our clients and help them understand, hey, we 749 00:31:23,200 - > 00:31:27,200 could potentially use technology or AI or automate some of these 750 00:31:27,200 - > 00:31:30,160 processes that can help free up time to focus on other 751 00:31:30,160 - > 00:31:30,640 activities. 752 00:31:30,720 - > 00:31:33,759 And in reality, I think in many cases, it may not even be 753 00:31:33,759 - > 00:31:34,400 technology, right? 754 00:31:34,480 - > 00:31:36,960 I think some of our clients are really looking for how can we 755 00:31:36,960 - > 00:31:37,839 improve this process? 756 00:31:38,079 - > 00:31:40,720 I think what was really at the forefront for us and for a lot 757 00:31:40,720 - > 00:31:44,720 of our clients is how do we improve CX for our clients? 758 00:31:44,880 - > 00:31:47,119 How do we improve the way that we're interacting? 759 00:31:47,359 - > 00:31:49,680 And can we improve processes to do that? 760 00:31:49,759 - > 00:31:52,400 And I think also can we leverage technology to do that? 761 00:31:52,559 - > 00:31:55,359 In many cases, it's you know, you have to have good processes 762 00:31:55,359 - > 00:31:56,880 before you can implement technology. 763 00:31:56,960 - > 00:31:59,759 And so that that's typically the first thing we want to look at 764 00:31:59,759 - > 00:32:02,319 is how can we improve processes and workflows? 765 00:32:02,559 - > 00:32:05,839 Is the data set up in a way that will allow us to use technology? 766 00:32:05,920 - > 00:32:09,119 And if not, how do we help our clients structure that in a way? 767 00:32:09,279 - > 00:32:12,640 What are the types of data that we need to track and report on? 768 00:32:12,720 - > 00:32:15,200 And then and then we could potentially layer AI or 769 00:32:15,200 - > 00:32:17,440 technology on top of that to help solve problems. 770 00:32:17,519 - > 00:32:20,319 But you've got to have the foundation really set up first. 771 00:32:20,559 - > 00:32:21,519 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I'll get that. 772 00:32:21,839 - > 00:32:25,200 Give a scenario that we're a we're a growing advisory 773 00:32:25,200 - > 00:32:25,599 business. 774 00:32:26,400 - > 00:32:29,200 We use we use a lot of automation for the work that we 775 00:32:29,200 - > 00:32:29,440 do. 776 00:32:29,599 - > 00:32:33,119 But probably if we get to the level I'd like us to get to, 777 00:32:33,279 - > 00:32:36,559 there'll be a point where we need to consider outsourcing 778 00:32:36,559 - > 00:32:37,119 some of those. 779 00:32:37,279 - > 00:32:39,599 So let's assume we're having that conversation. 780 00:32:39,759 - > 00:32:41,359 I'm a little nervous about it. 781 00:32:41,519 - > 00:32:45,200 How do you reassure clients this is the right step to take? 782 00:32:45,440 - > 00:32:46,559 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's a great question. 783 00:32:46,720 - > 00:32:50,240 I think, like I said, it oftentimes we'll start with the 784 00:32:50,640 - > 00:32:53,359 overall scoping types of questions that we're gonna have 785 00:32:53,359 - > 00:32:54,319 in the discovery phase. 786 00:32:54,480 - > 00:32:57,119 And we want to make sure we really understand the pain 787 00:32:57,119 - > 00:32:59,839 points that you are you're looking to ultimately solve, 788 00:32:59,920 - > 00:33:00,160 right? 789 00:33:00,240 - > 00:33:02,960 I mean, I think again, we work best with clients that 790 00:33:02,960 - > 00:33:06,319 understand that CX is a differentiator and not just a 791 00:33:06,640 - > 00:33:09,440 cost line item in their PL. 792 00:33:09,599 - > 00:33:09,759 Yeah. 793 00:33:09,920 - > 00:33:12,480 And so we want to make sure we understand what is the 794 00:33:12,480 - > 00:33:16,160 underlying reason, what are the outcomes that you as a client 795 00:33:16,240 - > 00:33:17,279 are looking to drive. 796 00:33:17,519 - > 00:33:20,000 We can then take that, we can do a little work on our side to 797 00:33:20,000 - > 00:33:23,359 say, hey, let's look at if it's a technology company, looking at 798 00:33:23,359 - > 00:33:25,839 kind of the reviews that are online, let's do a mystery 799 00:33:25,839 - > 00:33:29,359 shopping exercise, let's do some work that we can coin and be 800 00:33:29,359 - > 00:33:32,400 really educated about to our client, the space that they play 801 00:33:32,400 - > 00:33:34,880 in, how they're different from some of their competitors. 802 00:33:35,039 - > 00:33:37,839 And then we can provide some recommendations on how they 803 00:33:38,079 - > 00:33:41,200 double down on those areas and really be a true business 804 00:33:41,200 - > 00:33:42,319 partner to our clients. 805 00:33:42,400 - > 00:33:45,839 And so I think a lot of that sort of confidence is done 806 00:33:45,839 - > 00:33:49,279 before we actually ever engage in a contractual relationship. 807 00:33:49,440 - > 00:33:52,880 And I think from there we need to do what we say we're gonna 808 00:33:52,880 - > 00:33:55,119 do, but we need to make sure that we're staying aligned, that 809 00:33:55,119 - > 00:33:56,400 we're driving continuous improvement. 810 00:33:56,559 - > 00:33:59,920 I think one of our core values as an organization is to improve 811 00:33:59,920 - > 00:34:00,480 every day, right? 812 00:34:00,640 - > 00:34:04,000 We don't want to if we set targets, KPI targets, we want to 813 00:34:04,000 - > 00:34:06,319 make sure we're not just hitting those targets every month. 814 00:34:06,480 - > 00:34:09,119 We're identifying ways to improve them, we're looking for 815 00:34:09,119 - > 00:34:11,760 ways to elevate the overall customer experience. 816 00:34:11,840 - > 00:34:15,199 And I think that's where clients can get comfortable with 817 00:34:15,360 - > 00:34:18,719 interacting with us and us being really that true strategic part 818 00:34:18,719 - > 00:34:21,519 and really looking out for more than just doing the work. 819 00:34:21,679 - > 00:34:24,000 I think we've all known, especially with technology, that 820 00:34:24,000 - > 00:34:26,719 it's really, you know, doing your job is not enough in this 821 00:34:26,719 - > 00:34:27,440 day and age, right? 822 00:34:27,519 - > 00:34:30,000 And it's really about how can you drive outcomes for the 823 00:34:30,000 - > 00:34:30,480 organization. 824 00:34:30,639 - > 00:34:32,960 And I think we've got some really great people, and kudos 825 00:34:32,960 - > 00:34:33,599 to our talent team. 826 00:34:33,679 - > 00:34:37,119 We we've really been fortunate to hire across the board from 827 00:34:37,119 - > 00:34:40,480 good leaders down to frontline ninjas that truly care about the 828 00:34:40,480 - > 00:34:40,960 work that they do. 829 00:34:41,119 - > 00:34:42,480 And I think that's an important aspect. 830 00:34:42,639 - > 00:34:45,840 And you know, like I said, it's actually really hard to create a 831 00:34:45,840 - > 00:34:49,360 culture across multiple time zones, across multiple countries 832 00:34:49,519 - > 00:34:50,559 and 3,000 people. 833 00:34:50,639 - > 00:34:52,559 And we've been able to do a really good job of that. 834 00:34:52,800 - > 00:34:54,079 SPEAKER_00: So just we didn't touch upon that. 835 00:34:54,159 - > 00:34:55,119 So which countries are you? 836 00:34:55,199 - > 00:34:58,400 I mean, you 200 clients, where are your client-based spread 837 00:34:58,400 - > 00:34:58,559 over? 838 00:34:58,719 - > 00:35:00,559 Give us an appreciation of the geography. 839 00:35:00,880 - > 00:35:04,239 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, most of our clients are US companies, but we 840 00:35:04,239 - > 00:35:06,719 service them across a number of different geos. 841 00:35:06,960 - > 00:35:09,840 The Philippines is our primary geo, if you will. 842 00:35:09,920 - > 00:35:12,800 It's got where the most concentration of people, but we 843 00:35:12,800 - > 00:35:17,039 also offer and operate in Colombia, in Ireland, in 844 00:35:17,039 - > 00:35:19,119 Romania, and in the US as well. 845 00:35:19,199 - > 00:35:22,000 And so we can kind of cover all the different time zones. 846 00:35:22,079 - > 00:35:24,480 And it's like I said, it's interesting across those 847 00:35:24,480 - > 00:35:27,360 cultures and across those geos and time zones. 848 00:35:27,440 - > 00:35:30,079 We've been able to do a really good job of you know staying 849 00:35:30,079 - > 00:35:32,559 engaged and connected as uh as an organization. 850 00:35:32,719 - > 00:35:35,840 That's sort of our, I think our CEO, Craig, is really great. 851 00:35:35,920 - > 00:35:38,320 He's probably transparent to a fault, but he does a really 852 00:35:38,320 - > 00:35:42,400 great job of giving the workforce a sense of connection 853 00:35:42,400 - > 00:35:43,760 and pride to the work that they do. 854 00:35:44,079 - > 00:35:44,960 SPEAKER_00: And it is challenge. 855 00:35:45,199 - > 00:35:48,320 I've done a number of projects where I've been to places like 856 00:35:48,320 - > 00:35:52,719 Manila and South Africa, places like Gibraltar, where a certain 857 00:35:52,719 - > 00:35:55,519 particular sector has their a lot of their outsourcing. 858 00:35:55,840 - > 00:35:59,039 And one of the reasons to do that is to try and understand is 859 00:35:59,039 - > 00:36:01,599 there a culture here coming through from the outsourcing 860 00:36:01,599 - > 00:36:01,920 partner? 861 00:36:02,159 - > 00:36:03,440 And it's not easy to achieve. 862 00:36:03,599 - > 00:36:05,519 I want to ask you one last question, just jump to mine. 863 00:36:05,599 - > 00:36:06,800 It's a bit of a cheeky question. 864 00:36:06,880 - > 00:36:09,039 So if it if I hopefully it'll be okay. 865 00:36:09,280 - > 00:36:12,400 But we've been talking about business outsourcing and we've 866 00:36:12,400 - > 00:36:14,159 talked about customer experience. 867 00:36:14,400 - > 00:36:19,119 And I sit and provide customer experience management advisory 868 00:36:19,119 - > 00:36:19,599 services. 869 00:36:20,079 - > 00:36:24,159 And often when I'm looking into that those two areas, you can be 870 00:36:24,159 - > 00:36:28,960 forgiven for believing that customer experience is a a slice 871 00:36:29,280 - > 00:36:35,679 uh in the BPO will as opposed to uh business outsourcing being a 872 00:36:35,679 - > 00:36:39,119 part of the wider customer experience requirement. 873 00:36:39,840 - > 00:36:41,199 Do you understand what I mean by that? 874 00:36:41,360 - > 00:36:46,000 I mean and with it, I'm wondering in your sector, what 875 00:36:46,000 - > 00:36:49,119 are the standards that you think other organizations need to kind 876 00:36:49,119 - > 00:36:50,480 of really move themselves up to? 877 00:36:50,559 - > 00:36:52,880 Because I'm a firm believer in the world of customer experience 878 00:36:53,039 - > 00:36:55,360 that we have a number of stakeholders. 879 00:36:55,519 - > 00:36:58,400 And one of them is obviously we've got our customers, we've 880 00:36:58,400 - > 00:37:01,199 got our colleagues, but the communities and society, but 881 00:37:01,199 - > 00:37:02,079 also the competition. 882 00:37:02,239 - > 00:37:05,280 If we can provide a better outcome, which forces the 883 00:37:05,280 - > 00:37:08,000 competition to raise their standards, then everyone 884 00:37:08,000 - > 00:37:08,559 benefits. 885 00:37:08,719 - > 00:37:12,559 So, in what would be your wish, Jacob, in business outsources in 886 00:37:12,559 - > 00:37:16,159 terms of how can we raise the standards so that it's an even 887 00:37:16,159 - > 00:37:19,199 more rewarding and valued part of the business? 888 00:37:19,440 - > 00:37:22,480 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, when I put my CFO hat on, right, I want to 889 00:37:22,480 - > 00:37:25,280 make sure we're driving efficient growth for the 890 00:37:25,280 - > 00:37:28,880 organization, that we're being as optimized as we can be. 891 00:37:29,039 - > 00:37:33,039 And so when you look, when you put my CX and COO hats, I have a 892 00:37:33,039 - > 00:37:34,960 slightly different, similar viewpoint. 893 00:37:35,039 - > 00:37:38,480 I think it just I think this is one of like the biggest sort of 894 00:37:38,480 - > 00:37:42,400 CX crimes, if you will, that I've seen is how do we make sure 895 00:37:42,400 - > 00:37:47,679 that all parties understand the benefit of good CX and how and 896 00:37:47,679 - > 00:37:51,199 what that impact can have on long-term financial health? 897 00:37:51,360 - > 00:37:55,199 I think we can really improve the lifetime value by decreasing 898 00:37:55,199 - > 00:37:58,960 or improving churn and driving cross-sell and upsell, driving 899 00:37:58,960 - > 00:37:59,599 loyalty, right? 900 00:37:59,679 - > 00:38:03,840 There's so many different long-term impacts of good CX 901 00:38:03,920 - > 00:38:06,400 that I think a lot of companies are really aware of. 902 00:38:06,559 - > 00:38:10,159 And so what I would say is how can we get organizational 903 00:38:10,320 - > 00:38:13,840 leaders to really understand that strategic value that CX can 904 00:38:13,840 - > 00:38:15,039 bring to their organization? 905 00:38:15,199 - > 00:38:18,239 And so, like I said, it's one of the richest feedback loops that 906 00:38:18,239 - > 00:38:18,559 you can have. 907 00:38:18,719 - > 00:38:21,760 It's a direct line of how customers interact with your 908 00:38:21,760 - > 00:38:22,880 product or service. 909 00:38:23,119 - > 00:38:26,480 There's if you invest in that, you can really have that really 910 00:38:26,480 - > 00:38:29,440 rich feedback loop that I think will help guide your product and 911 00:38:29,440 - > 00:38:32,400 your strategy and really help drive the outcomes that you're 912 00:38:32,400 - > 00:38:32,880 looking for. 913 00:38:33,039 - > 00:38:36,639 And so I think we we really view CX as a growth lever. 914 00:38:36,800 - > 00:38:40,079 And I think that's if we can get more organizations and more 915 00:38:40,079 - > 00:38:44,159 leaders to think that way versus uh a line item in the budget, 916 00:38:44,320 - > 00:38:46,639 which, you know, again, I'm speaking out of out of two 917 00:38:46,639 - > 00:38:49,280 sides, but it's uh I think that can have the biggest impact on 918 00:38:49,280 - > 00:38:49,920 the industry. 919 00:38:50,000 - > 00:38:54,639 And how do we drive to improving CX and elevating that customer 920 00:38:54,639 - > 00:38:58,079 experience versus how do we drive the fastest and most 921 00:38:58,079 - > 00:38:58,639 efficient? 922 00:38:59,039 - > 00:39:00,079 And we've seen this, right? 923 00:39:00,159 - > 00:39:03,360 Where we may have a complex software company where we 924 00:39:03,360 - > 00:39:04,159 provide support. 925 00:39:04,400 - > 00:39:07,679 One of their KPIs is first contact resolution, right? 926 00:39:07,760 - > 00:39:11,519 And it may be such a complex product that first contact 927 00:39:11,519 - > 00:39:14,239 resolution might actually be a negative customer experience, 928 00:39:14,320 - > 00:39:14,480 right? 929 00:39:14,559 - > 00:39:17,280 And so I think that's where understanding the your 930 00:39:17,280 - > 00:39:20,239 organization and how CX can really be a true growth lever 931 00:39:20,239 - > 00:39:20,880 for the organization. 932 00:39:21,119 - > 00:39:21,519 SPEAKER_00: Brilliant. 933 00:39:21,599 - > 00:39:24,320 I mean, we very simply we work with clients, we often will say 934 00:39:24,400 - > 00:39:26,559 to them when they tell us who they're working with, say put 935 00:39:26,559 - > 00:39:27,920 them in one or three buckets quickly. 936 00:39:28,079 - > 00:39:31,199 Are they a heartbreaker, an order taker, or a memory maker? 937 00:39:31,360 - > 00:39:33,440 Are they strategic partners? 938 00:39:33,599 - > 00:39:36,320 And the language you're talking there is that strategic partner. 939 00:39:36,400 - > 00:39:39,039 But you do quite often find the client that say, no, they're 940 00:39:39,039 - > 00:39:40,000 definitely an order taker. 941 00:39:40,079 - > 00:39:42,079 They that's all they do for the transactional. 942 00:39:42,239 - > 00:39:45,119 And I think probably to your point, that's where we need 943 00:39:45,360 - > 00:39:50,320 providers and clients to see the role of business outsourcing as 944 00:39:50,320 - > 00:39:52,880 a strategic partner, thinking about the long term. 945 00:39:52,960 - > 00:39:55,760 Otherwise, you drive short-term thinking and you are just like 946 00:39:55,920 - > 00:39:58,400 all the focus on on efficiency. 947 00:39:58,559 - > 00:40:01,199 I mean, remember working with a it was a client and they used to 948 00:40:01,280 - > 00:40:03,519 have a scorecard and they go see their clients, and the first 949 00:40:03,519 - > 00:40:06,320 thing they would say is, How much have we saved you? 950 00:40:06,559 - > 00:40:09,360 And we're just like uh how on earth and they were saying, Oh, 951 00:40:09,440 - > 00:40:10,639 they never see it as strategic. 952 00:40:10,800 - > 00:40:11,280 It's like, really? 953 00:40:11,599 - > 00:40:12,400 What a shock there. 954 00:40:12,559 - > 00:40:15,679 So, I mean, everything you said from the moment we kicked off to 955 00:40:15,679 - > 00:40:18,800 this moment, Jacob, has demonstrated that support ninja 956 00:40:19,039 - > 00:40:20,320 are strategic partners. 957 00:40:20,400 - > 00:40:21,440 That's where they want to be. 958 00:40:21,599 - > 00:40:24,800 So if someone wants to get hold of you and further the 959 00:40:24,800 - > 00:40:27,679 conversation, what's the best way to do it, would you say? 960 00:40:27,920 - > 00:40:30,079 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they can do it on our website, so which is 961 00:40:30,079 - > 00:40:33,199 support ninja.com, or they can check my LinkedIn at Jacob 962 00:40:33,199 - > 00:40:34,719 Multer here at Support Ninja. 963 00:40:34,960 - > 00:40:35,199 SPEAKER_00: Awesome. 964 00:40:35,280 - > 00:40:37,920 Well, we'll include those both into the summary piece. 965 00:40:38,000 - > 00:40:40,480 But uh, I've had a real education, I really do 966 00:40:40,480 - > 00:40:41,039 appreciate it. 967 00:40:41,119 - > 00:40:44,719 And it's and it's it's great to know there's organizations like 968 00:40:44,719 - > 00:40:48,719 you out there who are focusing on a particular segment that you 969 00:40:48,719 - > 00:40:51,840 know are going to be, let's argue, I don't know how much 970 00:40:51,840 - > 00:40:54,559 revenue is generated through SMEs, but it's such a 971 00:40:54,559 - > 00:40:56,400 significant contribution to the economy. 972 00:40:56,559 - > 00:41:00,079 But you want those organizations to succeed, and the area you 973 00:41:00,079 - > 00:41:01,440 support is helping them achieve that. 974 00:41:01,519 - > 00:41:03,199 So thank you for the work you do. 975 00:41:03,360 - > 00:41:07,599 And I look forward to seeing how the organization evolves in the 976 00:41:07,599 - > 00:41:08,000 future. 977 00:41:08,159 - > 00:41:10,639 And regardless of what technology comes along, it will 978 00:41:10,639 - > 00:41:14,480 just be enabled by, as you say, these brilliant CX people who 979 00:41:14,480 - > 00:41:15,440 kind of power it all. 980 00:41:15,519 - > 00:41:17,440 So fabulous to speak to you, Jacob. 981 00:41:17,679 - > 00:41:18,320 Thank you very much for that. 982 00:41:18,400 - > 00:41:18,960 SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Christopher. 983 00:41:19,039 - > 00:41:21,360 Yeah, pleasure chatting with you and looking forward to staying 984 00:41:21,360 - > 00:41:21,679 in touch. 985 00:41:22,000 - > 00:41:22,960 SPEAKER_00: Awesome.