Customer self-service is the only way to provide cost effective support that customers love. Just ask Braun & Oral B. They created a self-service model that cut their costs by 67%, while increasing satisfaction 10%! Learn how they did it by downloading the case study.

1. Braun / OralB - Better Service for More Customers 01getsatisfaction.com | 877-339-3997
THE NEED FOR
CONVERSATION
With a strong reputation for
technology innovation, the
Braun & Oral B brands have
built a passionate following,
so it was natural for the P&G
Consumer Relations team to
establish the same reputation
for their customer care
strategy. Through community,
they sought to reach more
customers faster, and in a
more cost effective way, by
providing a captivating online
experience for customers who
are passionate about Braun &
Oral B products.
Prior to community, customer service
involved a two-pronged approach:
resolving customer issues and questions
via email or phone. Despite attempts to
improve service, they were not able to
fully satisfy customers as much on email
as by phone. The one-to-one nature of
these channels also limited the brands
reach, because not all customers prefer
these proactive channels.
The community strategy was to
empower Braun & Oral-B customers by
turning the customer service model on
its head and introduce a
community that:
• Brings customers together to share
their passion
• Is built around content customers
create
• Includes product advice from their
customer service team
Community Results:
• Engagement with 19x more
customers than via traditional
email channel
• 10% increase in customer
satisfaction/loyalty
• 98% customer self-service
rate
• 61% reduction in the number
of email contacts and a 67%
cost reduction
THE COMMUNITY EFFECT:
“The best part is to watch customers helping one another,
sharing their experiences and adding tips of their own or
telling others how I was able to help them. The spirit is one
of community, not Official Rep advising consumers.”
The Braun Community.
THE COMMUNITY EFFECT: MODERNIZING SUPPORT
Better Service for More
Customers

2. 02 Braun / OralB - Better Service for More Customers getsatisfaction.com | 877-339-3997
The Art: How It Works
To have the biggest impact, Braun &
Oral-B sought to give their customers
better information and to extend
the benefit of this content to as
many customers as possible. Get
Satisfaction provides a platform where
customers can talk about their product
experiences, share their ideas, ask
questions, raise any concerns with the
community, and talk with Braun/Oral-B
customer service representatives. This
conversational content is very easy
for other consumers to find through a
Google search, on the brand site, or
in Facebook.
Just as important, Get Satisfaction
tools make it easy for the Customer
Service team to join the conversation
when appropriate and guide customers
to existing conversations of interest
without having to respond to the
same question over and over again.
Customers can express their mood by
the use of emoticons that help the team
recognize and tailor their engagement to
the individual person or group
of customers.
According to Justine Howarth, P&G
Global Consumer Relations,“the
customer service team really enjoys
being part of the community. It gives
them the freedom to engage in different
ways depending on the tone of the
customer, for example using humor
when appropriate. All of this provides
the business with insights and identifies
opportunities for the brands to further
delight their customers.”
The Science: Community
Impact
To build the best customer experience,
the Customer Service team worked
with Brand Marketing to craft an
implementation plan, as well as with
Community Managers who take care
of customers on their Facebook Brand
pages. The goal was to get a better
understanding of how to respond in
a very personal way to encourage
conversation. Following initial pilots,
the communities were launched via the
brand’s website and Facebook pages, as
well as on a handful of retail partner site.
Using Get Satisfaction widgets
embedded in brand sites, they
introduced relevant content (for
example content about a particular
product) from the community, allowing
customers to learn more, ask a question,
or share their opinion. According to one
customer:
“You responded really quickly in way
that was meant for me — that was really
lovely to see, as I thought I’d just receive
a standard “thanks for your feedback”
with nothing specific.”
As customers interacted with existing
conversations and posted new one,
P&G gained real-time intelligence into
the most critical topics and used this
knowledge to guide interventions.
The Braun’s Facebook page.
THE COMMUNITY EFFECT:
An extensive ROI study during the pilot demonstrated measurable
cost savings and revenue improvement, returning more than $4
back for every $1 invested. This will increase further as the
community continues to mature.
THE COMMUNITY EFFECT: MODERNIZING SUPPORT
Better Service for More
Customers
“We wanted a system that
would allow us to reach a large
group of customers and that
would allow us to provide
excellent customer service and
all of this at the same or lower
cost. That’s what we got with
Get Satisfaction.”
- Justine Howarth,
Global Consumer Relations