In a recent advisor call I was introduced to Alex Hormozi’s Value Equation, which is a neat qual/quant model to consider how Teleperson’s value can be communicated. Clearly communicating our value proposition in a market that is both fragmented and in flux and where disruptive transformations lurk around every corner (I see you, ChatGPT!) has been an area we’ve endeavored to hone for some time. The words we use and areas we stress depends on whether or not we’re speaking with customers, investors, advisors, or partners—but all revolve around the theme of customer-first principles.
Coupling our obsession with design and human experience and our penchant to break with status quo that’s antiquated or inefficient, we launched Teleperson to ultimately align incentives between customers and companies—and the continued complexity in customer service today.
Returning to Hormozi, let’s first define each component:
- “Dream Outcome” = desired state
- “Perceived Likelihood of Achievement” = company credibility
- “Time Delay” = length of time until the desired state will occur
- “Effort & Sacrifice” = hurdles to overcome for desired state
Let’s take two dream outcomes we’re aiming for one side of our market—companies—who will be driving our revenue: increase customer base and deliver happier customers.
1. Increase Customer Base
“Dream Outcome” = more customers
“Perceived Likelihood of Success” = Teleperson community enables a social network around your product
There are several key ways Teleperson could help increase a company’s customer base. For one, because we are starting with consumers, we’re building out entire community centered around commerce, including a company’s existing customers. Often, consumers will purchase from multiple and competing players—Home Depot and Lowe’s, say. When I moved from the West side of Florida (Clearwater, FL) to the East side (Delray Beach, FL), I bought all of my packing material / cardboard boxes / mover’s tape, etc. from the Home Depot around the corner from my place, but then bought paint / picture hanging supplies, etc. from the Lowe’s close to me. Different stores sent me different promotions and one is typically better on some things (cost of paint, say) than others (let’s say furniture). Savvy consumers typically shop at multiple places. On my food shopping days I’ll be at Costco, Publix and Whole Foods (and maybe swing by a Trader Joe’s). Point is consumers have multiple options and tend to make logical decisions on where to buy at any time, whether because of cost, convenience or variety of choice.
Because Teleperson is capturing where, when (and via microsurveys we’ll be launching, why) consumers shop at specific areas, we will have a quick and continual visibility into where there are opportunities for new consumers for companies on our platform. If Company A tends to focus on middle-income wage earnings living in a specific geography, then we would have a sense of which consumers are NOT currently shopping with Company A and directly engage via email, text or messages via Teleperson platform through notifications (depending on how the consumer wants to engage). Promotions from Company A could be sent to specific personas and Teleperson could identify which consumers are likely to purchase from Company A if an existing consumer (e.g., Bob buys from Company A today) is similar to, say, Lisa, who is not currently a customer of Company A. If Bob and Lisa share, say, 80% of the same companies in their Merchant Hub, then Lisa may be interested in Company A’s products. We will know this—and the more consumers on our platform the more scalably we can off this to companies no our platform.
“Time Delay” = 10% of your customers on your platform in next 6 months to begin driving persona-driven sales
Unfortunately we’re in our beta phase and currently lack the specific metrics to show what the tipping point would be in terms of number of consumers we need on our platform (say, of Company A) before we can start reliably building new consumers. Technically, even if a company has zero end-customers, Teleperson would still be the platform to find new ones!
It’s the difference between what companies are doing today:
Calling out to people in the street: (“Hey, come into our store! We got something we think you’d like!”)
vs. the Teleperson solution:
Entering a room where customers are already hanging out (“Hey there, I see you’ve met Company A, B and C. I think you’d be interested in my company, Company D).
We’re essentially the cool guy at the party who can connect one person with another because we know not only who everyone is already speaking with but we know also what their favorite drink is).
So for ‘Time Delay’, this could be immediate to a specific threshold amount—we’ll know soon!
“Effort & Sacrifice” = Teleperson provides targeted advertising, survey tools and community-based testimonial-led engagement
As the intermediary between consumer and the companies they shop from (or are interested in), we will be at a unique place to connect consumer and company together, enabling us to help companies continually grow their own customer base.
2. Deliver Happier Customers
“Desired Outcome” = Happier Customers
“Perceived Likelihood of Achievement” = Added choice between self-service or phone rep across 100% of companies in your customer’s Merchant Hub
The whole idea of Teleperson is that consumers on the Teleperson platform will be happier on—then off—the platform when engaging with companies from whom they purchase. Because we are unifying the customer service experience across all of the companies from whom consumers are purchasing—whether small or large—we are creating a customer service experience that has choice, transparency and control for consumers.
There are many (many!) customer service experiences which are frustrating. The call tree is the first one we’re attacking by turning 100% of the companies’ call trees into something visual (and, later in the year, conversational). Today, only around 5-8% of companies offer visual call trees.
Post-Teleperson, there will be no more call trees. Ever. Call trees? What is this 2022?
In Hormozi’s model, we talk specifically about choice. Because we’ve mapped out 100% of a company’s end points we’re able to start the call by asking “what do you need” and then bring the person directly to that relevant department. This is the choice piece. If integrated with the company itself, we’ll also be building our own self-service capability, and empower the consumer to choose between chatbot or human representative. The point here is that the consumer chooses, not the company—and we are building highly scalable, cost-efficient, and contextual systems that align the expectations of consumers with the operational / technical / financial needs of companies. Win win.
“Time Delay” = Immediate for 100% of companies in your customer’s Merchant Hub
For Company A’s customers on our platform, this first level of choice—which department or representative is most relevant—will be offered—removing the frustration of having to wade through a call tree. Additionally, our system will have memory—and remember that Bob called for a particular issue (say, refund not issued) and then called again the next day with the same issue (“Hey Bob, so sorry to hear you’re still having that same refund issue. The rep you spoke with, Janet, will be available in three hours. Do you want her to reach out or do you want to speak with someone new. Don’t worry if so. We’ll let the agent know about your call with Janet yesterday!)
Neat, huh 🙂
“Effort & Sacrifice” = Customers just say what they need
While we’re starting out the gait with the visual call tree, we’ll looking to move quick into conversational experiences. Consumers just have to say what they need and we’ll take care of the rest of the elevation to the right department.
Easy peasy.
Would love to hear your thoughts on how we’re applying Hormozi’s model to our core value proposition. Anything we missed? And / or, interested in seeing other examples? You can learn more about Teleperson here in the meantime.
Thanks!
-Jesse
