In e-commerce, customers call the shots. They can compare prices across multiple stores and choose to vote with their wallets. Hence, excellent customer service is no longer an option but a necessity. Modern shoppers value customer experience far more than price. They remember the interaction and the product experience much longer than the price. In fact, 51% of customers will never do business with a company again after only one negative experience, according to survey results. 

The key to success is placing the customers first – responding quickly and offering a personalized experience. And this is where MyAlice comes in with its Conversational Commerce features. 

Where it all started

Shuvo Rahman, the founder, and CEO of MyAlice, created MisFit Communications along with his friends following his graduation from BUET. However, the co-founders branched out soon, and Shuvo concentrated on building MyAlice – a product-driven SaaS startup. This is how the MyAlice story unfolds. 

While operating an online boutique store, Shuvo and his wife Anika realized that managing customer data and inquiries is challenging. The struggle primarily stems from the abundance of messaging platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. This proved to be ineffective and expensive for businesses, especially SMBs. 

For further clarity, Shuvo mentions, “During a work trip abroad, I had a terrible customer service encounter with a bank. I called the call center with an emergency query but the wait time was unbearable. In fact, they responded to my email three days later.” 

To resolve such customer annoyances, he devised the concept of MyAlice, which can automate customer interactions while helping organizations reduce support costs. He was quick to grasp the fact that messaging apps were becoming the go-to for customers. More than 175 million people contact businesses via WhatsApp every day. This number will continue to climb as businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms.

Thus, Shuvo wanted to help businesses make customer support and sales efficient. And to start with, the team developed a dashboard from which businesses can efficiently manage orders and inquiries across multiple channels.

Empowering e-commerce and DTC brands

One of the top achievements of MyAlice is ending the struggles of businesses in between platforms. Connecting all their customer-facing channels, such as website chat and social channels, to a unified inbox simply empowers them. 

To automate customer service and convert leads, MyAlice also provides sophisticated chatbots. It reduces the venture’s efforts while customer satisfaction goes up a notch. In fact, the chatbot can fully automate 70% of customer service interactions. Businesses can also gain insight into their support teams’ response rate, response time, and sales conversion.

In addition, MyAlice can decode customer behavior and offer product recommendations accordingly. Utilizing the data around previous orders and products in the cart, the platform helps businesses sell more through up-selling and cross-selling. 

“MyAlice impacts how our customers manage their customer experience. The ease with which our clients are able to manage their different messaging channels and how they can build lasting relationships with their customers are areas where we feel we add the most value,” remarked Arnab Rahman, Customer Success Lead, MyAlice. 

“This translates into much faster response times, much higher conversion and retention of leads and much better visibility and traceability to improve processes or to devise marketing strategies. While some of our clients have achieved around 15% increase in orders placed, some have achieved around 30% increase in their CSAT scores,” he added. 

Global footprint and growth trajectory

MyAlice works locally and internationally with FMCG, e-commerce companies, and brands. Small and medium-sized businesses make up most of the company’s clientele, but they have also frequently collaborated with enterprise clients to create unique, tailored solutions. Unilever Bangladesh, BMW Malaysia, Berger Paints Bangladesh, the Institute of Southern Punjab, MiBS Myanmar, Shikho, Truck Lagbe, Star Cineplex, Gro.Club India, and others are just a few of the names on that list.

The brand is eager to establish itself as a ‘WhatsApp Commerce Platform.’ By participating in the e-commerce expo 2022 in Singapore, they have demonstrated how businesses can utilize WhatsApp as a new revenue-generating channel. With this proposition, the tech startup is well on its way to capturing the WhatsApp-heavy APAC, MENA, and Latin America markets. 

In the words of Shuvo, “In APAC, we definitely have an edge as our team is based out of this region. We also received investments (and raising) from VCs and angels in MENA, which can help us expand into that segment.”However, the company is still pretty nascent, considering the Bangladesh Market. 

“In our country, the reluctance to use software to automate workflows and the lack of USD payment infrastructure are the two greatest obstacles to achieving a proper product market fit. Pakistan, for instance, has over 4,500 Shopify stores while Bangladesh has just over 100. Currently, we have approximately 40 paying customers in Bangladesh, including Unilever, Berger, etc,” mentions Shuvo. 

Vision for 2023

The company’s revenue increased by about 12% MoM during the second half of 2022, and it now targets an MoM revenue growth of about 25% for the first half of 2023. Aside from that, the business plans to concentrate all of its efforts this year on expanding its product in countries such as Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and India, where it is seeing early signs of Product Market Fit.