DBF and Tipp24 – A winning partnership with DBF has proved the value of outsourcing for Tipp24
DBF and Tipp24 – A winning partnership with DBF has proved the value of outsourcing for Tipp24When the International on-line lottery business, Tipp24 decided to relocate its business to the UK from Germany it gave itself a tight timeframe of just three months to find an outsourced contact centre provider and establish its operation. Finding the right partner can be a bit of a lottery (excuse the pun), but Tipp24 struck lucky when they met with DBF.
“We contacted several companies and DBF was the first to respond,” says Tipp24’s Head of Customer Service, Jörg Rebenstorf.
“Once we met them, we stopped looking elsewhere.” Jörg and his team immediately felt they’d found a partner that matched their customer focused culture and could meet their need for speed. They were right. Within just six weeks of taking the brief the DBF operation for Tipp24 was up and running.
“The good news is that our customers didn’t even notice the change,” says Jörg, “and our service levels were matched from day one.” Part of the challenge for DBF was to recruit native German speakers into the team. “What can I say,” says Jörg, “we agreed we needed to recruit the team in just three weeks and when I arrived at the end of that time, there they were.”
Close to the customer
Before engaging with DBF, the team at Tipp24 had anticipated outsourcing for a short time, but bringing the operation back inhouse once firmly established in their new UK home. That hasn’t happened and, in fact, today DBF is Tipp24’s exclusive customer service partner for the UK and Germany. “Being close to the customer has always been vitally important for us,” says Jörg. “It was hard for us to believe we could outsource and maintain that closeness. DBF proved us wrong.”
DBF recognised in Tipp24 a client that was committed to its customers and, together, the partners found a way to make it work. Tipp24 has a constant presence at the DBF site – either Jörg or a member of his team – that supports DBF’s contact centre leader and works closely with DBF’s agents. “I’m not in charge,” says Jörg, “that’s DBF’s role, but I work alongside and help to make sure that the whole team feels close to Tipp24, excited by our lotteries and enthusiastic about our customers.”
DBF has devised another way to keep Tipp24 and its customers close. A Voice of the Customer programme has been established to capture customer responses to every interaction. It provides a valuable measure of customer satisfaction of course but, more importantly, allows DBF to question customers about how they view Tipp24 products, feel about the service or think about online lotteries.
“We’re able to input questions and gather free-form responses directly from customers about a whole range of subjects,” says Jörg. “These insights are shared with the Tipp24 management team and used to drive change across departments that will not only impact customer service delivery but every aspect of how we work.”
Winning results
Post contact surveys measures whether the customer felt their issue was dealt with well by the agent, found the interaction easy and would provide a recommendation on the strength of it. The results indicate a market leading performance with an NPS score of +46.
These positive results have been reinforced by an independent survey in Tipp24’s biggest market, Germany. A survey conducted by the Germany Society for Consumer Studies evaluated 10 online lottery providers. Tipp24, came second only to the German State Lottery.
International expansion
Tipp24 chose the UK as a springboard for expansion across Europe. Today it provides white label lottery services to over thirty UK organisations – sports clubs for the most part, including Arsenal FC and Sussex Cricket Club. “These organisations are rightly protective of their brand and their supporter base,” says Jörg, “so it’s important that the customer service we provide is exceptional.” Effective contact routing means that every customer from every white label partner is recognised, welcomed and served appropriately.
“We envisage that our future growth in Europe will come from providing white label lottery formats to organisations like these, or by partnering with state lotteries to deliver the technology and know-how to introduce exciting online lottery formats,” says Jörg. All of this means that growth across the continent is very much on the agenda for Tipp24. “And we’re confident we’ve chosen a partner that can grow with us. Not only is DBF the right cultural fit for our business, they have operational capability across mainland Europe as well as the UK,” Jörg concludes.
The company that was, at first, reluctant to outsource customer management has found that it can gain operational and financial flexibility, without compromising its relationship with its customers. Sounds like a winner!
“DBF convinced us that outsourcing could be, not just a stop gap, but a permanent solution for our business as we grow and expand across Europe. Their enthusiasm for our business, their passion for their own and their willingness to work in true partnership has secured our trust and our respect,” concludes Jörg Rebenstorf of Tipp24
About DBF
About DBF Established in 1999, DBF is a fast growing outsourced contact centre provider with operations across the UK and Europe. It operates 1,800 contact centre seats in seven European countries. Its clients in the UK include Hastings Direct, PRS for Music, PPL, Elsevier, Readers’ Digest, Simply Media, Nectar, Made.com, Eaglemoss, Hotel Chocolat, Royal Horticultural Society and Tipp 24. Across Europe they include Orange, Virgin Mobile, SFR, AXA, Metlife, Yves Rocher, Bayard, Voyages Loisirs, Hachette, Canal+. DBF has total European revenues of €45 million.
For additional information see the DBF Website
