Challenge

DirectBed describes itself as the most unique mattress shop in Hamilton, Canada, selling brand-name mattresses as well as its own designs at a fraction of the cost of other retailers. Since going online, DirectBed has offered a “try before you buy” deal, but it’s struggled to get shoppers to commit to buying something as subjective as a mattress without seeing it in person.

Founder Gerian Sloetjes opened the brick-and-mortar store in 2013 after working in the mattress industry for a number of years. His mission is to build a business based on integrity, honesty, and good customer relationships that goes beyond simply “selling mattresses”.

Buying a mattress is a long-term investment. Get it wrong and it could mean sleepless nights and aching limbs—it’s a big decision. While DirectBed was confident in the quality of its mattresses, it struggled to convince customers to buy a mattress online without trying it out first. The brand did everything it could to tackle objections: there was an on-site quiz that led shoppers to their perfect mattress, but Gerian was keen to add a human touch and simultaneously make the process scalable. This seemed like an impossible tasks when shoppers have wildly different tastes and needs.

DirectBed had used a live chat solution solely for customer service in the past, but the tool wasn’t ideal for scaling. When the brand came to Rep, it was on the hunt for a solution that would personalize the online mattress buying experience at scale.

Here's Gerian Sloetjes, Business Owner at DirectBed:

“Rep AI has helped us in 3 major areas: (1) It has helped us with after hours chat by providing a chat solution for customers to engage with (2) it has helped to improve customer disengagement by proactively approaching customers about to exit—this is something we simply cannot keep up with without an AI solution (3) it has proved to be a great customer assistant with the product finder and matching customers to the right product on our site.

Overall, RepAI has been phenomenal in their onboarding and setup. They took a personalized and in-depth approach to set us up exactly to match our business needs. Ruben & Dafi have been thoughtful, connected and listened to our needs. They have also shown us through multiple reports the success of this app by the numbers. I would highly recommend RepAI to anyone looking to improve their business through AI Chat.”

Solution

DirectBed kept the quiz functionality but repackaged it in a conversational way with an AI chatbot. When shoppers land on the site, they’re now greeted by the Personal Mattress Selector that hand-holds them throughout the buying process by asking about firmness level, size, and budget.

Customers are now able to enjoy the brand’s 100-day “try before you buy” deal with absolute confidence, knowing the mattress they have chosen has been specially selected based on their unique wants and needs. Rep brought together customer service and its sales concierge which is scalable 24/7 (especially in the dead of night when shoppers can't sleep because they need a new mattress).

Results

Gerian’s vision for a company fueled by excellent customer service has extended through an automated chatbot.

Rep works round-the-clock to serve shoppers personalized mattress recommendations and ease their worries about making such a huge purchase online. DirectBed’s human customer support agents are no longer tackling top-of-the-funnel questions and can instead focus their efforts on creating an excellent experience for existing customers.

The combination of a mattress quiz and customer-inspired recommendations has increased the trust for high-value purchases at scale and increased DirectBed’s conversion rates by 15% and AOV by 10%.