Gartenfreunde Case Study: 6x ROI & Conversion with AI

Return on Investment

Higher Conversion Rate

45%

Click-through Rate on Product Recommendations

Client:

‍Gartenfreunde

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‍Industry:

‍Retail / E-Commerce (Garden & Wellness)‍

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‍Company Size:

‍Leading Online Retailer

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‍Website:

‍www.garten-freunde.de

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‍Solution Used:

‍AI Employee "Kira" (Product Consulting & Sales Assistance)

Executive Summary

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Gartenfreunde, a leading online retailer for high-quality garden and wellness products , faced up to 50 consulting-intensive inquiries per day during peak season, handled by a single sales representative. High product complexity, a very low online conversion rate, and untapped upselling potential were hindering growth. The goal was to scale expert consulting, increase the conversion rate, and relieve the sales team.

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‍With the introduction of Kira, the Qualimero AI employee trained on Gartenfreunde's specific expertise, these challenges were overcome. Kira guides customers 24/7 through the complex product catalog, answers standard questions automatically, and strategically suggests suitable accessories. This led to a significant reduction in the support team's workload, a seven-fold increase in the conversion rate (for customers which interacted with the AI), and a 6x ROI.

Gartenfreunde: Premium Products for Home & Garden

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Gartenfreunde is a specialized provider for sophisticated and consulting-intensive projects for home and garden. The product range includes over 8,000 items, including high-priced and individually configurable garden houses, saunas, and carports from renowned brands. The company targets customers who value detailed expert advice to make the right purchasing decision for investments often in the four to five-figure range.

The Challenge

High Inquiry Volume Meets Complex Consulting and Operational Bottlenecks

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‍Gartenfreunde faced five central challenges that were inhibiting growth:‍

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Scalable Customer and Sales Consulting
‍During peak season, up to 40 calls and 20 emails per day were handled by just one full-time sales representative. This led to long waiting times and missed sales opportunities, especially since consulting was only available during business hours.

Extremely Low Checkout Conversion Rate
‍Only a small amount of online visitors converted. Potential customers abandoned the purchasing process due to uncertainty and the lack of 24/7 support.

Targeted Upselling & Higher Shopping Cart Value
‍The significant upselling potential for accessories like roofing felt, windows, or assembly kits was not systematically leveraged and depended on the individual employee.

Faster, Uncomplicated Product Discovery
‍The complex product filters overwhelmed many customers. There was no intuitive way to quickly find suitable products without clicking through countless options.

Automation of Repetitive Service Tickets
‍Standard inquiries about delivery status, returns, or warranty issues tied up the valuable resources of the expert, which were then unavailable for complex consultations.‍

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A solution was needed that not only automated processes but also mirrored the specific technical expertise, provided trustworthy answers, and could be easily integrated into daily operations.

Why Qualimero

Focus on Quality & Control

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‍When evaluating solutions, Gartenfreunde placed special emphasis on reliability, accuracy, and rapid implementation. Standard chatbots were ruled out as they could not provide the required level of expertise and precision. Qualimero was convincing with an approach that met these core requirements:‍

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Focus on Quality & ControlQualimero's technology is designed to process complex knowledge reliably and without deviation. The promise to train the AI specifically and exclusively on their own product data and the content of their expert magazine provided the assurance that the answers would be precise and brand-compliant.

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Efficient & Supported IntegrationQualimero offered a seamless integration into existing processes with a go-live within a few days. The decisive factor was the approach of handling most of the technical implementation, thereby keeping the effort for the Gartenfreunde team to a minimum.

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Partnership Approach & SupportThe premium support offered and the management of the AI training signaled a true partnership that ensured a successful launch.‍

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"Our customers invest a lot of money and rightly expect excellent expert advice. A standard chatbot was never an option for us. Qualimero convinced us because their AI is trained exclusively on our expert knowledge, thus digitally replicating the quality of our consulting 1:1. The promise of a fast, smooth implementation made the decision easy for us."

‍Malte Obst, CEO, Garten-Freunde

The Solution

Kira Product Consultant

Guided Selling

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‍Kira analyzes customer needs through dialogue ("For how many people should the sauna be?") and provides highly accurate product recommendations based on the trained expert knowledge.

Intelligent Up- & Cross-Selling

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‍Kira systematically suggests suitable accessories and meaningful extensions, thereby increasing the average shopping cart value.

Automated Answering of FAQs

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‍Immediate, fully automated answers to frequently asked questions about products, delivery, and service – around the clock.

Continuous Learning

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‍Kira learns with every interaction and continuously refines its answers, always within the scope of the defined knowledge.

The precision with which Kira scales our expert advice 24/7 is impressive. In the past, our team of experts was a bottleneck, but today they can focus on the most complex customer projects while Kira fills the sales pipeline. The investment has not only paid off in terms of ROI, it has fundamentally improved the way we sell.

Malte Obst

CEO

The Results

65% Workload Reduction in Customer Support

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65% of recurring inquiries are now processed fully automatically by Kira, which drastically reduces sales workload and focuses on high-quality sales calls.

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6x Return on Investment

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‍The combination of cost savings in service and increased revenue from larger shopping carts and better conversion led to an ROI of 600% within the first month.

Symbolischer Raketenstart für den schnellen und nachhaltigen Erfolg von Qualimero im Bereich KI-gestützte digitale Mitarbeiter.

7x Higher Conversion Rate

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‍Customers who interact with Kira show a seven times higher overall conversion rate, from visiting the website to completing a purchase, than visitors without chat consultation.

45% Click-through Rate on Recommendations

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‍45% of customers click on the products suggested by Kira, which underscores the high relevance and quality of the AI consulting.

100% Scalability

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Kira can easily handle growing volumes of requests without the need for additional human resources, especially during seasonal peaks.

Conclusion

The Success of Gartenfreunde and the Future with Qualimero

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‍Through the strategic implementation of the AI employee Kira from Qualimero, Gartenfreunde has successfully mastered its central challenge – scaling high-quality, consulting-intensive customer support.‍The automation of a large portion of inquiries, the demonstrably high quality of the AI answers, and the smooth implementation highlight the capabilities of Qualimero.‍

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Gartenfreunde benefits from massive efficiency gains, a significant ROI, and an improved customer experience, and is well-equipped for future growth.