Witt Group Boosts Chat Inquiries 8x Thanks to Lime Connect
For a long time, the Witt Group’s sales strategy relied on email, telephone, catalogs, and physical stores. However, with Lime Connect’s customer messaging software, the textile company quickly developed into a successful omnichannel retailer that appeals to both the 50+ target group and younger generations.
The challenge: Changing customer expectations
The Group’s philosophy is that each brand has unique demands when it comes to clothing. The same can be said for customer and target groups. As early as 2016, Witt Weiden realized that traditional channels such as telephone and email were ineffective for reaching the younger, tech-savvy target group.
The use of WhatsApp and other chat-based tools has skyrocketed in recent years. It’s not just Millennials, either; expectations around communication have shifted across older generations as well.
Christoph Münch
Witt-Gruppe
Additionally, the Witt Weiden service team was overwhelmed by the volume of traditional communication channels, causing customers to wait long periods of time in queues or for email responses.
Therefore, the goal was to transform into an omnichannel retailer with e-commerce, catalogs, and stores that could be quickly and reliably accessed via digital channels. This would allow the company to take advantage of current support automation possibilities and reduce the burden on customer service.
The solution: flexible messaging and chatbot support
Witt Weiden entschied sich für die Implementierung eines Website-Chats. Dass die Wahl auf Lime Connect fiel, lag vor allem daran, dass sich das Chat-Tool flexibel an die Bedürfnisse des Textilunternehmens anpasst.
Über den Website-Chat kann Witt Weiden Anfragen während des Shoppens beantworten, direktes Kundenfeedback sammeln und, um das Service-Team zu entlasten, kleine Support-Tasks an einen Chatbot auslagern. Nicht zuletzt war auch das sichere Hosting auf deutschen Servern ein Argument für die Kölner Software-Lösung.
Witt Weiden decided to implement a website chat feature. The main reason for choosing Lime Connect was its flexibility in adapting to the textile company’s needs.
With the website chat, Witt Weiden can respond to inquiries while customers are shopping, collect direct customer feedback, and outsource minor support tasks to a chatbot to reduce the workload of the service team. Lastly, secure hosting on German servers was another reason to choose the Cologne-based software solution.
The setup is so simple that you can do it without IT. Testing was quick and uncomplicated, so we were able to integrate Lime Connect smoothly into our existing processes.
Christoph Münch
Witt-Gruppe
Since then, live chat has become the preferred support channel, especially for short, recurring questions. Customers mostly contact us via chat when they need support or when they encounter an issue that prevents them from continuing to shop. For example, they may ask, “Where can I redeem this voucher code? Even if there is a malfunction on our website, customers use live chat to let us know,” says Münch. /” says Münch.
Now, it is not human operators who greet visitors to the Witt Weiden website, but rather the digital assistant Vera. In the chat, customers can use button options to select the relevant topic or formulate a question. If Vera is unable to help, she forwards the conversation to a suitable employee.
Pilot Project: Using WhatsApp as a marketing channel for “Sieh an!”
Building on its positive experience using WhatsApp for customer service, the Witt Group launched a pilot project with Sieh an! in March 2024 to test using Messenger for marketing. The goal was to establish another profitable direct online touchpoint.
Within three months, the company gained 5,000 subscribers through banners on the online store and the accompanying newsletter.
The results were convincing:
- Open rates exceeding 80%
- 2 % Conversion Rate
- Cost-to-Revenue-Ratio von 25 %
Sieh an! now uses click-to-WhatsApp ads for targeted subscriber acquisition. Due to this success, WhatsApp marketing is now being extended to the Witt and Heine brands.
Outcome: A measurable uplift in customer experience for every Witt Group brand
Witt Weiden is no longer the only company benefiting from the advantages of all-in-one software, such as Lime Connect. The chat and digital assistant have now been implemented in three other online stores, where 150 operators handle 15,000 chats via the customers’ preferred channel every day.
Five years ago, Witt Weiden had slightly less than 5,000 chats online per year; now, the brand has almost 40,000. An impressive 700% increase. At Sieh an!, the increase it is even 900%: from an initial 2,300 chats per year to almost 24,000.
Over the past few years, our chat channel has seen eightfold growth. Lime Connect has been a dependable partner, helping us successfully manage and scale this rapid expansion.
Sabrina Ladenthin
Witt-Gruppe
Customer satisfaction has also improved. On average, the customer service team consistently receives a 4.5+ out of 5-star rating for both automated and human support.
The Witt Group is a long-standing Lime Connect customer, and its impressive results demonstrate the effectiveness of combining live chat and chatbot support.