How CallHippo Improved Revenue By 13% [Churn Reduction Using AI]

Churn is a common problem when it comes to business, but is it that important?

CallHippo thinks so and so they actively addressed the problem which lead to a 13% increase in their overall revenue.

It sounds simple, right?

In reality, it is not as easy as It sounds. The team has put a lot of thought into it.

So, let's understand in-depth how they did it.

What does CallHippo do?

CallHippo is a VoIP service provider.(Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol) which in simple terms means you use the internet to make your phone calls instead of using traditional means (A physical phone line).?

CallHippo boasts a user base of more than 5000+ customers spread across 100+ countries. They help you set up your cloud-based phone system in less than 3 minutes which speaks volumes about their SaaS capabilities.

But there is no good product that doesn’t face problems.?

And, the one issue that every company eventually faces is increasing their revenue and reducing churn.?

In the case of CallHippo, this becomes more crucial as their business is highly dependent on providing reliable service to their customers, and having a strong service sets them up as a top SaaS provider in their space.

Problem Discovery

Now, there are multiple ways to increase revenue, but the resources are always under constraints.

So, the best course of option is to look at the top prospective opportunities that would help them get to their goal of improving revenue.

Step 1: Define Success

Let us define them:

1. The success criteria here is to Improve revenue by at least 10%
2. The binding constraint here is that resources are limited. So, they cannot focus on all the strategies that come to mind.

So, to achieve success we need to ask the right questions.

Step 2: Evaluating our options

To improve revenue, we can either

• Build new features
• Reduce Churn

Considering our binding constraint, we can safely say that CallHippo went with reducing churn.?

So, we can evaluate each of the common options for reducing Churn:

• Customer Retention Program
• Improved Customer Support
• Improving Existing Capabilities

Based on this, we can say that improving existing capabilities was the way to go.

But, what exactly?

Step 3: Finding the “True” Problem

The first answer that comes to mind with some analysis is reducing the churn where the agents talk with prospects directly.

But that’s not the exact problem that needs to be solved. Let us look at the rationale for why this is a good step from the first principles point of view:

We need to reduce the churn where the agents talk with prospects directly.

• Why? Because they impact revenue directly
• Why? Because the calls including pitches, handling objections, and showcasing product USP are in direct correlation with the revenue aspect which is our main success criteria
• Why? Missing out or having errors on these calls could lead to unsatisfactory customer experiences

So, considering this, the main problem that CallHippo needed to solve is - Identifying and reducing the amount of failed calls that the agents respond to.

?Approach and Methodology

Until recently, CallHippo’s team had a manual approach to the call monitoring process.

But this had two key disadvantages - time-consuming and also had chances of manual errors, so they had two options in sight:

1. Invest more in the manual process
2. Use a tool to help with monitoring

With option 2, the earlier issue of turnaround time would be reduced with the tradeoff of investing in this resource.

Yes, investing would be a crucial decision but considering the following three factors it makes sense:

1. Lifetime value is directly affected by this investment
2. Turnaround time is reduced, thus faster implementation
3. The current problem will directly impact revenue when implemented correctly.

So, CallHippo indeed went with the second option of using an AI-based SaaS tool named Enthu AI that would help them monitor the calls efficiently.

Enthu AI is a tool that helps the key contact points in an organization to have better conversations with their customers? - The exact issue that CallHippo was looking to solve.

The key reasons I believe Enthu AI was selected are:

1. Good call transcription accuracy
2. Their ease of integration with VoIPs (Thus not interrupting CallHippo's existing operations)

Implementation

Circling back the key problem that needs to be solved here is - Identifying and reducing the amount of failed calls that the agents respond to.

So, this is how Enthu AI helped CallHippo with this problem:

Step 1 - Identification

The Enthu AI team sat with the CallHippo team that managed these calls and found out key moments on customer calls that might affect the revenue.

This could include unhappy or frustrated customers.

Step 2 - Automatic Detection

Based on the key moments, EnThu AI set up a system that would detect calls that include these moments and transfer them to the QA (Quality Assurance) team at CallHippo.

Step 3 - Evaluation

The QA team then assesses these calls in-depth to understand what went wrong on these calls - what was the issue, how was it handled, and other parameters required to make an informed decision.

Step 4 - Action

The takeaways (including gas) from these evaluations are shared with the customer success team so that the required steps can be taken to coach the teams and resolve the issues that arise in the future within 6 months.

Results and Outcomes

By implementing Enthu’s AI-based tool into their monitoring strategy, CallHippo achieved the following outcomes:

• Because of 100% AI-based call monitoring, the number of calls missed is reduced by nearly 70-80%
• Because of the insights derived from these calls, the agents were well-trained to handle objections and pitches. This resulted in an increase in Agent CSAT score by 21%

Thus, CallHippo sought the right problem to solve and achieved a significant reduction in Churn by 20% which in turn helped them improve their revenue by 13%

Lessons Learned

By going through the case study we have learned several lessons, but what if were to take just 4 of them, they would be...

1. Choosing the right problem

CallHippo avoided resource waste by not jumping at the first issue (like reducing churn) they saw but carefully selecting focused problems aligned with their goals.

Practical tip:

Take time and prioritize solving problems that directly align with your strategic goals to maximize impact.

2. Time does equal money

CallHippo accelerated results by investing in an efficient tool like Enthu AI, reducing implementation time and costs, and achieving early successes.

Practical tip:

Invest in tools and solutions that optimize efficiency to save time and resources.

3. Keep the process tied to your goal

CallHippo focused solely on enhancing revenue, ensuring every step from problem identification to solution implementation contributed to their key objective.

Practical tip:

Align every process and decision with your primary business goals to maintain focus and drive impactful results.

4. Ensure proper stakeholder management

CallHippo integrated the Enthu AI team seamlessly to enhance existing systems without disruption, ensuring smooth operations and improvements.

Practical Tip:

Implement new initiatives in a way that doesn't interrupt current systems to maintain smooth operations.

Conclusion

If you went through the entire case study, you might have noticed that the problem discovery phase was comparatively the longest section - To be precise 371 words.

I intentionally highlighted the problem discovery phase, dedicating 371 words to emphasize its critical importance. While case studies often focus on solutions and results, it's the thorough problem discovery that drives real success.

Think of it like running a restaurant: if you choose the wrong dish to prepare (wrong problem to solve), no matter the recipe you select (your to-do lists), no matter how great your ingredients (resources) or how perfect the final dish (solution), your customers (goals) won't be satisfied.

Always prioritize identifying the right problem. And, as a PM, it's crucial to involve key stakeholders (In CallHippo’s case - the QA team, agents, and customer success team) to ensure everyone is addressing a common issue that supports the company's goals.

This makes up a complete solution.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on problem discovery in the comments. 
And, If you'd prefer a private discussion, let's connect via DM.        

Acknowledgment: This study was inspired by a case study originally found on Enthu.AI

A big shoutout and gratitude to the team at Enthu.AI for allowing me to use some graphics and data to help make this a detailed study.

Special thanks to Tushar Jain ? , Gaurav Mittal and Dharvi Sharma?