Three-year-old minimalist men’s T-shirt brand Cuts, in many ways, is a classic direct-to-consumer startup, born out of founder and CEO Steven Borrelli’s need for the perfect desk-to-dinner tee blending style and substance. The brand, which lives by the mantra “a cut for every occasion,” even came up with its own proprietary tri-blend Pyca fabric, engineered to mesh comfort and breathability with wear-anywhere polish.
So when a brand is that thoughtful about product it’s not that much of a stretch to think it would notice where there’s room for improvement in certain moments of the customer experience. Because e-commerce is the only touchpoint for guys buying from Cuts, the brand knew it needed to streamline the experience of not just how they access information about their orders but also how they find out more about products and services.
Cuts’ decision to enhance the customer experience comes at a time when retail service providers are seizing upon the opportunity to help e-commerce companies better service their purchasers after they’ve clicked the buy button.
“With so many options to shop, your loyal customers are essential to the growth of your brand. Customers today want instant answers both pre and post-purchase,” Borrelli said.
Cuts tapped fellow start-up Linc to automate the customer experience. “Creating a personalized experience is incredibly important to us. We want to provide exceptional service and real-time updates and personalized recommendations from the time our customer sees an ad to the time the package arrives at their doorstep,” Borrelli noted. “The Linc platform allows us to provide our customers with an innovative 1:1 experience with our customers while building loyalty and brand engagement.”
Linc uses artificial intelligence and other technologies to quickly answer customers inquiring about their orders and other pre- and post-purchase issues—with the goal of increasing engagement and loyalty. “As the customer experience becomes the main pinnacle for driving customer loyalty, CUTS is at the forefront by evolving with customer behavior and offering an engaging experience that drives repeat purchasers,” said Linc CEO Fang Cheng.