Prodege earns 20X ROI using AI and machine learning

Prodege is an award-winning consumer marketing and insights platform. Through its popular loyalty programs, like Swagbucks, Mypoints, Upromise, and Inboxdollars, the company connects brands with consumers. Members earn rewards for shopping, playing games, and taking surveys; marketers get access to tools, data, and insights to understand, reach, and acquire new customers. Since its founding in 2005, Prodege has awarded members over $2.1 billion.

Needing flexibility and functionality

Prodege partnered with Zendesk in 2012. The company needed a scalable, flexible customer service platform that could keep up with business growth and enhance customer engagement.

“Zendesk provided the perfect balance of functionality and adaptability,” says Kristie Leach, Prodege’s Senior Vice President of Customer Success & Operations. “It’s easy to implement and scale as we grow. It’s been a game changer for us.” For additional operational efficiencies, the company integrated Zendesk with Salesforce and Jira technologies.

Today, exceptional customer experience is at the core of Prodege’s operational strategy.

“We believe that every interaction is an opportunity to create rewarding moments for our customers,” says Leach. “By prioritizing user experience, we not only foster loyalty but also drive sustainable growth.”

Supporting consumers worldwide

Prodege’s support organization relies on Zendesk Suite Enterprise to serve its 120 million customers across 70 markets. With over 50 dedicated support agents based in the United States, Greece, India, and the Philippines, the team is strategically positioned to offer customers 24/7 support in multiple languages no matter where they are, quickly and efficiently.

Consumers primarily interact with Prodege through email, where they can submit inquiries using webforms and receive prompt, in-depth replies. In addition, Prodege uses Zendesk to actively monitor Facebook and Twitter so it can quickly address customer concerns. Beyond consumer support, the company manages legal privacy inquiries through Zendesk to ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

For consumers who prefer a self-serve approach, Prodege provides a help center with access to FAQs, articles, and guides. Zendesk’s virtual agent handles routine inquiries and provides instant responses for tasks like account status checks and password resets.

Realizing 20X ROI with AI and machine learning

Along with the virtual agent, the support team also uses AI automation and machine learning capabilities to ease workflows and automate routine tasks so agents can focus on more meaningful issues that require greater focus.

Combined, the AI-powered tools and automations have helped Prodege achieve a 72 percent one-touch resolution rate and a first-reply time of only three hours. It also cut the cost per ticket by 50 percent.

“Our use of AI demonstrates our commitment to efficient and effective customer service,” reports Leach. “We’ve realized a 20X return on investment from implementing AI and machine learning models. And we’re proud of our 93 percent CSAT score.”

Optimizing support with AI and data

To analyze its customer support data, Prodege uses a combination of Zendesk Explore and Sigma Computing. Explore tracks key KPIs, such as ticket volume, resolution times, and CSAT scores. Sigma lets the team create custom reports and interactive dashboards.

“This dual approach lets us uncover trends and make data-driven decisions that optimize our customer support strategies,” says Leach. “We’ve also leveraged data to pinpoint issues and proactively resolve them, which reduces our ticket volumes. This has improved the customer experience by preventing issues from arising in the first place.”

Turning CX into a competitive advantage

For Prodege, exceptional customer service is a key growth driver. The company understands that happy and engaged survey takers provide more honest and detailed answers. This, in turn, benefits Prodege’s corporate customers.

“Happy members remain for years rather than months or weeks, so Prodege sees some of the industry’s highest participation and recontact rates for qualitative and longitudinal research,” explains Leach. “Zendesk has enabled us to turn customer experience into a competitive advantage.”

Moving forward, Prodege will continue to harness advanced analytics and AI capabilities to create even more rewarding experiences for its customers. “AI will enhance our capabilities rather than replace our team,” concludes Leach. “I wholeheartedly recommend Zendesk.”