The challenge

Getting on the same page

A.C. Ivory could see he had a problem. More and more people were interested in researching their family tree, and Ancestry.com’s genealogy business was experiencing tremendous growth. But that explosion of new customers led to logistical issues. As a senior product manager, A.C. noticed that Ancestry.com’s processes had trouble keeping pace.

Standard procedure saw salespeople close deals with clients before handing the case off to customer relations managers (CRMs) and researchers. Then, the CRMs would call or email the client to set up their virtual consultation. But they often found themselves catching customers at inconvenient times. Email wasn’t much better, as the back-and-forth could last for hours or days. 

Even when researchers set an initial meeting with clients, occasional timezone mix-ups and miscommunications further sidetracked the process. All these fumbles added up to unneeded frustration and, for a business running on billable hours, unnecessary costs. A.C. needed to seamlessly guide clients through Ancestry.com’s in-depth user journey, and he wanted it to be easy for them to arrange for calls when it was most convenient for them.

The solution

One-click scheduling

Researchers should be researching, not writing emails, A.C. thought. Sales reps should be selling, and customer service pros should be servicing customers. His teams needed an integrated system that kept them all on the same page, so they could spend their time doing what they do best. That’s where Calendly came in.

These days, customers get a single email and book a consultation themselves. Once the sales team signs a client, they pass them on to a research manager. The manager assigns a unified service and researching team, then sends an email with a Calendly link, letting the customer schedule a call at their convenience with their assigned team. Internally, the Calendly system keeps everyone connected. 

“If we took Calendly away today, there would be an uproar. It has transformed the way we interact with clients and deliver on projects. In our case, everyone wins.”

A.C. Ivory

Senior Product Manager at Ancestry.com

Customers get one message and set the meeting themselves. Calendly automatically accounts for time zone changes and blocks that slot off for the research team. Unnecessary complications and the risk of misunderstandings are gone. The whole process is automated, so it’s smooth sailing for the customer.

The results

Streamlined communications, satisfied customers

A.C. and the rest of the leadership team saw an immediate impact from the changes. Calendly cut the time it took for salespeople to hand clients off to CRMs and researchers in half. There were 40% fewer emails to clients, and scheduling mishaps virtually disappeared. 

Researchers got started on their work more quickly, and customers got their genealogy results faster. Salespeople no longer worried about dropping the baton on hand-off so they could concentrate on helping more customers. A single system guided Ancestry.com’s high-value customers through multiple touchpoints.

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