HomeServe delivers seamless omnichannel customer experiences

Challenge

Overcoming technology silos to improve customer experiences

HomeServe provides home repair and installation warranties to homeowners, covering plumbing, drainage, gas, water, electrical, heating, and cooling systems. Founded in the UK, the company expanded to the US and Canada in 2003, where it now operates independently.

HomeServe has built its reputation on great service. To attract more customers in the 35- to 55-year-old age group, HomeServe wants to offer seamless self-service interactions across phone, mobile, web, SMS, and email. But siloed technologies hindered its ability to deliver consistent multi-channel experiences, affecting both customer service and internal efficiency. With fragmented data, HomeServe struggled to make data-driven decisions, and its existing integration solution lacked the speed required to support web-based transactions.

Objectives

Modernizing platforms, centralizing data, and transforming experiences

To tackle these challenges, HomeServe launched a digital transformation with the following goals:

• Create a consistent and modern omnichannel customer experience
• Modernize platforms and improve business processes for greater efficiency
• Leverage data to measure and enhance business performance, enabling proactive insights for more informed decision-making

Solution

Enabling digital self-service customer journeys

HomeServe deployed MuleSoft in 2022 to support its business transformation, replacing its monolithic legacy system with a scalable and reliable cloud-based integration platform. “The MuleSoft team provided expert guidance, helping us move from ideation and proof of concept to the deployment of a dynamic integration platform that can connect both old and new systems,” explained Joseph Sorisi, CTO at HomeServe North America.

Today, HomeServe works with the MuleSoft Signature Success team to provide ongoing advice and support so it can be successful with each new use case. HomeServe now has more than 170 APIs in MuleSoft, which are reused across channels to ensure consistency and reliability.

MuleSoft powers HomeServe’s digital self-service customer journeys, starting with onboarding. For example, when a customer expresses interest in a service, they can reach HomeServe via web, mobile, or voice. After entering their details, they receive an automated quote. If they accept, they can create a profile with contact and payment information, instantly enrolling in the service. MuleSoft processes data requests at every touchpoint in milliseconds, resulting in a seamless customer experience.

Processing customer claims

When an existing customer with a warranty product experiences an issue, for example, if they have a leaking pipe in their home, they can submit a service request through their preferred channel. MuleSoft pulls customer data from HomeServe’s CRM system and automatically transfers it to the field service platform, ensuring that the appropriate expert is dispatched. This eliminates repetitive data entry and ensures the expert has all the necessary information for a swift response.

HomeServe efficiently captures information about a customer’s equipment using a solution based on machine learning and optical character recognition (OCR) technologies, with MuleSoft connecting the data. Using this solution, HomeServe can take photos of equipment faceplates and convert the images to data, extracting the make, model, serial number, and age of the equipment. This information is currently used to simplify service and, in the future, will be used to support proactive marketing and customer notifications.

Using predictive AI to optimize sales and marketing

HomeServe is now working towards creating a 360-degree view of its four million customers by integrating data across marketing, call centers, mobile, and field service. “With MuleSoft bringing our data together across platforms, we can use AI to analyze it and provide sales and service reps with next-best actions and personalized recommendations for customers,” said Sorisi. “This will drive greater upselling and cross-selling, increasing our revenue potential.”

HomeServe also plans to use AI-driven insights to enable greater automation, for example, proactively reminding customers about service needs, scheduling maintenance, and optimizing its marketing spend by identifying the most effective channels.

Results

Transforming customer experiences with a data-driven approach

With MuleSoft, HomeServe’s data-driven approach is transforming customer experiences, operational efficiency, and revenue potential. Reusable APIs in MuleSoft have helped HomeServe become more agile, cutting time from design to go-live. For example, updates that used to take six weeks now take just a two-week sprint, with new APIs created in half the time. Developers enjoy increased efficiency without worrying about security, as MuleSoft’s cloud-based solution ensures built-in security for every API.

“MuleSoft powers our self-service capabilities across multiple channels, helping us attract a younger customer base,” said Sorisi. “It supports new digital capabilities and service offerings and connects our data so we can drive business growth.”