Family owned company Darn Tough Vermont (DTV) was founded in 1978 by Marc Cabot and has evolved a lot over the years, recently earning a highly coveted title of being “the best socks in the business”.
At first, you’d attribute the title to their high quality products (loved by outdoor enthusiasts and even the U.S. military), but if you dive deeper into their story and their customer reviews like these below, you soon realize that they may just be the “best socks business, period”.
Especially these days, customer retention is on every business owner’s mind. After all, it’s much cheaper (and therefore more profitable) to keep a current customer than to acquire a new one. Here’s how Darn Tough Vermont is able to build a strong loyal community of customers.
A little over ten years after Marc founded the company, his son Ric Cabot joined the family business. In 2004, Ric Cabot devised the strategy of selling socks designed for durability. The socks were initially distributed locally, but high demand, particularly among outdoor enthusiasts, led the company to reach distribution deals with national retailers, including REI and L.L. Bean.
If you go on their website today, you notice they appeal to their audience from the words and imagery they use to the promise they stand by:
Darn Tough is a made in USA brand, so it was always very important for them to have US based support and provide personalized responses to their customers. That criteria led them directly to Chatdesk, where most of our experts are U.S.-based.
Now, Chatdesk experts provides 24/7 coverage on Facebook and Instagram as well as after hours coverage on email (5pm to 9am EDT) on weekdays and full day coverage on weekends. Meet some team members here:
When Darn Tough’s ticket volume was continually increasing, they were finding it difficult to ensure fast response times - especially on social media and email. So they got additional help from Chatdesk experts while making sure responses were still perfectly on-brand.
Today, 46% of responses from Darn Tough Vermont are in less than 90 minutes - much better than industry average. But the fast response time isn’t accidental; it’s been the consistent high standard leadership has set even during rapid growth.
Customer service on social media is becoming more prevalent and a smart strategy for customer retention. But how you respond matters - as Darn Tough demonstrates below.
The response below is from a Chatdesk expert on the Darn Tough Vermont customer support team. The customer explains the product they’re looking for is out of stock and asks the customer support team when it will be available again. Though Darn Tough Vermont isn’t able to say exactly when the order will be available, they provide an alternative solution to support their customer.
Darn Tough’s response to this customer below may surprise you - take a look.
This one doesn’t need an intro - just take a look at the thought that went into this response.
Chatdesk CX experts help innovative companies supercharge sales through their social and support channels. Our US-based teams deliver perfectly on-brand responses that turn customer inquiries on social, email, and chat into 10% more conversions and higher customer satisfaction.
Loving our instant Zendesk and Gorgias integration and pay-per-ticket pricing, hundreds of innovative brands including Thinx, Shea Moisture, Storyworth, and Mented Cosmetics trust Chatdesk to satisfy their customers.
Need some help? Schedule a demo to learn more at Chatdesk.com.
