The challenges Pokhara Enduro faced:

1. Fragmented Communication

POE used multiple communication channels, which made it tricky to keep track of all participant interactions in one central place. This caused problems in reaching out to the same participant across different channels like emails, social media messages, and phone calls. As a result, coordinating efforts became challenging and messages were sometimes overlooked.

2. Response Time

Keeping up with messages across different platforms manually led to delays in addressing participant inquiries and concerns. This became particularly challenging when dealing with queries from various time zones. Consequently, important announcements were occasionally overlooked, leaving participants frustrated due to the lack of timely responses.

3. Participant Experience

The inconsistent and delayed responses affected participants’ experiences and satisfaction. Participants provided feedback indicating a need for improved communication and more personalised engagement.

4. Efficiency

Managing pre-race marketing, partnership communications, race operations, race results, and post-race reports was a real hassle without a comprehensive communication solution. Team members found themselves juggling between various platforms, which ate up time and resources. This led to inefficiencies and missed chances along the way.

Image Credit: Pokhara Enduro

The FocalScope Solution

FocalScope evaluated the needs and requirements of the race planning team before proposing a custom FocalScope solution with two parts: Omni-channel Communications Manager and Knowledgebase.

Omni-channel Communications Manager: 

FocalScope integrates multiple communication channels into a single platform. Emails, WhatsApp, Facebook, and voice call notes are all gathered in one centralised ticket box.

Communications from the same person across different channels can be linked to the same ticket, ensuring that no context is lost. For example, if a participant sends an inquiry on WhatsApp and follows up with an email, both forms of communication can be linked to the same ticket, eliminating the need for repetitive questions and answers to fill in missing information.

Knowledgebase:

The race planning team receives numerous daily inquiries leading up to the race, many of which involve simple and repetitive questions. The FAQ Knowledgebase empowers potential participants and volunteers to find answers on their own, significantly reducing the number of support tickets received by the team. This allows the team to allocate more time to handling complex inquiries and providing a better customer experience.

Three key FocalScope Features that are included in the package:

1. Cloud Implementation

A cloud implementation was chosen to ensure that the race planning team could start using FocalScope immediately, regardless of their location and time zone. The team members can access FocalScope from their laptops, mobile phones, or a web app, ensuring connectivity wherever they are.

2. Workflow Automation

Auto-reply templates, canned response templates, and email auto-translation allow the POE support team to streamline their communications with participants and sponsors. These templates help save time as support staff can swiftly insert responses to common questions. Additionally, the built-in auto-translator allows the team to reply to participants in their preferred languages.

3. Universal Customer Card

FocalScope’s universal customer card collects every interaction that takes place across all communication channels. It conveniently stores details about previous race participance, their home countries, and past inquiries. Accessing this information ensures a comprehensive understanding, enhances communication quality, and facilitates the promotion of upgraded race packages.