Sage launches Europe’s first peer-to-peer customer service platform for SMEs

As the UK starts to unlock, businesses across the country join forces to share insights and best practice  

London, UK, 28 April 2021 – Sage, the market leader in cloud business management solutions, has launched a peer-to-peer (P2P) customer service platform in partnership with Limitless, to enhance its customer experience and enable small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) to recover stronger as UK lockdown measures lift.

The tech leader, which has more than one million UK customers, launched the P2P customer service programme – known as Gig Customer Experience (or GigCX) – to support the nation’s SMBs to navigate operations out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

99% of businesses in the UK are SMEs and after the last recession, small businesses created two thirds of all new jobs. So, the stability of the nation’s economy relies heavily on their success.

“This past year has shown the importance of solidarity and the power of collective thinking,” said Paul Struthers, MD Sage UKI.

“Our research* tells us there is a need for more business support networks. We also know that confidence rather than competence is often a key issue with business owners with 48% stating that a lack of self-belief hindered them.”

Sage’s new ambassador programme delivers accounting and payroll specialist Peer-to-Peer advice, connecting product advocates to fellow users. The ambassadors are experienced users of the software and complete the same processes as customers daily and they get paid per positive resolution.

Paul Struthers added: “In business, when you need advice, there’s nothing better than knowing you are speaking to someone that truly understands your situation. With the launch of our Sage Ambassadors programme, we aim to tap into the passion and product knowledge of our customers and build on the great solidarity that is shared amongst our customer-base, to help deliver deep insight to fellow users. We believe that empathetic service that Sage Ambassadors provide, is a true differentiator and we are already seeing great results.

“The past 12 months have tested our nation’s SMEs like never before, yet they will be the driving force behind our recovery. The economy relies on their success so Sage is doing all it can to make this bounce back as seamless as possible. We have an ambition to turn this into a true peer-to-peer support network, bringing similar SMEs together to overcome their shared challenges and thrive in a post-Covid environment.”

Sage Ambassadors are rated on every customer interaction; more than 1,200 chats were answered during the three-month beta phase with a current Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score of 98% – the Institute of Customer Service shows that the average customer satisfaction score in the UK is 76.8%.

The Limitless Live Messenger option appears at the end of advice articles on Sage’s Help Centre and in-product within Sage 50c Accounts and Sage 50c Payroll, where customers can receive an answer within minutes. Sage can also dial up or down the support provided by the Ambassadors based on peak traffic times, such as payroll year end.

Megan Neale, Founder & COO of Limitless said: “We are absolutely thrilled with our partnership with Sage. Through the launch of Sage Ambassadors programme, we are seeing the passion, empathy, knowledge, and entrepreneurial spirit of UK’s SMEs come together to deliver great customer service for fellow Sage customers. This is so vital in today’s environment, and truly embodies our vision of empowering people to earn money by providing brilliant customer service for brands they love.”

* Research by Sage and Edelman Data Intelligence, January 2021