Irvine-based software firm ServiceMob wants to make customer service less painful for consumers.
Between social media and live chats, there are multiple channels for customers to express their discontent to a company.
โThereโs so many ways to talk to a business,โ Anuj Bhalla, CEO of ServiceMob, told the Business Journal.
ServiceMobโs customer service analytics pull data across all these touchpoints for companies and measures the effectiveness of a companyโs customer service.
The company was most recently recognized as โBest Startup of the Yearโ by the Internet Marketing Association at the annual Impact23 Awards in October.
ServiceMob is also one of 10 companies selected to join Massachusetts Institute of Technologyโs 12-month startup accelerator, MIT STEX25.
Founded in 2016, ServiceMob went to market with its software in 2021 and has experienced โtriple-digit growthโ each year since its launch, Bhalla said.
ServiceMob has raised $2 million in funding to date with support in part from MITโs Sandbox Innovation Fund.
Frontline Support
ServiceMob makes information that was once unavailable to operators at every level, from frontline agents in call centers to top executives managing thousands of employees.
The company enlists the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze customer interactions.
The companyโs algorithms look at things like the reason for a call, customer effort and outcome to make recommendations on where to improve service.
โThereโs a lot of companies hyper-focused on efficiency, but not looking at the overall picture of effectiveness,โ Bhalla said.
Studies indicate consumers are placing more importance on service and are willing to spend more for a better customer experience. A 2023 Zendesk Inc. report notes 60% of consumers bought from businesses solely based on service reputation.
Despite businesses investing in automation and AI, Americans believe customer service has worsened in recent years, according to the National Customer Rage Survey.
โThe difference with ServiceMob is that it considers the entire end-to-end experience,โ Bhalla said.
Accenture Ties
Bhalla started his career in data science at global consulting giant Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN).
He spent 13 years leading service analytics at Accenture helping clients like Alphabet Inc., Dell Technologies Inc. and Microsoft Corp. implement better customer service strategies.
Instead of returning to consulting after his time at Accenture, Bhalla got his MBA from MIT where he came up with ServiceMob for an academic project.
He noticed that outside of Fortune 500 companies, not all businesses could necessarily afford high-priced customer service consultants to make sense of their data.
โI saw this need in the market for a solution on the software side,โ Bhalla said.
ServiceMob received early support from prominent Orange County tech leaders, such as Alteryx Inc.โs (NYSE: AYX) Dean Stoecker and Ardiusโ Joshua Lee; both act as advisers for the firm today.
