Bluecore’s customer onboarding and services team holds itself to a lofty goal: within 45 days, clients must be fully onboarded and comfortable with Bluecore's services.
It may seem like a quick turnaround, and it is, but at the helm of this success is Bluecore’s Director of Customer Onboarding and Services, Caroline Thompson. Her ability to act quickly shows up in her team’s consistency for rapidly ramping up new customers, which successfully launched every client onto their platform in 2018.
We caught up with Caroline to see what’s ahead for her impacting team, and how she will continue to lead them to success.
FOUNDED: 2013
EMPLOYEES: 196, 130 locally
WHAT THEY DO: Using AI, Bluecore’s marketing platform helps brands increase revenue through triggered, personalized marketing campaigns based on real-time product and customer data. Its engine identifies the right time and content to interject during the customer journey.
WHERE THEY DO IT: New York City
LENDING HAND: In addition to a monthly reimbursement for commuter costs, employees also receive a fitness stipend for gym memberships or classes.
COLLABORATE AND LISTEN: To be on Caroline’s team, you’ll have to be a self-starter, skilled in project management, customer service-forward, a team player, empathetic, creative and an awesome collaborator.
E-COMMERCE ENHANCER: With a growing customer base that includes major retailers like Disney and Nordstrom Rack, Bluecore continues to solidify its position in reimagining how brands communicate with shoppers.
Caroline Thompson, Director, Customer Onboarding and Services
Caroline's goal is to ensure her team has the tools and knowledge to get customers onboarded successfully and quickly. That includes developing deliverability monitoring plans and new onboarding processes for new products releases.
RUN ALONG: Caroline has been running marathons for the last few years and just completed her fifth by running the NYC Marathon last year.
Your previous experience includes roles at corporate giants Oracle and Responsys. What inspired the move to Bluecore?
The revolutionary tech at Bluecore was fundamentally different than what I had seen in the retail space. Something that once took me months to implement could be done in days. It was also important for me to have the ability to learn and grow on a small team and play a larger role in big decisions. This was and remains an opportunity to be a part of a trailblazing company that’s making waves in the industry.
You started as a client success manager and have moved up several positions in your time at Bluecore. Who has helped you along your career trajectory?
At a high-growth company, the growth paths are naturally not linear, which is a great way to forge your own journey. I was able to garner advice and tangible feedback from a variety of team members — from my peers, my direct managers and all the way up to the CEO.
What are your goals for your team? What are your goals for the company?
During the onboarding process, we strive to get customers live as quickly as possible. We hold ourselves to a 45-day launch period, which ensures our customers can see value almost immediately.
Our goals for the company are to keep and develop efficient and effective processes for our existing and new product lines. The goal is always to have the customer see a return on investment as quickly as possible while keeping the highest level of quality and standards.
What inspires your work at Bluecore?
The most inspiring things about Bluecore are our innovative tech and incredibly talented people that work here. It’s great to see the team come together when problems arise or think of creative ways to accommodate a unique customer request.
Talk to us about your background with email deliverability. How will this impact Bluecore’s growth and potentially your role within the company?
Email deliverability was something I had to face in a previous role because my client at the time had a ton of deliverability issues. There were many, many hours spent working with our deliverability team to help get this client back into good standings. During that time, I paid attention to everything that was happening and was able to take all the knowledge with me to Bluecore.
Today, my background and knowledge on the topic has helped us launch new products, teach new team members and educate clients on a topic that is notoriously difficult to understand.
Tell us about a project that this team produced under your leadership that you’re proud of.
A big project for 2018 was to maintain our 100 percent launch rate while rolling out new products and processes. Not only did we accomplish that goal, but we also reduced the average time to launch by 15 percent, which allowed our customers to start seeing revenue gains faster.
The most inspiring things about Bluecore are our innovative tech and incredibly talented people that work here.”
What’s next for Bluecore? Where do you see your company in one year? In five?
Bluecore is taking over the email space and will become the benchmark for performance across all digital programs in retail. Legacy technology no longer meets the needs of consumers and marketers. This has made way for a technological evolution that Bluecore will continue to spearhead over the next few years and will continue to be recognized as such by key players, including Google.
