How Balsam Hill turned product questions into buying moments

The Challenge

Competing bots left unanswered questions and confused customers

Balsam Brands has been a Gladly customer since 2021. In recent years, as Gladly AI handled more post-purchase questions, Joe Balczo, the brand's senior strategist for AI and CX technology, noticed a pattern: many customers still needed help deciding what to buy.

"The one elusive hole that we had to fill was product questions," Joe said.

The answers often existed on Balsam Hill's product pages but could be hard for shoppers to find. During peak season, Balsam Hill also relies on agents who have only a few weeks to learn its extensive catalog. As a result, answering product questions often meant searching product pages while customers waited.

The digital commerce team introduced a separate shopping bot to help answer these questions, but it fragmented the experience. Customers faced two bots and often chose the wrong one, asking shopping questions in the service widget and service questions in the shopping bot. As a result, they didn't get the help they needed.

Balsam Hill needed to help customers choose what to buy, not just support them after a purchase. And they needed to do it without forcing them into two disconnected experiences.

The Solution

One conversation now covers the full customer journey

Instead of replacing the shopping bot with another standalone solution, Balsam Hill extended Gladly into the pre-sale journey.

Gladly could now help shoppers discover products, compare options, get answers to product questions, and overcome issues that might otherwise prevent a purchase. Shopping and service now happened in one place, so customers could ask a product question, get a recommendation, or get help with an existing order in the same conversation.

Every interaction lives on one customer record, preserving context across the journey. Customers do not have to start over when a conversation moves from shopping to service or from AI to a person. Details shared while shopping remain available if they need support later, while past purchases and conversations inform future help and recommendations.

The potential became clear during testing. Gladly surfaced ornament sets and décor that even Joe did not know Balsam Hill carried. "I was like, I would buy this right now," he said.

The rollout required little technical lift. Balsam Hill focused primarily on testing, placement, branding, and copy, making implementation straightforward.

The Results

Higher resolution, more revenue, and one cohesive chat experience

Within the first 30 days:

• Nearly one in five shoppers who viewed a product in chat added one to their cart.

• Chat drove six figures in add-to-cart value in the first 30 days.

• Resolution increased from 80% to 91%.

The early results gave Balsam Hill's digital commerce team the confidence to move quickly. After launching on balsamhill.com in the U.S., the team expanded the experience to its U.K. and Australian sites at the same time.

What began as an effort to solve product questions became a new way for Balsam Hill to support customers and create value throughout the journey.