• February 28, 2022
How Ulta transforms their industry with a guest-centric approach
Featuring Adam Seede
Director of Guest Services at Ulta
In this Gladly podcast episode, hear from Director of Guest Services at Ulta Beauty, Adam Seede, as he explains how Ulta Beauty weathered retail closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, turned guest services into a revenue driver, and continues to remain customer-focused during an accelerated shift to digital.
Ulta Beauty has redefined beauty shopping for nearly three decades with the promise, "all things beauty, all in one place." Tune in as Adam reveals the visionary grit of this retail powerhouse.
Like many brands, Ulta Beauty shut down its stores during the pandemic, which led to high contact queues. Adam brought in 200 associates from the field whose stores had closed to answer emails on Gladly.
"I had the opportunity to bring on 200 helpers from our field...and I found a way to tap their skill set. They were obviously great with our guests. They're associates of Ulta Beauty, and I was able to bring them in on Gladly to answer emails, and it worked out amazingly."
Adam Seede
Director of Guest Services, Ulta
Adam also explains how guest services became a revenue driver. When guests appear to be struggling at checkout, for example by lingering on the page or having trouble with a promotion code, the team starts a proactive chat. Adam says Ulta Beauty measured the results and found that conversion rate had doubled for those engagements compared with guests the team did not reach out to.
"We have to move from being transactional to being purposeful—building a relationship and not just thinking about guest services as a post-transaction team that helps answer tracking questions."
Adam Seede
Director of Guest Services, Ulta
Ulta Beauty has 34 million Ultimate Rewards members, and 95 percent of its sales come from members, Adam says. That gives the team the chance to know its guests better.
"Human connection is absolutely necessary. It's more important than ever during a time when much interaction was taken away."
Adam Seede
Director of Guest Services, Ulta
About the host
Joseph Ansanelli is Executive Chairman & Co-Founder of Gladly, a CX platform powered by AI that puts people, not tickets, at the center of every conversation. In addition to leading Gladly, Joseph is a partner at Greylock Partners. As host of Radically Personal, he serves as a curiosity translator, drawing out strategies and hard-won lessons from CX leaders navigating the AI revolution, exploring how they prove ROI, manage change, and scale without compromise.
