From Data to Done—Fast

Hi, I’m Tom Köckeritz, Head of Customer Success at PRISMA. If you’ve ever heard the saying that the best customer experience is one that feels effortless, then you’ll understand what drives our work. In this post, I want to take you behind the scenes to show how we transformed our internal processes using Freshworks — and how that transformation made life easier not just for our team, but most importantly, for our users.

Let me start with a familiar image. You’ve probably heard the ‘duck’ analogy in business — the one where a duck glides smoothly across the water while paddling like crazy underneath. That used to be us. But these days? Thanks to some big changes behind the curtain, I’d say we’re still gliding — just with way less frantic paddling.

Let’s rewind a few years to what I like to call BF — Before Freshworks.

Back Then: The Limits of Traditional Support

In any startup, early-stage customer support tends to be reactive. It was no different for us at PRISMA. Our support was outsourced, and while the team did their best, they didn’t have the opportunity to build direct relationships with our users. Feedback flowed in, but often ended up stuck in silos. We were solving issues, yes — but we weren’t really learning from them.

As PRISMA grew, I realized that our users’ expectations were evolving. The number of support requests went up. We needed a smarter, more proactive approach to how we supported our customers — something that would scale with us.

Searching For the Right Tool

We knew we needed a new solution — one that would let us start small but grow fast. Our Customer Success team was still small at the time, so flexibility was key. I looked at several platforms, including the tool used by our service provider, but none of them quite fit.

Freshworks stood out because of its scalability and licensing model. We could start with just one agent and expand as needed. That flexibility was huge for us. After thorough evaluation and plenty of internal discussions, we decided to go with Freshworks. And I haven’t looked back since.

The Impact: Smoother, Smarter Support

Before Freshworks, we had testers sending feedback to a single email address — which quickly became chaotic. We tried color-coding emails to stay organized, but it wasn’t sustainable.

Today, Freshdesk — Freshworks’ dedicated support portal — allows us to manage all conversations in one place. Different projects can be categorized and assigned to the right people without anything slipping through the cracks. It’s been a game-changer for my team.

Other standout features:

• Phone Support That Creates Tickets Automatically: Calls can be converted into support tickets. This makes it easy to track when a customer reached out and what the issue was.
• SLA Tracking: We can monitor whether we’re meeting our response time agreements — especially critical during emergencies. This gives me confidence when reporting to leadership.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: With the “collaborator” role, people from legal, tech, or other teams can add internal comments to support tickets without needing a full agent license. This keeps communication efficient and seamless.

What Our Users Get

This transformation hasn’t just helped my team — our users benefit directly too:

• Visibility Into Ticket Status: They can track their own requests and review past conversations. That transparency reduces repeat questions and saves time on both ends.
• Better Out-of-Hours Support: With Freshdesk’s IVR (Interactive Voice Response), users who call outside business hours get automated updates and clearer expectations. It’s not a perfect replacement for 24/7 support, but it’s a big step forward.

Living Our Values

One thing I love about Freshworks is how it helps us live out PRISMA’s values — especially transparency. Our users now have better access to our knowledge base and documentation, which empowers them to find answers on their own. That kind of openness was harder to maintain under our old setup.

And because Freshworks helps us streamline the technical stuff, we can spend more time doing what really matters: listening to our users and helping them succeed.

Results We're Proud Of

It’s not always easy to quantify Customer Success, but there are a few metrics I track closely. One is our customer satisfaction score. Since making the switch, we’ve consistently maintained a rating of over 90%. That’s a massive improvement compared to when we worked with an external provider — and a clear sign that we’re on the right track.

What's Next?

There’s still a lot of potential left to tap. For instance, I’m exploring the option of using structured forms for new support requests, so our agents get the most relevant info right up front.

We also know that PRISMA’s growth isn’t slowing down. The energy market is changing fast, and as our user base grows, our approach to Customer Success will need to evolve too. That could mean expanding the team or moving to round-the-clock support. Whatever the solution, I’m confident we’re equipped for it.

Freshworks has helped us lay the foundation for scalable, human-centered support. And that, for me, is what great Customer Success is all about.

— Tom Köckeritz, Head of Customer Success at PRISMA