The Research Specialist serves as an extension of our sales team and customers, providing a high-touch,project-scheming, and product research assistance service. This role transforms product research into a competitive advantage, ensuring that customers receive expert, showroom-quality service for all products. This role is focused on sales-driving research, complex product configuration, and design solutions.
Responsibilities:
Remote Consultations: Replicate the high-touch in-person showroom experience by providing expert guidance via chat, email, virtual conference calls, and phone.
Design Schemes & Product Configuration: Provide technical assistance in creating design schemes, developing furniture configurations, and executing substitutions to drive sales and meet product and project requirements.
Sales Enablement: Act as an extension of the sales team, offloading complex research and product configuration to allow sellers to focus on customer relationship-building and core business activities.
Proactive Sales Support: Act as a critical differentiator by proactively identifying viable, in-stock alternatives, answering product questions regarding fabric specifications, furniture dimensions, and carpet applications, ensuring customer retention and continuous revenue support.
Collaborative Accountability: Work involves collaborating with sales teams, other Research Specialists, and additional product specialist teams in the company. Accountability for shared project work and quality of results is essential.
Note: To maintain focus on revenue-driving research and high-touch service, this role does not handle order fulfillment/processing.
Qualifications:
Client-Facing Experience: 3+ years in a high-end customer service, showroom support, or sales role within the interior design industry.
Subject matter expertise in fabrics, furniture, and carpet, including the ability to consult on substitutions, configurations, and project design.
Digital Fluency: Proficiency with virtual meeting tools, digital communication channels, and willingness to learn AI-enabled visualization tools.
Strategic Communication: Superior verbal and written communication skills suitable for high-touch, consultativeprojects.
Service Mindset: Exceptional patience, empathy, and problem-solving skills tailored to our customer base.
Agility: Ability to pivot between complex tasks and maintain high service levels in a fast-paced "Digital Showroom" environment.
Performance Metrics:
The success of this role is measured through:
Substitution Success Rate: Effectively providing viable in-stock alternatives for out-of-stock inquiries.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Maintaining responsiveness and timely solution delivery to mimic in-person showroom standards.
Internal CSAT: Feedback from sales representatives regarding the accuracy and helpfulness of the support provided.
