“I enjoy driving people toward a similar goal to make sure we’re all aligned around the same priorities,” says Brandon Gell, Founder & CEO of Clyde Technologies. Clyde is a simple-to-integrate extended warranty platform that helps businesses drive greater revenue, brand loyalty, and customer lifetime value. Clyde leverages technology and a competitive network of insurance partners to offer extended warranties and accident protection plans on a huge range of products for retailers of all sizes. Plans cover warranty extensions, wear and tear, water damage, and even accidents. Gell is an empathetic leader who is always working to prioritize plans that will help Clyde better serve retailers and their customers. Thanks to his efforts, expensive and technically challenging extended warranty programs that took six months to fully integrate were transformed into an easy to set up, 3-minute implementation.

Revolutionary Warranty Plans

Initially, Gell was working at a startup that was designing, building, and selling an advanced technical 3D scanner. He realized that there were no reliable online partners who offered complete product protection for businesses of his size. Gell came to the understanding that if he couldn’t find a partner, there were likely hundreds of other online retailers who were facing the same hindrances. The lack of warranty was not only damaging such online stores’ credibility, but it also diminished a passive revenue stream for them. Thus, the seed of the idea that grew into Clyde was born.

Gell and his team created a platform that allows retailers to launch, manage, and drive profit and loyalty with an extended warranty platform. Clyde’s platform has proven to be successful in both enterprise organizations that are looking to level up their existing programs, and with smaller retailers who were previously unable to offer extended warranties. An increasing number of retailers, including those from emerging D2C brands and well-established organizations, are placing their trust in the Clyde platform.

Transparent and Hassle-Free

Consumers can simply add Clyde to their e-commerce order to extend the product manufacturer’s warranty and cover it from accidents and damage. Retailers get access to rates that are typically reserved for Fortune 10 companies, a platform to manage their program, and a performance that exceeds, by more than 4x, the industry standard. Consumers, in turn, get transparent and easy to understand terms and conditions, a dashboard to manage their contracts and add protection to orders they initially didn’t add to, and even get instant adjudication and resolutions.

Faster Resolutions

The main challenge in the insurance industry today is that there is not enough emphasis on the customer experience, especially in the extended warranties space. Consumers often view extended warranties as a scam due to past negative experiences. “Our mission at Clyde is to re-shape the extended warranty experience for both retailers and consumers,” says Gell. Clyde has made warranties simple to purchase. Terms and conditions are stated clearly, and the majority of claims are instantly adjudicated. Clyde’s platform offers auto-adjudication, or real-time claims decisions, as well as multiple options for claims payouts. “Our models no longer need to be based on age-old constructs—better technology helps retailers and insurance companies to better serve the customer,” states Gell.

One-time Buyers into Lifelong Customers

Clyde strives to offer every customer peace of mind. Clyde’s competitive rates and seamless purchasing experience ensure that they can confidently buy and use the things they love know they are covered if anything goes wrong. With Clyde, the claims process is simple. Even non-tech-savvy folk will find it easy to access and navigate through a personalized customer dashboard. The Clyde dashboard lets customers view contracts, file pre-filled claims, buy additional coverage, and receive real-time transparency for any claims submitted. Clyde’s reliable, easily navigable product protection plans drive brand loyalty. This turns one-time buyers into lifelong customers by increasing customer confidence in the brand’s products and services.

In-Depth Analytics

The Clyde platform’s benefits extend beyond buyers. For retailers, Clyde’s customizable platform seamlessly integrates with checkout options both online and in-store. Clyde provides in-depth analytics on contracts sold, revenue earned, and product value covered. Clyde’s merchant partners see higher average order values, increased revenue, and happier customers as a result of offering product protection through Clyde.

A Win-Win for Consumers and Retailers Alike

Clyde also houses an autopilot option that can automatically optimize pricing to increase conversations and margins. The platform builds on the best practices learned from Clyde’s myriad of merchant partners. Retailers also have the flexibility of managing the Clyde integration through a hands-on or hands-off approach according to their needs and preferences. The bottom line is that Clyde ensures a win-win for both retailers and consumers. It empowers customers to manage their products’ lifecycles and empowers retailers to capture sales from broken products and drive up their AOV and margins.

Proven Wins

One of Clyde’s retail partners, Chili Technology, was looking for ways to improve the customer experience and drive profitable growth. Clyde was able to launch an extended warranty program within days. Kate Albers, E-Commerce Manager at Chili, stated that their partnership with Clyde activated an additional revenue stream in the key fourth-quarter holiday period. Additionally, Chili’s experience with Clyde has yielded a 29% attachment rate and an 11% increase in AOV.

Key Statistics

Clyde’s average attachment rate, the percentage of eligible orders that add product protection, is 20%. This is more than four times the industry average. This high attachment rate is possible because of the dynamic and fully customizable calls-to-action. Clyde also offers the most competitive product warranty rates in the industry.

Clyde’s retail partners have seen profit margins as high as 70% on their protection plans—protection plans are often the highest-margin product Clyde’s partners sell. Since company inception, Clyde has worked with nearly 200 merchant partners, from startups to enterprises, across retail verticals.

Openness and Learning

“I felt like I’d created something valuable when I was able to hire people I looked up to,” says Gell. He adds that even with great ideas, a successful company can’t thrive without a great team. Leaders should understand that fear of failure is universal, and that people expect you to make mistakes. The best way to resolve a mistake is to take ownership and talk about your failures publicly with your team. This creates a culture of openness and learning in an organization. Gell’s advice to upcoming startups and entrepreneurs is to spend a lot of time hiring new employees to ensure they are a good match. “My best advice is to build out an amazing leadership team around you and make sure they all feel empowered,” he advises. Gell and his team at Clyde continue to work to cover the widest range of products at the best rates and to create a delightful experience for their customers.