Increasingly, customers worldwide are shifting their expectations to demand automated, instant, all-encompassing services at any time and from anywhere. In this fast-shifting environment, service providers can often find themselves rushing to catch up to ensure that customer needs are met when and how they want them to be.
The task is increasingly difficult in a competitive landscape like the telecommunications market. One dissatisfied customer can easily take his business somewhere else, with the process of changing operators being fast and straightforward.
Moreover, since constant competition between telcos has usually already pushed prices to their lowest levels, customer experience becomes a key differentiator. The secret to a significant value proposition, then is to be customer-centric, ensuring that any new service or development happens because it will improve, in some way, the direct experience of the customer.
Automation with the help of conversational technology is one way to ensure experiences that feel personal and relevant for each independent customer.
On a market with one of the lowest ARPUs in Europe but a high churn rate, telcos are singularly pressured to provide excellent customer experiences to retain customers. Customer experience matters as consumer and enterprise expectations have never been higher.
The telco company had already started the digital transformation of its customer-facing operations to keep up with the trends. As the physical restrictions of 2020 placed a greater emphasis than ever on remote access to sales and customer support, it became clear that more needed to be done.
Fully digital customer support was one way to answer the current demands of the modern customer while also keeping costs under control by reducing the need for massive contact center teams.
With over 4.5 million customers and a vast portfolio of services spanning mobile and fixed telephony, mobile and fixed Internet, TV, and enterprise IT&C services, the digital transformation of the experience of each of these customers was no easy feat for the telco company. The challenge was, however, also an opportunity to exceed expectations, wow customers, and even improve the sales experiences to boost the awareness and acquisition of more comprehensive service packages.
Rising to the occasion, the telco company chose to implement a digital virtual assistant based on DRUID’s conversation technology that could both automate the provision of technical support as well as back remote sales efforts for its vast portfolio of services.
The virtual assistant, named TIM, is hosted on the website. It has been programmed to provide both existing and potential customers with detailed information on new services, helping guide them through the process of contracting services, porting their number from another operator, or exchanging one service for another. TIM constantly learns and keeps updated In addition with the latest promotions and special offers, offering customers personalized support in choosing the service options that best answer their needs and price packages that feel personalized. In the back end, sales consultants saw their productivity grow as they became able to more directly access centralized information about customers’ needs while also being freed from repetitive, routine tasks.
At the same time, TIM offers individual and enterprise customers technical assistance and answers FAQs. Thus, it can assist any existing user in accessing their MyAccount and take advantage of the multitude of functionalities offered, including the issuance of electronic invoices and support e-payments, providing support for subscription renewal or tariff plan modifications.
Large telecom operators have millions of customers, all of whom expect instant support and answers for their inquiries. The perceived level of care they receive while interacting with the telco in such instances has a massive direct impact on their loyalty and overall satisfaction.
The traditional business model for customer support for such companies has been to maintain large contact centers with 24/7 availability and teams working in shifts, thereby generating enormous fixed and variable costs. Leveraging AI and the power of conversational business applications can be an excellent approach to increasing operational and cost efficiencies while providing customers with an even better, faster, and more straightforward service.
The ability of a digital virtual assistant to provide support anytime anywhere can also ensure strong ROI as customers feel cared for and are gently guided towards the acquisition of more service packages.