Major Network Operators in Nigeria are continuously finding new ways to prove customer experience, writes Hamid Ayodeji
Customer experience may be described as the impression an organisation or a brand leaves on its customers, and the customer’s perception of the organisation or brand, across every stage of the customer journey.
Positive customer experience requires building, responding, and interacting with customers in a quick and timely way that meets or exceeds their demands, expectations, and satisfaction.
A customer service and experience expert, author and leadership strategist, Shep Hyken, in an article titled, “Customer Experience Is the New Brand,” published in Forbes on July 15, 2018, said amongst others that, “Today, 89% of companies compete primarily based on customer experience.”
He went on to say, “Companies are recognising the importance of delivering an experience that makes them stand out from their competition.”
“Be it customer service, product quality, or just the way the customers feel about the companies they do business with, customer experience rises to the top of whether or not the customer will decide to keep doing business with a brand,” Hyken stated.
Major Network Operators in Nigeria are aligning with Hyken’s submission as they continuously invest in innovate ways to raise the bar as well as optimise the benefits of excellent customer experience to drive acquisition, conversion, retention, and long-term brand loyalty and affinity.
For 9mobile, superior customer experience is one of its three key drivers, others being Quality of Service and Innovation – that distinguish the telco from the competition on voice, data, or value-added services.
Through an array of products, services, and solutions, the telco has built a reputation as a customer-friendly network.
It has gone ahead to win many awards, including ‘Excellent Service and Effective Collaboration with the Consumer Affairs Bureau to Ensure Access to Customer Care Helpline,’ by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
It is common knowledge that 9mobile customers enjoy clear, crisp calls and access to affordable, fast Internet service for browsing and streaming experience that help them to optimise efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
9mobile’s management has consistently reaffirmed commitment to raise the bar of superior customer experience continuously.
Echoing this, Acting Managing Director, 9mobile, Stephane Beuvelet, said, “We want every customer on our network to have an exceptional experience. We want to ensure that we offer all our customers top quality services because we take customer service very important.
“We are always seeking to understand the need of the customer and apply the learnings in developing product solutions. We are not just providing services; we are providing solutions to Nigerians, which is a key-value driver for our company.”
9mobile has consistently demonstrated its commitment to superior customer experience through the deployment of innovative products, services, and solutions.
One of such services is airtime recharge, which has been simplified, and the various affordable data offerings including Moreblaze, a data package that offers super-fast online browsing and streaming experience and enables data-reliant businesses and individuals to do more through reliable and consistent internet connectivity.
The telco only recently introduced exciting new data plans and revamped its existing ones to enable customers to enjoy more value for their money.
New and current customers on the network now have a fantastic increase in value at the same price.
Beuvelet added that 9mobile has also invested significantly in customer contact channels to improve the experience in the area of fast access to quality care.
One of them is the customer experience management solution that empowers the company with the needed capability for network and customer intelligence. It allows the network to proactively address issues, thereby reducing incidents of complaints, reduce complaints resolution time with the power of machine learning in network diagnosis, and reduce churn based on customer data analytics.
To further enable customers to have unfettered access to the network in the ever-changing world of social media and messaging apps, 9mobile also introduced a personalised WhatsApp Customer Care Channel.
Accessible to over 1.2 billion users globally and over three million users on the 9mobile network, the telco offers subscribers a cost-effective and straightforward support channel available from the convenience of their phones. This process also reassures customers that 9mobile will continue to offer seamless services and timely solutions to their queries.
9mobile, which commenced operations in Nigeria 11 years ago, also has an impressive range of customer loyalty reward promos that reinforces its belief in giving back. Earlier in 2019, through the bespoke Northern Promo, the lives of customers in nine northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Yobe and Taraba were enriched when they won mouth-watering prizes including free airtime, smartphones, cash prizes and the grand prize of a brand-new car with a minimum recharge of N100.
The Magic Hour Promo also provided opportunity for millions of 9mobile customers to win fantastic rewards including free airtime, smartphones and cash prizes running into millions of naira for 90 days.
The Brand & Experience team at 9mobile offered an expectant mother, Mrs. Ebunoluwa Alade, the opportunity to participate in a Shopping Dash Spree during the grand finale/prize presentation to winners of Magic Hour Promo at the Ikeja Mall in Lagos, on May 24, 2019.
This gesture enabled her to shop for her hospital delivery checklist. Also, a retired diplomat, Job Oniwon and a real estate agent, Father Jacob, both residents of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, won five million naira each at the grand finale of the customer loyalty reward scheme.
Beyond the monetary reward, Oniwon, whose last posting before his retirement was at the Nigerian High Commission in London, narrated that his loyalty and affinity to 9mobile was bolstered by the prompt resolution of an issue he had with his mobile line by the Customer Care team of the telecom company at Cedi Plaza, Abuja.
“The people I met there were wonderful. They resolved the issue promptly while treating me courteously the whole time,” he said.
It is evident that 9mobile prioritises positive customer experience and has made it a cornerstone of its operations, going forward. Renowned for its innovation, the network has added Quality of Service and positive customer experience to its list of value drivers and further endeared itself to its teeming subscribers.
