About the Client
Tesco Mobile Ireland is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) launched in 2007. As an MVNO, Tesco Mobile Ireland does not own its own network infrastructure but instead uses the network of Three Ireland to provide mobile services to its customers.
Overall, Tesco Mobile Ireland aims to provide affordable mobile services with simple and transparent pricing, and a strong focus on customer service.
Location: Republic of Ireland
Industry: Telco
Features Deployed: In-App Messaging, Web Chat, Web Messaging, Social Messaging, automation.
Case Studies
When we started working with Tesco Mobile Ireland in 2015, they had already been using webchat for several years but still very much prioritised the voice channel over the digital channels. We helped them realise the value of digital adoption, not only because of its cost-effectiveness but also because it is what most customers want. We also helped them integrate secure messaging into their app; in fact, they became one of the first Telcos in EMEA to achieve this.
The Tasks
The tasks we set out to address were:
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- Improvement and expansion of the chat and messaging channels for Customer Service and Sales.
- Implementation of asynchronous messaging into the Tesco Mobile app.
- Consolidation of social messaging onto a single platform.
- Introduction of basic automation to triage customers.
- Deflection to the digital channels for secure payments for a Collections use case.
Examples of Digital Messaging for Tesco Mobile Ireland
The Solutions
Examples of In-App Messaging for Tesco Mobile Ireland
Firstly, it was necessary to prove the value of the digital channels. We set up daily reporting to help the Contact Centre understand the opportunities that they were missing. The Contact Centre, in turn, filtered this information to management who began to see the hunger for digital engagement.
Having proven the demand, headcount for the digital channels was increased thereby improving the availability of those channels.
We implemented in-app messaging as a better solution for customers to get assistance whilst in the mobile app.
We consolidated the social channels into the same platform to make it easier to track and resolve customer issues and provide better control and reporting on these channels.
We placed simple automation in the chat and web messaging channels to direct customers to self-serve where possible and to triage those customers who have account-specific queries before they reach an advisor. We also set up a simple lead gen automation for gathering interest in the monthly offers.
We suggested that anonymity around a chat session is ideal for Collections. We helped Tesco Mobile to start offering chat from outbound SMS as an option for Collections, resulting in significant uptake by their customers.
The Challenges
One of the challenges we encountered – and successfully overcame – along the way was lack of belief in the digital channels.
Phone was king and management was certain that customers still preferred to phone rather than chat. When we highlighted the missed opportunities and encouraged them to increase the headcount for the chat and messaging, volume through the digital channels more than tripled. In the same way, there was a certain amount of reticence around automation but when they came to us with a specific problem and we said: “A bot could do that for you!” – that was the turning point.
Outcomes
By helping Tesco Mobile Ireland see their missed opportunities and understand how to achieve the desired KPIs on chat and messaging we were able to triple their digital engagement in a very short space of time.
By increasing the availability of the digital channels, Tesco Mobile Ireland is now able to serve its customers in their channels of choice resulting in improved efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Tesco Mobile Ireland is also using automation creatively to save advisors time and to collect sales leads.
