Connecting with customers
“The Video... was the key catalyst that made the big change around in the network quality for us”
Steve Nicholas, Head of Corporate Interface, Technology Division, O2
When O2 UK needed to create a catalyst for change, it turned to Attiva.
The Business Challenge
The Reality Gap
Third-generation technology. Saturated markets. Intense competition. The telecoms industry moves fast. With little room for manoeuvre for stealing competitive edge, all eyes have been on the lucrative corporate market.
Though the O2 leadership team thought it was holding its own, when Steve Nicholas joined the Technology Division, he discovered that many corporate customers were far from happy. “All our internal measures told us we were doing okay,” he explains. “But my conversations with customers revealed, somewhat alarmingly, the total opposite. The gap was glaring - and threatened a real erosion in our market share. Key corporate customers, with tens of thousands of hand sets, were seriously threatening to move to the competition.”
Attiva’s Brief
The wake-up call
With the pressure to see a return on major technology and licence investments, O2 had lost focus on quality of service. Everyone was focused on tomorrow’s technology. Unfortunately, the needs of today’s customers were being severely overlooked.
“We were not listening to our customers,” explains Steve. “Our customers’ businesses were being affected by problems with our network - dropped calls and signal black spots were the major complaints. We needed a powerful wake-up call which would break our people away from their normal way of thinking, and trigger a change in attitude”.
The Solution: Finding the voice
Attiva believed the strongest catalyst would be the customer voice first-hand. This would eliminate room for debate as to where the business stood. The chosen method was a series of focus groups with key customers, facilitated by Attiva, and summarised in a video to present to the business.
Bringing major corporate customers together to air their concerns and frustrations was a bold decision. “Attiva understood what was at stake,” continues Steve. “I trusted them to guide us through the process to get the result we needed whilst respecting our customer relationships.” The result was a high-impact piece of communication. Customers talked openly & objectively, meaning the message was balanced but loud and clear.
“The board recognised we had to act immediately. A network quality team was set-up, the video was used to create momentum across the business and a series of actions were initiated.” Over a period of many months, the technology team worked intensively and diligently through the issues step-by-step.
Impact on the business:
Catalyst for change
“Attiva’s work created the catalyst for change,” explains Steve Nicholas. “We now have an incredible rallying point around the customer that directs everyone’s energies towards what really matters.”
The transformation has been marked. Steve continues: “Our customers have been staggered at how quickly we have turned some of the problems around. Loyalty has increased because we have involved them in moving ahead.”
A recent poll of customers’ views corroborates Steve’s perception. With help from Attiva, O2 UK ran another focus group 15 months after the first, and included many of the original focus group members. Once again a short video of the feedback was created. The change in customer response was astonishing. Customers couldn’t praise O2 enough!
What is more O2’s progress has been measured and recognised by the industry watchdog, Ofcom. O2 is now No 1 for Network Quality in the UK - a fact used in their recent television campaign - and working hard to be number one for all Customer Perception Indicators (CPIs).
“O2 UK recognises that bringing the customer into the business is not a one-off step” concludes Steve “We are now measuring the right things, not checking mediocrity.Our position to grow the corporate market has never looked stronger.”