Mobile usage has changed radically in recent years with customers more likely these days to hold their phones between their hands and let their thumbs do the talking.
Most customers are inherently tech-phobic
As customers raise the bar with a seemingly insatiable appetite for data – partly too with their ‘white goods’ attitude to tablets – Vodafone has made it its mission to design packages to meet the meteoric demand for 24/7 connectivity.
“Two in three new phones sold are smartphones,” Vodafone Malta chief executive officer Balesh Sharma told The Times Business this week. “We have long recognised that the market is changing rapidly and customers’ expectations are different to what they were just two years ago. One factor that has not changed is customers’ dislike of complexity. Most customers are inherently tech-phobic, especially at configuration stage.”
As market leader – Vodafone is back on the “right side of 50 per cent” after its market share picked up in the second quarter this year – the operator is committed to positioning itself at the forefront of innovation. Simplicity, Mr Sharma pointed out, drives customers to use technology to greater effect, in turn increasing demand.
Vodafone’s proposition, which rests on the three pillars of network, service and value, are constantly remodelled to reflect changes in usage trends and customer demands.
Mr Sharma outlined that while many customers do not necessarily understand value in terms of megabits, their demand for download and upload speeds has risen consistently. Vodafone Malta is undertaking a €55 million investment to meet that demand: leading global network engineering group P3 was twice commissioned to test and certify download and upload speeds of Vodafone’s data infrastructure.
“We are substantially better on speed than the competition,” Mr Sharma added. “Many people who design networks forget that there is a phenomenal change happening across digital networks – no longer are customers happy with downloads. They are creating and uploading, and upload speeds are just as critical. Customers are constantly trying to overcome technology limitations.”
Technology limitations no longer imply dropped calls or poor coverage. Customer visits to Vodafone’s 11 stores – 12 including the mobile shop – never involve these issues, Mr Sharma said. Instead, customer in-store queries are more likely to concern potential conflicts between apps and operating systems.
The internal conversations between Vodafone teams are mirrored by customers’ questions. Customer knowledge is one of the drivers behind the stores’ new design: intended to offer a ‘touchpoint’ experience, stores are now lined with devices for customers, already armed with researched specifications and requirements, to inspect and handle.
A major factor in Vodafone’s customer-centricity is ensuring staff training is consistent so that the most demanding queries are answerable.
Vodafone’s global presence enables the operator to bring value propositions few others can, Mr Sharma added. Its €69 Vodafone-branded smartphone is now used by around 1.5 per cent of the population – a claim, the chief executive said, few Vodafone operations across the group could make about their regions.
Smart II is in stock at Vodafone stores retailing at €99 and features capabilities which would give many €500 smartphones launched 24 months ago “a run for their money”.
The handset is the result of the latest co-creation project which fuses manufacturers’ expertise with Vodafone’s technology and brand promises. And with local tablet sales expected to rocket over the next few months, Vodafone is working on widening its product portfolio.
Vodafone has simplified access to the latest products from the major brands by distributing them for free or at heavy discounts with its data plans.
Customers subscribed to post-paid plans which are up for renewal may opt for tablets rather than smartphones under a range of propositions for existing customers, designed to add value to services.
“This is how Vodafone retains its customers,” Mr Sharma explained. “This is critical for us. We understand data is their next need and we are giving substantial discounts on data plans.
“We have also focused on add-ons to plans as more and more customers now use a collection of devices which are ‘talking’ to each other. We share our customers’ journey.”
Internally, meanwhile, Vodafone Malta is gearing up to revolutionise its work practices in a technology-driven, paperless environment when its central function moves to Skyparks business centre towards the end of the summer.
The team has long outgrown its original headquarters in Valley Road, Msida, where Vodafone’s first operation outside the UK was established more than 23 years ago.
Its new base in Gudja, adjacent to Malta International Airport, will allow it to adopt practices that will significantly contribute to Vodafone Group’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 per cent by 2020, minimise use of paper, and encourage flexible working and healthier lifestyles for its teams.
“The offices have been designed with little storage space to encourage staff to store data electronically,” Mr Sharma explained. “Printers are centralised in an area on each floor and staff must walk to the printers and key in a code. A wide area around the building is a designated smoke-free zone and we are hoping smokers will be adequately discouraged.”
Vodafone Malta has followed the group blueprint for new offices and the project walks in the footsteps of premises in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The floor plan does not feature cubicles or offices and a ‘hot desking’ policy will be in place stipulating work stations must be cleared at the end of day for different users. The elimination of permanent work spaces will encourage need-based group formations – rather than department-based desk arrangements – to unleash a new-level energy to stimulate ideas.
With wi-fi access throughout, Vodafone teams will be able to use company or personal devices anywhere across the two floors, even in the sit-out areas around the office.
This is Vodafone’s way of leading by example, practising what it preaches, and showcasing the liberating power of technology allowing people to maximise their mobility, Mr Sharma said.