Vodacom stays ahead of the pack
Giving customers choice and control goes a long way in building reputation
In a competitive marketplace, building and maintaining a good reputation is non-negotiable, says Takalani Netshitenzhe, chief officer: corporate affairs at Vodacom. “For Vodacom, sustaining a good reputation among our key stakeholders has built trust, upheld a competitive advantage and contributed to the overall positive impression of our brand.”
She says concerns among the public about the costs of mobile communication services and depleting data are some of the recent persistent issues that operators have had to manage to maintain a positive public perception.
“Macroeconomic indicators have been negative and consumer spending has been under pressure. In this context, there is a general concern that communications costs are high and regulatory steps are needed to make voice and broadband services more accessible and affordable for our customers.” Vodacom remains committed to cost transformation and continues to engage stakeholders in this regard.
Vodacom is also tackling this concern by providing simple, transparent and adaptable price plans, as well as low-cost devices and timebased voice and data bundles.
Investments in faster networks, the uptake of the latest smartphones with better resolution and routine software updates of applications have resulted in many customers using more data, much faster. The company has managed perceptions of data depleting quickly by engaging with customers, informing them of data-hungry aspects of cellphone use and providing tips for improved data usage.
“We have launched specific campaigns driving data education, and we are planning to introduce additional tools and greater transparency to further empower customers to manage their data usage,” says Netshitenzhe.
Products and services
As part of its pricing transformation strategy, Vodacom is offering customers more personalised packages that provide them with greater value. Contract customers have been presented with new integrated price plans with better value offerings. This has been achieved through programmes such as “Next best activity”, which assists customers in choosing packages best suited to their needs and allows them to choose from a range of services used at the time of upgrade. These contracts include much more value in terms of minutes, messages and megabytes, providing customers with a hassle-free experience.
Netshitenzhe says, “On prepaid, we have evolved our bundle strategy into a much more personalised expe- rience for customers. For example, we are seeing very good results from the ‘Just 4 You’ platform, which profiles customers’ behaviour and presents them with personalised offers.”
Unique identity
Vodacom has sought to differentiate itself by offering customers the best network, best value and best service. “For instance, to prove our claim as ‘South Africa’s best network with the least dropped calls’, we recently unveiled the ‘Dropped Call Compensation’ campaign that will see us compensate customers whenever they experience a dropped call on our network. Customers will be compensated with a voice bundle that is equal to the number of dropped Vodacom-to-Vodacom voice calls they experience during the day.”
The big competitive advantage is Vodacom’s superior network. “We have invested over R17-billion in the last two financial years into our network. Taking into account our capital expenditure commitment for this year, we will have invested R26billion in three years.
“The investment to date enabled us to further expand our 2G, 3G and LTE/4G network coverage, increase data speed, and reduce our droppedcall rates. As a result, we’ve retained our top position in South Africa in network coverage, call quality and speed.”
Netshitenzhe says the company’s ambition is to position itself as South Africa’s best telecoms company by delivering unmatched customer experience at every point, from connectivity to customer support.
Strong vision
“Our core belief is that through our social investments and providing relevant communication and technology solutions we can change the lives of people in our communities. For over 17 years, through the Vodacom Foundation, we have invested over R1-billion in supporting communities focusing on employing mobile technology to address social ills,” says Netshitenzhe.
In health, Vodacom has partnered with the national department of health to deploy a custom-built mobile app in 3 126 clinics across South Africa to monitor drug stock levels.
In education, the company has partnered with the department of basic education to equip and connect 81 ICT Resource Centres that allow teachers throughout South Africa to integrate ICT into their teaching. The programme has boosted the skills of around 10 000 teachers in maths and science.
More recently, in an effort to improve access to education and career websites, the company has zero-rated some key basic education websites and career portals.
“The Vodacom e-School portal launched in January 2015 provides curriculum-aligned content for grade four to grade 12 learners including daily lessons, videos, assignments in the form of quizzes and personalised progress reports. Already there are 150 000 learners registered on the portal.
“We launched Vodacom NXT LVL Careers in June 2016, a programme aimed at young job-seekers that enables them to browse for jobs, upload CVs and apply for available positions for free. Access to the careers portal is zero-rated for Vodacom subscribers.”