How to extend call centers self-service capability to mobile users.

Most major companies are using call centers for support of their customers. Trying to be more competitive and more cost-effective they outsource call centers to other countries, as well as implement self-service technologies such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and web sites where no humans are involved.

In turn, customers demand a higher level of service, which is available 24/7, without the need to wait an excessive amount of time for their call to be answered and to learn about how to deal with IVR systems.

Mobile technologies offer a new alternative which can become a part of an existing solutions. As in the case of a web site or an IVR system, there is no need for human resources, so companies can use it to cut down costs. It is also automated, and since 60% of the world’s population have mobile phones, it can be quickly used by customers at any time and in any place. And it is simple. It’s called Eyeline Call2Service.

How does it work? A company provides a service number for their customers. When they need support they dial this number, which is free, and get a USSD menu, where they can choose from several options. These menu items may include frequently asked questions or information about other support options. This can be a web address or a call center number, which they can use if there is no info they are looking for. The service’s number can also be saved in the user’s phonebook, so he or she later have access to support on-the-fly.

It is important to note, that due to many faces of business, a USSD menu can be used in many creative ways. Moreover, Call2Service can become a part of any self-service system.

There is also a part for marketing in this system. USSD menu may contain new products and special offers, with an option to sign up for a company’s newsletter. A subscriber will then automatically receive SMS if there is update. This way, support and engaging a customer go hand in hand.

MTS (Mobile TeleSystems), one of the largest mobile operators in Central and Eastern Europe, use USSD request system to support their subscribers through *111# portal. About five million MTS users visit the portal every month instead of calling the IVR center. MTS went even further by adding different services, including paid ones. Those are the possibilities available through Call2Service, which can be provided through a toll-free number, which can be called from any mobile operator.

All in all, Call2Service may drastically improve client satisfaction due to availability and prevalence of mobile communication, while being a cost-effective solution for companies providing customer support.

MTS in 2008 (Part II)

$ or minutes per month… Churn must be per year.

And some measures of VAS…

The data for the last two tables was given by quarters so I thought that may be there are some interesting trends like the growth of data revenues over the course of the year. Data revenue have, indeed, grown faster than any other segment, and almost 4 times faster than VAS in general:

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MTS in 2008

I have downloaded the latest presentation from MTS prepared for press (mind this). I want to put some numbers here in the blog because these numbers always change and it is hard to keep up with them when citing. But! Some numbers are really telling. I will tell you what at the end.

So… FYI, those are the end of 2008 numbers.

# of subs in mln.

95.7 mln total (if Belarus is included with its 4.32 mln.)

CAPEX

Forecast for 2009 – $1500, of which $350 million are planned for network support ($700 is a rollover from 2008, and $450 is planned for EDGE/3G upgrades). In millions of dollars.

OIBDA (unofficial terminology, Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization, which in official GAAP reports by MTS is reported as EBIDTA, though the two are different by definition) in mln. $

Operational Indicators (in $)

Russia

Ukraine

More to come… (ARPU from other countries, VAS break-down, analysis)

MTS and Vodafone are "Brothers Forever"?

Vodafone has decided to partner with MTS which is called in the news the forth largest operator in the world. MTS will get an offcial Vodafone partner status and can receive Vodafone’s services and help in 3G deployment. I hope it will be a better friendship than with Apple for which resellers of iPhone had to hire actors to imitate lines of people waiting to buy iPhone which is ridiculously priced at more than $700 for a $200 model in the US, EU and elsewhere.

Read the news at Vodafone site.

MTS Novosibirsk Launches 3G

Yesterday I was at an MTS presentation of 3G in Novosibirsk. The general impression is positive.

MTS invited business clients to talk about 3G and business services offered by MTS.

There were a lot of decorations, beautiful girls, and entertainment. Yes, and food was great. Read more

USSD on iPhone

Originally posted on February 2, 2008 in Russian.

Reposted in May to demonstarte the use of USSD.

Played with iPhone a few days ago. Installed 1.1.2 firmware. From what is new I found that USSD Phase 2 intractive dialogues are now supported. One should have expected something like that because firmware was released for the launch in Europe. And as we know, our colleagues from Cellicium made a USSD portal for Orange. Orange, most likely, had pressured Americans to add support for USSD in the new baseband which comes with 1.1.2. I checked USSD functionality on MTS portal *111# which we are developing. Here are the screenshots. Read more

«SMS-Sponsor» — Ad-Funded Service from MTS

MTS gives its subscribers an option to receive advertising SMS messages in exchange for bonuses (about 1 US cent for a message). Bonuses are debited to one’s cell phone account once in 2 weeks and they can be used to pay for cell phone bills. The project is called “SMS-Sponsor”.

The user can choose whether to receive 10 or 20 messages a day.

Source in Russian: Мобильный контент

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