Reinventing

Customer
Experience
Vodafone´s journey to a people-based Digital Care
Model using messaging services and automation
Vodafone, Facebook and
Accenture partner to reinvent
customer experience
About this report: this paper is jointly published by Accenture,
Vodafone and Whatsapp (via Facebook). It explores how
Vodafone is using Whatsapp as a messaging app for their
customer service. Accenture helped Vodafone roll out the
services and setup for messaging by defining use cases and
key performance indicators.
How Vodafone is using
messaging apps to
improve customer service
Decades ago, companies came up replaced. Consumers now demand message service). Many young
with technological innovations companies give them the seamless, people have rarely experienced
and presented them to the market hyper-relevant, zero-friction another type of electronic
to see if consumers would experiences they have become communication and strongly prefer
embrace them. Think of the accustomed to elsewhere, such as in messaging over email or calls,
touch-tone phone. There was no private life. This customer attention perhaps due to lack of exposure. In
huge demand from the market for and expectation for a better 2020, the number of messaging
it to replace rotary-dial experience has now zeroed-in on users worldwide had reached 2.7
telephones in homes and offices. messaging apps. billion. The most popular app
But when it was introduced, worldwide is WhatsApp, which is
consumers saw its advantages used by more than 2 billion people
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger,
and began to use the touch-tone to send more than 100 billion
WeChat and other online platform
more often. messages every day.
messaging apps have been widely
used by consumers in private
Today, this dynamic has been interactions for over a decade. In
flipped on its head. Monolithic, top- 2013, platform messaging volume
down technology adoption has been surpassed that of SMS (short
Customer
experience
By 2022, the number of messaging promoter scores (NPS)). Given the
users is expected to be 3 billion, benefits, the number of companies that
according to eMarketer. The use of will use messaging apps to communicate
digital communications has risen, and with customers is expected to skyrocket.
companies started to take note. The
first ones began to offer customer
Customers are more satisfied interacting
service via opt-in messaging apps
with brands via messaging apps because
around 2015. Customer service
the apps give them the ability to keep and
messaging got a further boost in the
easily view their chat history. It does not
aftermath of COVID-19.
disappear, as happens in live chats. In
addition, they can engage with a company
The companies that have taken the leap around the clock and communicate with
into customer service messaging are text or multimedia (such as audio or video).
reporting all sorts of benefits: greater As of 2020, 85% of people around the
customer satisfaction, more efficient world want the option to message with
customer service, higher sales and more brands, up from 65% in 2019, according to
customer loyalty (e.g. higher net LivePerson, Inc.
 %
of people around the world want
the option to message with brands.
LivePerson Inc.
Communication
on your own terms
We wanted to reduce
Vodafone Group was one of the One of the reasons that Vodafone’s Because of this feature, messaging the friction of customers
first telecommunications customers say they like messaging apps are considered asynchronous working with our service
department and cut our
providers to use WhatsApp apps is also a reason that makes communication. Unlike telephone
globally for customer service. In those apps part of a compelling calls or live chats, messages can be
2018, it began using Apple efficiency use case for opened on each party’s own time. service operating
Business Chat and WhatsApp
Business to allow its customers to
telecommunications companies:
Messages can be consumed when
As a result, service representatives expenses
can work within multiple
text, share documents, send the recipient is ready to do so. They conversations at the same time, just Jörg Knoop
images, video or audio messages, do not have to be opened as they may switch between Lead - Technology Digital Incubator
and handle all their immediately - even if messages are simultaneous chats with their partner Vodafone Germany
communication with the operator. instant. and colleague. Or they may decide
Germany was among the first of to focus on other work and review all
15 countries in the Vodafone messages later.
Group to use messaging for
customer service by the end of
2020.
Convenience
is king
The ability to stay connected while also controlling your own inflow of
messages is not to be underestimated. For many people, the ability to get
things done and stay connected, but to unplug when desired, represents
quality of life. When users decide when to receive messages, they retain
their sense of personal agency and autonomy. They say when they are
reachable and are not left waiting for long periods and then expected to
immediately react when a representative responds.

One could argue that this experience is an important part of the promise
many companies are trying to make to their customers – a promise of
purposeful change through technology. They aim to make a promise that
is not just stated, but a promise that is also felt. It also underlines how
customers are the ones driving change, and the flexibility companies need
to respond to evolving customer demands for a seamless customer
experience.
Telecommunications &
messaging
For telecommunications One could even say most Introducing customer service via
companies in particular, telecommunications providers are messaging, and doing it as part of a
implementing messaging-based being “dragged” into a new age for wider digital transformation for the
customer service can help their industry by fierce, technology- telecommunications company, can
increase customer loyalty. This is driven competitive forces and the support both goals. The messaging
key during a time when their demands of tech-savvy customers. apps allow companies to take a very
business models are undergoing personal approach with individuals,
massive change and it is still sending e-receipts and transaction
One scenario for the future is
unclear how things will shake out alerts or simply responding quickly
operators finding new ways to grow
in the industry. to a question, for instance about a
by combining different technology
new phone purchase or usage fees.
elements in their ecosystems for
No more holding on the line and
The business of telecommunications competitive advantage and
waiting for the agent to find an
operators is based on legacy becoming orchestrators of the
answer on a live chat. Such positive
systems which, in comparison to network. To do this, they will need to
experiences can build trust.
younger tech companies, is holding be much nimbler and build trust with
them back. In general, they need to their customers.
transform their operating systems
and business services to compete.
Messaging: a fixed part
of customer-related
processes According to Facebook,
consumers around the
Accenture recommends companies begin offering And, according to Facebook, consumers around the world are embracing
customer service via messaging in a first step - world are embracing messaging for brand interaction. messaging for brand
regardless of how far along they are in focusing on a
customer-centric digital transformation. This will
Already in 2018, two out of three people surveyed
globally had messaged a business during the holiday interaction: Already in
differentiate the company with competitors and improve season. 2018, two out of three
customer satisfaction.
people surveyed globally
In a second step, CSPs have the opportunity to integrate had messaged a
business during the
According to Accenture's Wireless Purchase Study messaging deeper into company and customer-related
from September 2020, 74% of customers of processes. This will require a change to technology
communication service providers (CSPs) value stacks and the IT infrastructure in general, as well as a holiday season.
digital interactions over in-store, phone or home change in mindset.
interactions.
 %
of customers CSPs value digital
interactions over in-store, phone or
home interactions. - Accenture's
Wireless Purchase Study
September 2020
Vodafone´s Journey We’re proud to have
helped Vodafone
Vodafone has more than 300 million mobile As part of its ongoing collaboration with Vodafone, reinvent its customer
customers throughout the world and is one of the
leading telecommunications providers in Germany.
Accenture helped Vodafone set up agile teams and
define use cases to enable messaging services. On this
service
Making use of a messaging platform was a natural journey with Vodafone, Accenture supported Vodafone
choice for Vodafone Germany, since so many with best practices learned from similar projects.
Germans are chat users already.
It began with a rollout of both Apple Business Chat and Vodafone wanted to improve customer service when it Alfonso G. Imbroda
WhatsApp. WhatsApp caught on quickly: in Germany, Global Industry Lead for Comms and
rolled out WhatsApp, and it also sought to increase the
Media
approximately 78% of the population are regular users - a efficiency of call centers. Traditionally, call centers have Accenture Interactive
number that spans all age groups. been at the core of customer service, but sometimes
they were not customer-friendly in every dimension.
Vodafone has now given customers the chance to
choose to avoid call centers if they wish.
No more call
centers or live
chats
Now, if a customer is using a messaging app to communicate with Vodafone,
they can completely bypass the call center, and therefore the hassle, too.
Instead, they can start a chat. They can be hands-free, get an instant and
relevant response from a chatbot, and perhaps most valuable of all, they can
save the chat history. Customers can also start a chat anywhere, at anytime.

Customers now overwhelmingly prefer digital services. In fact, they prefer them
even to in-store or in-the-home interactions. In a recent study (LivePerson, Inc.
2019 Global Study), nearly half of respondents reported that they were more likely
to do business with a company if they could text the firm rather than call it. It’s not
difficult to see why, especially when it comes to call centers. Vodafone was able to
recognize this trend and do something about it.
Introducing
TOBi
We believe that within
Soon after Vodafone began using
WhatsApp, TOBi, Vodafone's
further use. Later, TOBi may also get
a voice to speak with customers and
to Vodafone via the WhatsApp
channel. After six months, 10
three to five years,
artificial intelligence (AI) bot that not just chat via text. percent of the volume had shifted messaging as a contact
supports the service, was already from call centers to messaging, with channel may overtake
solving half of the standard
requests that came in.
Vodafone was also one of the first to
a strong upward trend.
the classical channels
launch new WhatsApp capabilities
like quick replies (buttons) which Currently, more than 200,000
such as the call hotline
TOBi, powered by IBM Watson, is the make the dialog more convenient for Vodafone customers are serviced and email.
starting point of any chat initiated by the customer and more robust for each month via the WhatsApp
the customer. It is self-learning — it TOBi. Buttons summarize questions channel, and 52 percent of them
can now recognize more than 250 for the user and allow them to click get their problems solved there Jörg Knoop
intents - and only switches over to a "yes" or "no" buttons to give an without having to go to a live chat or Lead - Technology Digital Incubator
human employee when there are answer. a hotline. Vodafone Germany
questions it cannot answer itself.

Right out of the gate, Vodafone saw Every conversation is routed and
Via WhatsApp and TOBi, images and stark changes in the ways customers stored through Vodafone’s central
documents can be shared to meet were interacting with their customer customer contact platform (powered
customer requests. TOBi checks service team. On the first day, more by Genesys). 360-degree history is
their content and classifies them for than 1,000 customers reached out available at every touchpoint.
TOBi:
Vodafone‘s new
digital assistant
“Hello, I am TOBi, your virtual assistant. Vodafone built me to help you
quickly and easily ,”- TOBi says.

That’s how TOBi answers if a customer starts a conversation via WhatsApp.

 Digital Customer
Care: digital operations

More than just in 6 dimensions

a helpline
QUALITY
1 Transform how we quantify
and act on contacts

ERADICATE
It’s not just the call center dynamic that’s being
updated at Vodafone. WhatsApp chats are also set
So where does the savings come in when humans
become involved with messaging apps?
2 Eliminate unnecessary
contacts
up for use in other service areas and for sales.
PREDICT and STEER
3
First, since chat history is visible to the customer, the
This is a trend being witnessed in businesses throughout customer is more likely to ask relevant questions and less Change customer behaviour
the globe. A recent report shows the number of website- time is lost covering things that happened in the past. using predictive models
generated customer leads jumped by more than a Second, because of routing, human agents can batch
DIGITIZE
4
quarter when WhatsApp was the first point of contact for their work, thereby improving their responses and
a customer (OMR 2020). Customer service agents response time. They can manage multiple channels at Re-position My Vodafone as the
benefit from the new processes, too. Since customer once and can also use down time on slow-moving live primary interaction channel
inquiries are prepared by TOBi, a history is created for chats to work on open asynchronous messages.
each inquiry. Vodafone says this greatly reduces stress AUTOMATE
on its agents, who can familiarize themselves with the
issue before reaching out to customers.
Finally, the improved customer satisfaction from 5 Automate high volume, basic
tasks with chatbot TOBi
being able to choose the channel of communication
and receive service on your own schedule reduces
EXPERT
6
Of course, chatbots like TOBi were previously available churn, thereby saving Vodafone money.
via chat windows before those same bots delivered Expert care where we can
.
information via messaging apps. add more value
Takeaways
The marriage of messenger services with
customer service is a new one, but already the
benefits of messaging integration are evident.

Increased customer satisfaction: People are

happier with a streamlined experience that translates
into significantly shorter wait times, fewer dropped
calls, more flexibility for sharing information and
control of their chat histories.

Increased profitability: By reducing the workload

for call center employees, companies that use
messaging at scale for customer service can reap
operational savings, particularly in developed
countries, where call centers can be costly. In
developing markets, they can use messaging apps
for boosting sales with top-ups.
As businesses reopen
and reinvent themselves, The future of WhatsApp
and CSP´s
they are looking for
stronger ties to their
customers and new
sources of revenue.
Messaging apps with In May, Facebook launched
“Shops,” wherein businesses
With this shopping channel available
to Vodafone and other CSPs, the
integrated shops and showcase their products and potential for increased revenue is
The loss of access to stores
apparently gave consumers a reason
payment functions services, and people can start a significant. “We want to test to reconsider. Some 60% of

certainly fit the bill. We chat via WhatsApp. messaging apps to drive sales during
customer service conversations and
consumers report that they would
feel no real sense of loss if retail
see significant potential in general. This is definitely stores closed.
for companies like interesting for us.” said Jörg Knoop,
Technology Digital Incubator at
Vodafone to use them to Vodafone Germany said: In November 2020, WhatsApp

boost sales and discover announced that people could send

money through WhatsApp in India
new ways of unlocking Messaging apps and sales through with the same ease with which they
value for their them have become even more
important after the outbreak of
send a message. It is the first country

customers. COVID-19 and the temporary

to roll out the service and highlights
what will be coming in more
shutting of physical stores in many countries in the near future.
Michael Schmid
Communications Expert countries.
Accenture Strategy
The future
is here More than 175 million people
already message a business
The integration of pay functions into shops in messaging apps will significantly account on WhatsApp every
boost sales for companies using them.
day, and as businesses rapidly
Louis Moynihan, Product Business Director at WhatsApp, said, “Businesses need to
shift their operations online
meet their customers where they are, and with more than 2 billion users across the during the pandemic,
world, that’s often on WhatsApp.” messaging is playing an
increasingly important role. It is
The way forward in the changing landscape will continue to be led by customers.
Companies that want to stay relevant must become more flexible and adaptable to
helping businesses
respond to their demands. provide sales and service use
cases to Whatsapp users.
In an increasingly mobile world, it is no longer enough to master technology;
businesses must master the art of the seamless customer experience. Louis Moynihan
Product Business Director
WhatsApp Inc.
This type of commerce platform
is the next wave of the future
for mobile commerce. It will
open the floodgates.
It’s not a question of whether
telecommunications companies
will use them to increase
revenues. It’s a question of who
will be first.
Jürgen Spanger
Interactive Industry Lead for Comms & Media
Accenture Interactive
Contacts

Louis Moynihan
Dr. Michael Schmid Jörg Knoop
Product Business Director
Communications Expert Lead - Technology Digital
Accenture Strategy for WhatsApp
Incubator Vodafone
LinkedIn Profile Facebook
LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn Profile

Jürgen Spanger Sacha N. Kraft

Industry Interlock Jessica Birth Digital Transformation for
Communication, Head of Digital Service Tech, Telco, Energy,
Media and Technology Vodafone B2B and Consulting industries
Accenture Interactive LinkedIn Profile Facebook
LinkedIn Profile LinkedIn Profile

Alfonso G. Imbroda
Global Interactive Industry
Lead for Comms & Media
Accenture Interactive
LinkedIn Profile
ABOUT ABOUT VODAFONE ABOUT
ACCENTURE GERMANY | WHO WE ARE FACEBOOK
Accenture is a leading global professional services Vodafone is one of the leading telecoms and technology About Facebook Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is
company, providing a broad range of services in strategy service providers in Germany. Half of all citizens in to give people the power to build community and bring
and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, Germany are Vodafone customers – using Vodafone the world closer together. People use the apps and
with digital capabilities across all of these services. We technology to access the internet, make calls and watch technologies of Facebook to connect with friends and
combine unmatched experience and specialized TV; and for connectivity at offices, farms and factories. family, to find communities and to grow businesses
capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by
the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and The Düsseldorf-based company provides a
Intelligent Operations centers. With 513,000 people comprehensive portfolio of internet, mobile, fixed and TV
serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture services. As digital transformation partner to German
brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their business and industry, Vodafone caters to enterprises of all
performance and create lasting value across their sizes, from startups and SMEs to DAX-listed corporations.
enterprises. Vodafone is the #1 mobile network operator in Germany:
No other market player connects more people and
Visit us at www.accenture.com. machines in Germany via its mobile network. It also has
more gigabit fixed network connections and more TV
customers in the country than any other German
company.

As a gigabit company, Vodafone is a key contributor to the

development of Germany’s infrastructure. Its German
cable footprint extends to almost 24 million households
and it provides a gigabit service to over 21 million of those.

Vodafone Germany is the largest operating company of

Vodafone Group, one of the world’s largest
telecommunications companies, contributing around 30%
of its revenues. Vodafone Group has over 300 million
mobile customers, more than 27 million fixed broadband
customers and over 22 million TV customers worldwide.

More information: www.vodafone-deutschland.de or

www.vodafone.com.