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Dialog Axiata uses analytics to hold CXOs accountable for bad customer experiences

Dialog Axiata is so determined to put customers at the center of its strategy that it’s put data analytics to an interesting use: holding CXOs accountable for any action that hurts the customer experience.

John C. TannerJohn C. Tanner
19 Nov 2019
Dialog Axiata uses analytics to hold CXOs accountable for bad customer experiences

Dialog Axiata uses analytics to hold CXOs accountable for bad customer experiences

Sri Lankan communications service provider (CSP) Dialog Axiata is so determined to put customers and customer experiences at the center of its strategy that it’s put data analytics to an interesting use: holding CXOs accountable for any action that hurts the customer experience. Sandra DeZoysa, Group Chief Customer Officer, Dialog Axiata, and Chairperson, Digital Customer Experience Expert Working Group, Axiata, outlined her company’s progress in creating a digital, automated omnichannel pipeline to customers as part of its overall digital transformation strategy last week at Digital Transformation Asia in Kuala Lumpur. DeZoysa said Dialog Axiata has come a long way in building up its digital channels and social media presence. For instance, she explained, digital channels now account for 53% of customer interaction – that’s up from just 10% two years ago. In the same time period, traditional automated channels (i.e. SMS and USSD) have dropped from 80% to just over 40%. DeZoysa added the figure for traditional is as high as it is mainly because feature phones are still prevalent in Sri Lanka.

“We're now moving into digital omnichannel, which means we want to create a digital identity of personalized seamless interactions across all of these channels in our mix,” she said. “In doing so, we already have 360-degree view across all of the channels, including social listening capability.”

DeZoysa illustrated other aspects of Dialog Axiata’s efforts to improve customer experiences, from personalized customer journeys and churn prediction to augmenting retail stores with “CRM on a tablet” capabilities that enable store associates to serve customers more quickly. In fact, DeZoysa noted, the week prior to her presentation, Dialog Axiata opened its first fully automated self-service storefront, where customers can come in and top up their SIM cards or activate new ones, among other services. “Customers can go in and do all the things they typically do in our stores,” she said. “This month, we will still have one or two associates helping out, but thereafter we plan to go completely humanless.” However, the thing that got the biggest reaction from the audience was the section on analytics, which featured one dashboard that ties the quality of customer experiences directly to each CXO in the company.

“Every time something happens, if there’s any issue, we can look back to see who caused the issue,” DeZoysa explained. “That means if you cause an issue, immediately you can see the impact of it on service levels, NPS and data volumes.”

CXOs who cause an issue are instantly notified and have to take action in real time to correct the problem. For extra incentive, DeZoysa added, the business units responsible will be billed for any extra costs the problem causes. “This is my favorite [dashboard],” she said. “I spent a lot of time trying to get this dashboard going.” While Dialog has employed a number of cutting-edge digital technologies to improve customer experiences, DeZoysa credits the company’s underpinning mantras – “service from the heart” and “your smile, my passion” – as the true secrets of the company’s success. DeZoysa insists they’re not just nice-sounding marketing slogans – everyone from the CEO of Axiata Group to frontline employees “owns the customer”. “We know that what we're really trying to do is not sell connectivity, but enrich human lives,” she said.