Today, almost every service, from food delivery to booking cabs, online streaming, and online payments, is available with a single click. However, these services rely heavily on high-speed internet, which, when interrupted, disturbs the overall experience of that service. Considering the impact of internet speed on services across the spectrum, internet providers ensure that their customers get the fastest speeds.
Internet service providers are integrating new technologies, including 5G and Airfibre, to provide a faster internet connection with low latency. AI and data analytics are also being used in various sectors, including network and connectivity. It becomes even more important with India's internet user base expanding every year. In 2023 alone, 62 million more customers were added to India’s internet use base.
While the focus is on providing faster or cheaper internet to more people, internet service providers need to focus on the overall customer experience. To further enhance users' experience, internet service providers have developed their own applications that address all customer needs. These apps help customers with service-related information, whether it’s regarding a new service like 5G or Airfibre or exploring different internet plans. They can easily pay bills online with the help of multiple payment gateways, such as UPI, available on the apps. To diversify offerings, companies are offering subscriptions to various OTT platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Sony Live, and Zee5 with their internet plans. Some plans also include a subscription to online music streaming services. Such plans not only make internet plans more lucrative but also make online subscriptions easier for customers.
All these are solely aimed at enhancing their customer experience. But what more can be done?
Data Analytics Improving Customer Relationship Management
Data analytics is one of the many tech integrations that internet service providers can leverage to improve customer relationships. The service providers can analyse the data collected through apps, map user behaviour, and provide an individualised strategy for each customer's needs. With the help of data analytic tools, companies can also opt for area-based solutions where they can identify recurring problems being reported by customers from a particular region. For instance, a large volume of customers in area A are reporting network lag issues for a week. Before customers report it, companies can identify the problem in advance by looking into the core of an issue and resolving it speedily.
Speedy Grievance Redressal
Most internet service providers (ISPs) have deployed chatbots to answer customer queries and raise complaints. While they can seem a bit impersonal, with advanced tech, companies can offer a more personalised redressal of queries, especially through personal messaging apps such as WhatsApp.
Companies can use the feedback collected about their grievance redressal mechanisms to improve their services. This will improve customer satisfaction, as they can also track the time spent raising the problem with the service provider and how long it took to resolve it. These improved channels of communication between the customer and the operators result in speedy grievance redressal.
Video Customer Support
ISPs can also integrate physical and digital customer service by offering video as a support channel. They can enable customers to connect with technicians and support agents via platforms like WhatsApp, Live Chat, or other video-enabled tools to assist with tasks like self-installation or equipment troubleshooting. Through video calls, customers can show their issues directly while technicians visually guide them toward a solution. This approach reduces the need for in-home visits, enhances efficiency, and helps lower operational costs.
Conclusion
In their efforts to attract potential customers, service providers devise new methods almost every day. However, improving customer experience has remained the core of staying ahead in business. However, the speedy resolution of client issues is still one of the core principles of customer satisfaction. As the Indian Internet market rapidly expands, the integration of new technology to enhance the customer experience will be the modus operandi for Internet service providers in the coming years.
(The views expressed here are solely those of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of pitchonnet.com)
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