Summary
In the covid-19 lockdown period, d2h launched a new service, Dia– a virtual assistant chat bot, to provide instant solution to customer queries. The service proved to be a strong strategic move for business as it bridged limitations of lockdown on call center operations and improved response time on query solutions significantly. Prior to Dia, channel removal could take 3-5mins which now happens within a few seconds
Challenge
Right from planning till implementation, the biggest challenge and opportunity was pandemic itself. Shops were closed with customers’ limited reach to Dealers. Call centre operations providing query resolution were affected. Because of which services were not available at the customers’ disposal. This posed the ultimate risk of customers leaving services or getting services disrupted because grievances could not be handled. With limited time, we knew customer will not wait for a very long time so had to be really quick in bringing Dia into the action. d2h noticed this being a critical pain point of their subscriber and immediately started working on this, within a very quick turnaround time, introduced the d2h Chatbot – Dia- a ray of light and hope. Note: The service was made live within 20 days of its conception [that too during lockdown] - an organizational benchmark for d2h.
Objective
The campaign objective was to provide customer service using new age and easy to reach technology with focus on – • Maximizing query resolutions on chat bots • Providing real-time resolution within seconds • Reduce call volume at the call center A very cost effective future inclined plan of “No call center queues, instant, real-time query resolution!”
Strategy
The underlying technologies that were used to develop DIA were AI, and machine learning. They brought the brand communication to an entirely new personalised level. Dia was developed, tested and integrated across below touchpoints in records 3 weeks (28th March – 17th April). 1. Customer Website 2. Customer Mobile App 3. WhatsApp 4. Facebook Messenger Promotions done to increase the usage of chat bot: • Planned communication through Mobile App Notifications • On-TV promotions during lockdown • Email promotions to target Online Customers (digital customer base of d2h) • Promotional Push through Trade partners and Sales Team to have ground reach • Integration of Chat bot information that were being sent to the customer during pandemic • Chat bot promotions through Call center IVR to re-direct customers to the product Uniqueness of the campaign: • Utilized a dire situation of lockdown in pandemic as an opportunity to come up with a New Age customer centric solution • Phenomenal business results as captured • Inculcated DIY culture (Self-help through automation) • Digital Transformation
Data
Brilliant customer service is the most important aspect of service in DTH industry as the customer volume being served per day is very high, to the tune of 1.2 lakh subscribers reaching the call center per day for issues of different categories. The onset of pandemic in March followed by nation-wide lockdown brought the entire country to a halt. All call centers were affected too and had to be shut with no clarity on when the support would resume and it was very difficult for the customers to reach us. It became a Herculean task for us to cater to customer queries as customers were struggling to reach us for inquiries and we were unable to assist them. During this challenging time, d2h had the chance to step up and turn around the situation. • The service proved to be a strong strategic move for business as it bridged limitations of lockdown on call center operations and improved response time on query solutions significantly. [For instance, prior to Dia, channel removal could take 3-5 mins a CC, which now happens within a few seconds] The service was hence made live within 20 days of its conception [that too during lockdown] - an organizational benchmark for d2h. And the service proved to be a strong strategic move for business as it bridged limitations of lockdown on call center operations and improved response time on query solutions significantly. [For instance, prior to Dia, channel removal could take 3-5 mins a CC, which now happens within a few seconds]
Solution
The service was named ‘Dia’ symbolic to ‘hope, power & light’ in difficult times to ensure connect with the audience. The name also had greater recall value for the target audience. And as the saying goes, Heroes are born in times of crisis, such a Hero was brought in as Dia (d2h’s Intelligent Assistant) – the d2h Chat bot. Dia, was a ray of hope for both customers who were not able to go out to get the services and for d2h as well who was willing to provide uninterrupted services to the customers. All the creative, highlighted the same.
Results
The results were exceptional akin to the endeavors in swift launch of the Intelligent Assistant. • Customers experienced an interactive and real-time query resolution during lock-down • Over 1 Lac customers interacted with Dia with 1.38 Lac sessions recorded within 2 weeks of launch • Within 8 months of launch Chat-bot users have gone up by 1100% and it caters to 14% of total activation. This degree of adoption in DTH industry is one of its kind. • Cost break-even was achieved within 2 months of intelligent assistant-Dia’s launch • The service proved to be a strong strategic move for business as it bridged limitations of lockdown on call center operations and improved response time on query solutions significantly. [For instance, prior to Dia, channel removal could take 3-5 mins a CC, which now happens within a few seconds] • Rise of chat bot users: ~500% growth in chat bot users from Q1 (20-21) to Q4 (21-22) • >91% subscribers get their queries resolved on chat bot only with only 9% calls going as a follow-up to agents • Huge cost savings month on month due to Low CC transfer • Significant improvement in Self-care contribution increased by 20%.
