Modern Loyalty Programmes Would Fail Without Data
Tiago Rocha da Silva, Chief Marketing Officer at Zain KSA maps how customer satisfaction and quality of service are cornerstones of loyalty. Tiago Rocha da Silva joined Zain KSA as the Chief Marketing Officer in September 2020. He leads the company’s consumer digital transformation effort to provide customers with the best customer experience and innovative […]
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Tiago Rocha da Silva, Chief Marketing Officer at Zain KSA maps how customer satisfaction and quality of service are cornerstones of loyalty.
Tiago Rocha da Silva joined Zain KSA as the Chief Marketing Officer in September 2020. He leads the company’s consumer digital transformation effort to provide customers with the best customer experience and innovative products and services that help position Zain KSA as the leading digital services provider in the Kingdom. He will be a speaker at the KSA edition of Vibe Martech Fest that will take place on October 18 and 19, 2022.
Excerpts from the interview;
What are the main reasons customers churn versus the main reasons customers are loyal?
Customer churn is interconnected with customer loyalty, meaning, the key underlying factors why customers leave or remain loyal to a brand lay in the same root causes. Customer behaviour is driven primarily by their level of satisfaction with the quality of service. The “quality of service” we are talking about refers to the overall quality of the network (speed of internet, coverage, etc.) as well as the quality of the experience of dealing with the service provider (customer care, self-care system, digital experience, etc.). Pricing is also an important factor that drives customer loyalty as well as churn especially when the gap is significant. Finally, brand image and product innovation also contribute to customer churn or loyalty. It’s a lot more about the ‘How’ than about the ‘What’.
How do you see telecom leading the force in the way enterprises connect with consumers on digital channels?
Telecom operators have been transforming the way in which they interact with consumers from voice and SMS to ecommerce, self-care systems and mobile applications. In fact, telcos are more adept at creating digital and consumer-friendly services than most traditional businesses in other sectors. For example, the vast majority of telco-provider services are more accessible and seamless to customers than services provided by traditional companies such as financial services, retail, hospitality, health, utilities and others. Due to the rapidly changing customer needs and competition from new digital-first businesses to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, telcos are pushed to innovate and transform faster than other traditional sectors. However, when compared to purely digital players, telcos can still improve their digital experience and interactions with customers.
How do you study changing trends in consumer behaviour, and how are KSA consumers unique?
Customer usage behaviour is the most important insight that allows any marketer to introduce new, innovative and differentiated products that are relevant to customers, as well as to predict actions that may impact the business. The KSA has one of the world’s highest internet penetration rates (98 per cent), owing to its youthful demography. In fact, 29.5 million people in the KSA are social media users.
What’s the best way for marketing teams to stay agile to changing market and industry dynamics?
Innovation, digitisation and automation. These are the 3 key pillars for a marketeer nowadays to be ahead of the competition and anticipate future consumer behaviour. This obviously needs to be supported by an extremely powerful analytical engine.
How does data feed a modern loyalty programme?
A modern-day loyalty program would fail without one critical component – that is data. However, it is crucial that this data is best used when an organisation has the capability and capacity of analysing and extracting relevant and actionable insights from the collected data. Therefore, data collection, analysis, and reporting are the most important factors to build any successful, and modern loyalty program. Products which are then created out of the data-generated insights and products will be more relevant to customers and therefore will increase their adoption in any sector.
Your opinion on the maturity level of loyalty marketing in the KSA, and what brands should work on?
Loyalty marketing in KSA is significantly established across several sectors. At the same time, it is quite individualistic and traditional. Most loyalty programs are independent of each other and still focus on the traditional “earn-and-burn” concept. I believe that it will evolve into a more interactive and comprehensive model sooner or later.
Tiago Rocha da Silva, Chief Marketing Officer at Zain KSA will be speaking at Vibe Martech Fest, KSA
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