Vi increases positive online reviews for in-store experiences by 40%
The Challenge
Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) is one of India’s leading telecom service providers. It runs a network of more than 450 retail stores and 2,000 small stores with over 230 million customers across the country.
To support the growing demand for data and voice, Vi is committed to delivering delightful customer experiences and contributing towards creating a truly “Digital India” by enabling millions of citizens to connect and build a better tomorrow. Vi, along with its partners, is constantly introducing newer and smarter technologies to enhance its users’ experience.
In line with its customer-first approach, Vi realized that it was important to address customers’ Google reviews and take prompt action for the respective stores. Along with Sprinklr, the team initiated a new solution to address Google Business Profile reviews.
“Google came to be this converging point between the physical and digital customer experience, a space known as ‘phygital’,” Ashish Sharma, Executive Vice President, Customer Service Head at Vi. This digital feedback by Vi customers about their physical experience at stores remained unattended in this digital space.
Unlike other social channels where private messaging is easily accessible, all messaging through Google reviews is public. Even though Google reviews are seen as a low-volume feedback channel, because of their visibility in Google search results, the Vi team considers them an important area to prioritize within the overall customer experience.
Under existing processes, Vi agents would respond to Google reviews by asking customers to email them for assistance. But this led to a poor experience for both the customer and the agent, who lose the context of the original details posted to Google.
Vi needed a solution to close this loop and allow its customer experience team to:
・Engage with negative Google reviews in a positive way
・Capture customer information privately and securely with minimal drop-off
・Unify Google feedback with Vi’s existing Sprinklr CXM processes
・Create the opportunity to convert bad reviews into positive customer experiences
The Solution
Vi used Sprinklr Service to design a seamless process for addressing Google reviews. Now, agents reply to reviews that require follow up by sharing a link to a secure, single-use form. This creates a confidential channel to capture a customer’s mobile number and the store they visited.
All the retail, physical, and digital experiences are converging for Vi. We can now utilize Social Listening to encourage better in-store retail experiences. This has created a pipeline for us to hold store executives responsible in a way that was not possible before.”
Executive Vice President, Customer Service Head, Vi
It also creates a case in the Sprinklr dashboard that includes a link to the Google review. This ensures that all details are on-hand for easy reference by customer service agents.
“This process has given us a way to handle negative reviews organically,” says Sharma. Capturing information in this way enables Vi to provide a direct follow-up process, where a contact agent places a phone call to the customer for a highly-personalized response.
With this new approach, Vi agents are now able to address customer concerns expressed in Google reviews. In a best case scenario, a customer may even opt to update their review to reflect their improved experience.
Embracing digital reviews in physical stores
With a new process in place to address digital feedback about physical experiences, Vi can now fully embrace Google reviews as a channel for capturing real-world feedback on in-store experiences. The company has now rolled out QR codes in nearly 400 stores to ask current and potential customers to share their feedback on Google reviews. Vi’s idea is that the more customers are encouraged to give feedback, the better the ratings will be. This theory has held true in 2022, as customers with positive experiences are encouraged to post reviews.
The Outcome
Vi has seen massive improvements in its Google review process since it was launched in June 2022. The volume of positive reviews has spiked dramatically, while response time to reviews that need attention has dropped precipitously.
With positive signs of success from this new review workflow, Vi is looking to expand the approach to other channels with similar needs, including Google Play Store reviews and LinkedIn.
“All the retail, physical, and digital experiences are converging for Vi,” says Sharma. “We can now utilize Social Listening to encourage better in-store retail experiences. This has created a pipeline for us to hold store executives responsible in a way that was not possible before.”