In an exclusive interview with Telecom Review, Quique Vivas, Chief Commercial Officer, Ooredoo Oman, shed light on the company’s new approach to the consumer experience journey from a telco perspective, also highlighting how the company is adapting to dynamic technological innovations and aligning with the ongoing digital transformation.
As a new CCO, how do you plan to maximize the organizational growth and market presence of Ooredoo in Oman?
I think the most important thing is to go back to basics, to understand what customers’ needs are, both in relation to the services offered and a company’s capabilities. Connectivity of course is very important as it is one of the basic needs of people. As a brand, and a very powerful one, we can have a hugely positive impact on Oman as a country and as a society, both through our connectivity, our services and our social responsibility activities.
As such, we aim to find a space in which we can be both customer-centric, while also having a positive impact within Oman. I think this is the right path for growth, and as we go along, we will explore different monetization options in the region and the country.
How is Ooredoo Oman strategizing to support the evolving digital landscape and the dynamic needs of modern communities with a focus on sustainability?
In the telco sphere, many of the digital disruptors are analogic industries doing things digitally. Telcos have been the other way around. We are a digital service industry that has been doing things analogically.
I think we need to regain that focus of doing things with a digital-first mindset. It’s not only about how we define the products, but also how we design the customer journey. Customers interact with brands in an omni-channel way, and we need to be able to respond to that.
If you take that mindset of designing customer journeys digitally and then expand on it with a focus on sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, then you will see that our digital capability is something that can expand the industry. Typically, customers don't have access to this space, which, without digital, wouldn’t happen.
It's imperative to not only prioritize enhancing the customer journey but also to extend these enriched experiences to benefit society. We do this through our corporate social responsibility. By focusing on improving customer experiences while simultaneously incorporating values of sustainability and inclusion, businesses can foster a positive societal impact, thus making sure their actions resonate beyond just their immediate consumer base.
What are you doing to upgrade customer experience and cater to changing customer needs?
I think the most important thing to acknowledge is that, historically, telcos utilized a direct-to-customer (D2C) mindset and B2C approach as a way to go to market. This is not necessarily how customers currently demand connectivity nor how they might select telcos.
I think, as an industry, we need to evolve a little bit more to try to make use cases in which we create platforms, and what I call B2B2C. This aims to empower our network services, and highlight that without Ooredoo, this wouldn't exist. We also need to outline the type of experience we want to provide with our brand. To do this, analyzing the use cases of others that have not necessarily been developed by us, is paramount.
That B2B2C platform will help us understand the customer journey beyond the direct-to-customer relationship. Telcos need to evolve in this regard to keep serving the evolving demands of customers.
How is Ooredoo Oman preparing its future-ready workforce in light of technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation?
I think we're taking baby steps from an AI perspective. In many ways, this is still uncharted territory, but one which is definitely going to change the way we do things; although, not in disruptive way in terms of being a threat to society and safety.
This is similar to when people did maths without calculators and now nobody thinks about not using a calculator. Currently, the AI models that are capturing attention are language models that are not overly needed in the telco space.
What we do need to do right now in the telco landscape is employ models that tell us what customers want and the demands from different industries. We can then utilize this knowledge to serve them better.
