Unveiling the Customer Retention Secrets: Virgin Media O2's Strategic Approach

Source: Shutterstock

According to Marie Feliho, director of customer experience at Virgin Media O2, in order to prevent customers from abandoning their brands, marketers should first understand the reason behind it before coming up with a solution.

Speaking at the DMA Customer Engagement Conference today (12 September), Feliho highlighted the tendency of brands to rush into solving problems without fully understanding them. Instead of implementing strategic and proactive measures, brands often opt for quick-fix, reactive tactics to retain customers. However, Feliho emphasized that these tactical solutions merely act as band-aids, providing temporary relief without addressing the underlying issues.

Instead, brands must invest time in pondering and resolving the underlying issues to effectively foster lasting customer re-engagement.

Price undeniably plays a role in customer retention, especially in times of financial strain; however, it seldom stands alone as the determining factor for customer loyalty towards a brand.

Feliho provided an example of how Virgin Media attracts long-term, valuable customers from other telecoms providers who decide to switch to their company. These customers may have become dissatisfied with their previous provider due to price increases, but only made the switch after their attempts to reach the call centre for assistance with finding a better deal went unanswered.

Instances like these occur when brands adopt a generic approach to customer retention, according to Feliho. In this particular case, she speculates that there was a lack of an effective strategy in place throughout the company, resulting in the call centre staff not being empowered to retain this valuable customer.

She emphasized the importance of empowering all businesses to enhance customer retention. "The key is to seamlessly connect all customer touchpoints, ensuring that each function knows the optimal next action or recommendation for the customers at any given moment," she emphasized.

According to her, it is crucial to align your brand with consumer needs beyond just price. Data plays a vital role in achieving this consumer-centric approach, as it enables brands to comprehend how to effectively engage customers within their specific industry.

Virgin Media O2, being a utilities provider, strongly emphasizes the importance of creativity. Feliho acknowledges that customers have a limited desire to interact with their broadband provider multiple times.

She expressed the importance of offering services and content that would enhance customer loyalty and attract them to our app or website out of genuine interest, rather than solely to resolve any difficulties they may be encountering.