Airtel aspires to make customer experience simple, interactive and transparent

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of Project Next - its digital innovation program aimed at transforming customer experience across all of its services and touchpoints.

Airtel said it plans to invest up to Rs 2000 crores over the next 3 years under Project Next to launch several exciting digital innovations to step change the simplicity and interactivity of the Airtel customer experience. Project Next complements Airtel’s massive investments towards building a future-ready network under Project Leap.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “At Airtel, everything that we do starts with our customers and we are obsessed about delivering a great experience to them. We look at the customer journey holistically and have identified 17 moments of truth. At each of these moments, our aspiration is to eliminate customer frustration and make the experience better via digital innovation."

As part of Project Next, Airtel unveiled the first set of digital innovations for its customers.

Next-Gen Airtel Stores

To transform its in-store experience, Airtel spent almost 2450 hours observing customers and mapping traffic flows within its stores. Based on these insights, Airtel is redesigning over 2500 Airtel stores across India.

The Next-Gen Airtel Stores have been conceptualised by the UK based 8 Inc. The first two Next-Gen Airtel stores are LIVE in Gurgaon. The new stores are open and minimalistic by design and come wrapped in digital technologies to make the customer experience highly interactive through the concept of Share, Create Experience.

Share: This is the zone where customers interact with a Social Wall that collates Airtel stories and Airtel customer experiences from across the country on a digital screen. The aim is to inspire customers to imagine the possibilities enabled by the Airtel network.

Create: A first-of-its-kind, interactive experience allows customers to explore and discover Airtel services. In this zone, they can design their own solutions digitally on a Touch Screen Table Top.

Experience: The new stores have Digital Entertainment Hubs that enable customers to explore and experience Airtel’s digital content offerings - movies, music, Live TV, games and more. The stores also come with Digital Self-Serve zones. In addition, customers can get a first-hand experience of the Airtel network with the Open Network digital wall and give real-time feedback.

Real Time

Airtel unveiled a new version of MyAirtel App that makes the entire customer experience real time. From a change of plans to real-time notifications to the fulfilment of services and self-care, all of this will now be enabled with a click of a button.

Postpaid Promise

Airtel talked to thousands of customers in its innovation lab and identified four key insights. First, unused data that expires at the end of the month is seen as a painful waste. Second, customers are looking for a relationship with the service provider for all of their connections. Third, the security of their devices and the privacy of their data is critical. Finally, an upgrade from Prepaid to Postpaid is a cumbersome experience. These insights have helped Airtel come up with an all new Postpaid Promise.

The Data Roll Over Promise: Airtel Postpaid customers no longer need to worry about losing unused data at the end of the month. In an industry first, starting August 1, 2017, all Airtel Postpaid customers will now be able to carry forward their unused monthly data quota to the next billing cycle. This new-to-the-world innovation will ensure zero data wastage for customers and brings unmatched value to the Airtel Postpaid proposition. Customers can easily track their usage and data carried forward on MyAirtel App.

The Family Promise: In just a few clicks on MyAirtel App, Postpaid customers can now create customised solutions for the family by adding multiple postpaid connections to their account, and enjoy savings of up to 20 percent. Also, they can pool and share their data benefits across all connections. What’s more, no paperwork is required for an existing Airtel connection to be added to the Family Postpaid solution.

Customers can also add Airtel Prepaid connections to their Family Postpaid with a seamless switch from Prepaid to Postpaid in a few clicks using the MyAirtel app. Again, no paperwork needed, no need to visit the Airtel store or call customer care.

The Security Promise: With the introduction of ‘Airtel Secure’ - a digital smartphone protection suite, customers can now protect their smartphones against accidental/liquid damage.

If a customer’s device is accidentally damaged, Airtel will arrange for a pick-up of the device, get it repaired from an authorised service centre and deliver it back to the customer. What makes Airtel Secure unique is that it is the only solution to offer damage protection for smartphones up to two years old.

Airtel Secure also comes with Norton Mobile Security Suite, which includes anti-malware protection, and an App Advisor that flags privacy risks such as intrusive behaviour. It also safeguards against phishing and malicious websites browsed via Wi-Fi or carrier networks.

Every Airtel Postpaid Promise will be delivered through a seamless and interactive digital experience on MyAirtel App.