Media Disruption Leads to Customer Satisfaction, Sales Improvement

Our client was looking to create a customer-centric business model that is leaner and more focused on service differentiation and sales velocity. We created new contact centre activities that helped create better effectiveness and efficiency.

The thirst for news and information has never been stronger, with many consumers now “always on” and accessible via pervasive Internet access and smart devices. However, such digital disruption has taken a financial toll on the media industry. The traditional newspaper business model can’t sustain, as classifieds revenue and ad sales move to new competitors and readers scatter across platforms. A leading Australian media company, facing pressure from disruption, decided to work smarter to thrive in this new environment. It needed a partner to help create a customer-centric business model that is leaner and focused on service differentiation and sales velocity.

The company reached out to us because of our expertise across the entirety of the customer experience spectrum. Our consulting experts helped map the current state of the client’s operations across its multiple media properties, identify opportunities to consolidate customer information and data, and create a blueprint for a streamlined and integrated multichannel business. The vision is to better understand customers and drive new lines of revenue into the business.

Within the customer care arena, our team coordinated and standardised outsourced call centre activities that were previously siloed and supported by individual publications. Inbound customer contact (voice and digital) is now centralised and consistent, providing a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness while making it easier to solve customer issues. In addition, we developed comprehensive online reference and training materials to teach associates the nuances of serving customers accustomed to highly localised service. The journey has evolved from a cost take out initiative to a new focus on increased revenue and customer growth. We deployed best-in-class sales capabilities to generate new revenue from inbound classified sales and outbound proactive B2B activities and new digital advertising services, while leveraging marketing and revenue growth analytics for continuous improvement.

The client is still early in its customer-centric journey, but so far has seen customer satisfaction and sales improve. In addition, we have met the client’s desired customer experience levels. Our partnership allows us to deliver best-in-class sales and service while the client can focus on its core mission — providing award-winning news and information.