Investing in the Advanced Customer Experience

From staying in touch with loved ones and accessing information, to enabling remote work, and many other things, mobile connectivity bridges geographical gaps, fostering global communication. We spoke to Mike Michel, CEO of Yettel, about the company's future network plans and the importance of having a stable and reliable network.

• As technology advances, the importance of robust, reliable mobile networks grows. What has Yettel done to secure that customers have a stable network that will enable them to use the latest technologies?

Our network has always been one of the main reasons, if not the main reason, why customers choose us over others. For years now, we have been working hard to maintain that trust and to improve customer experience whenever they interact via the Yettel network. First, we made the network reliable and stable. Today almost 100% of population in Serbia is covered by Yettel 4G, and in recent months we have started a major project of investing even more in our infrastructure – around EUR 100 million in a three-year investment cycle, to be precise. We want to make it a state-of-the-art network, preparing it for all that the future holds, 5G included, once commercial launch conditions are met. Speaking of 5G, I would like to mention that Yettel launched the first 5G base station in Serbia in the Belgrade Science and Technology Park in June 2019, and in May 2022 at NTP Čačak. With this, we created test 5G environments used by domestic and foreign companies, start-ups, and students from technical faculties to develop solutions based on future technologies. With the latest infrastructure investments, our goal is to introduce the most advanced technology available, ensuring our network consistently meets the growing demands of customers and the economy.

Our network is also super-fast and it has been rated as the Best in Test according to measurements by umlaut. This year, for the first time, we are also the network with the best home internet. And let’s not forget the sustainability aspect – our network is 100% green. As of January 1, 2022, Yettel has been using renewable energy sources to power its mobile network.

I can proudly say that we have worked hard to become the number one choice for customers when it comes to mobile providers with the best network, ensuring that they receive the most reliable, high-quality, and efficient service possible, meeting both their current and future connectivity needs.

• What about other Yettel plans? How are you satisfied with the first half of the year and are there any new thing coming by the end of 2024?

We are very happy with how things have been going for Yettel so far. Our ecosystem of services is developing, and we’ve received a positive response from customers regarding the possibilities we provide. Our Yettel system now includes Yettel Bank, which will unify financial and telecommunications needs, marking another step forward for us, the market, and our customers. We want our customers to feel a positive difference when they interact with us – not only from the perspective of convenience and simplicity by dealing with Yettel as one entity, but also by receiving direct and meaningful financial benefits. That is why we have created a very competitive offer for anyone who becomes both our mobile and banking customer. This is just the beginning, as we plan to bring even more benefits to customers who choose both our telco and bank services.

In the fixed segment, we are strengthening our offerings and continuously investing in the improvement of our TV platform and services. We now serve over 120,000 customers and hold a stable third position in the market with our Yettel fiber optic internet and TV offerings. We continue to grow and have recently launched a new service package, Yettel Sve, which consolidates all the services we offer. It's a combination of services for every household and the whole family, easy to understand, and offering significant savings compared to purchasing services individually.

The best is yet to come in 2024 and beyond, I’m confident. Our plans will continue in the similar direction as before – further developing our ecosystem, digitalization, and making our network even stronger than ever.

Majk Mišel, generalni direktor Yettela/ Foto: Promo/ Miloš Nadaždin

• Speaking of future plans, how you see the telco trends when it comes to customer behavior and expectations?

I believe I have already addressed customer expectations regarding our focus on customer service excellence while talking about our network plans and infrastructure improvements. We have also noticed a growing expectation for seamless interaction and enhanced digital self-service, such as through our Yettel App, which we’ve been developing for over ten years. It serves as the central hub for all our interactions with customers. Today, with just a few clicks, you can do almost anything that would otherwise require a visit to a shop or a call to the call center. You can easily pay bills, review your account statement, change your package or activate roaming, pay for parking, or buy a public transportation ticket. The app now has 1.4 million users, which, to our knowledge, is the highest number of users for a local app in Serbia, and this number continues to grow.

On the other hand, customers expect more tailored experiences and offers. At Yettel, we are leveraging data analytics and AI to provide personalized recommendations, such as those available on our Yettel Shopping platform. And let’s not forget sustainability. It is an integral part of our strategy, and we aim to help our customers live more sustainably through digital technology (for example, by saving energy with our smart apps, protecting data with security solutions, or recycling electronic devices).

All these trends reflect a shift towards a more customer-centric approach in our industry.

(Telegraf.rs/PR)