Paywizard, the pay-TV subscription, billing and customer relationship management (CRM) specialist, has announced that it has partnered with Verimatrix, a specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for network-connected devices and services, to enable operators to proactively engage with customers experiencing problems by utilising quality of experience (QoE) data sets.
In a recent Paywizard survey of 3000 consumers across the UK, USA and the Philippines, 34% of consumers have experienced a major service outage lasting more than four hours in the last 12 months. While contacting customer service (21%) for both traditional and OTT services was one of the top three interactions identified as the most negative by customers.
By tapping into more data through Verimatrix Verspective RT QoE updates, Paywizard will enrich the single customer view (SCV) created by its recently launched subscriber intelligence platform, Paywizard Singula, which will debut at IBC 2018 in Amsterdam. Singula is a standalone platform that empowers pay-TV operators and over-the-top (OTT) providers to utilise subscriber insights and artificial intelligence (AI) to recommend the ‘next best action’ an operator can take for each and every subscriber at the critical ‘decision moments’ in the customer journey.
Bhavesh Vaghela, Paywizard’s chief executive, said: “The more data operators have about customers – including service issues they are facing – the better position they are in to take effective action. So, for instance, if a group of subscribers is having a service problem, the operator can immediately and proactively communicate to them that it is aware of the problem and working to fix it – and if the data says this is a recurring issue, the operator can even send out the discount voucher, free offer or whatever other compensation most likely to keep the customer positive about their experience.”
Traditionally analysis has been focused on quality of service (QoS) data, which is primarily used to diagnose network challenges, including streaming, audience and configuration, by operational teams and network administrators. The partnership allows this insight to be taken a step further and proactively communicate to customers in real-time when issues are experienced, resulting in a better customer experience, reducing churn and increase loyalty.
Tom Pollard, VP of product management at Verimatrix, added: “This partnership is all about providing the best possible customer experiences and building subscriber loyalty by using data and insight wisely – whether that is dealing with a billing issue, proactively recommending a change in content package to a wavering subscriber, or addressing a QoE issue, such as buffering, before the customer even has a chance to contact their service provider.”
Not only will the partnership enable pay-TV operators to gain a comprehensive view of QoE issues and take pre-emptive action on problems, they will also be able to access and analyse more consumption data – enhancing their SCV by bolstering their understanding of subscriber viewing behaviour in real-time. In turn, machine learning and AI-driven capabilities within Singula will generate more relevant recommendations for the ‘next best action’ - to increase acquisition, grow ARPU or reduce churn.
Vaghela continued: “The defining feature of Paywizard Singula is not only the platform’s ability to utilise more data than ever to fuel predictive modelling, but to be able to evolve the SCV and the recommended next best actions with refreshed data. Working with Verimatrix means we have broader, more relevant data that can be actioned to ensure operators don’t miss a beat when it comes to the customer experience.”
Paywizard Singula will be demonstrated at IBC 2018, where visitors to the Paywizard (14.G27) and Verimatrix (5.A59) booths will be able to see the new partnership and resulting capabilities in action.
