Cablefax The Magazine - July 2017 - 10

2017 TOP OPS AWARDS
MSO CUSTOMER CARE
Boingo
Boingo saw an opportunity. It recognized enlisted military living in the
barracks of Army, Marine Corps and Air Force bases as an underserved
market. By defi nition, this customer would be a challenge to
retain though as they are constantly uprooted, transient and subject
to relocation beyond their control and sometimes without advance
notice. But what if you create a network that extends beyond just
one base? That's precisely what the company did.
With no installation appointments or truck roll, Boingo Broadband is
designed to fi t into a soldier's mobile lifestyle. Customers can easily
sign in to the Boingo-networked base, made up of more than a million
WiFi hotspots globally, without having to change their accounts. This is
a huge perk. " If they're transferred or deployed to another base, they
are able to get connected without any issue. It's part of the entire platform.
It's completely wireless, it connects all the different device types
that a customer may have, and so far it's been a really great product
for us, " says product and customer experience vp Scott Ewalt.
And the customers are satisfi ed. " I have enough to worry about when
I move from base to base, " according to PV1 Lucas Portzel, a Boingo
Broadband customer stationed at Fort Carson. " The last thing I need
to worry about is waiting hours upon hours for an appointment just
to have my cable installed...The IPTV and WiFi service moves with
me wherever I go and will just work when I'm at a new base. "
In a word, Boingo's customer service strategy is proactive. That's their
mantra, and they walk the walk. For instance, the company sends out
SMS text messages to subscribers alerting them of potential service
outages as a result of inclement weather or military construction. In
conjunction with the SMS texts are web pages deployed in real time
to provide more detail on various outages. All this is done on a cellular
device as well to accommodate customers' consumption patterns.
The company also communicates new upgrades to the service and
marketing events through social media and email. And it has a detailed
FAQ section on its website that's updated in real time.
In the event of direct customer inquiries, a real person responds to a
service member's needs. " The way in which we view customer care is
not as a call center. It allows us to gain incredible insights into what's
happening in the fi eld and we can leverage those insights to improve
and enhance our products, " Ewalt says. " We use it as a very powerful
feedback group... As we've grown our customer base, we've been able
to decrease the volume of contacts that we've had on a YOY basis. "
Another big plus for this demo: There is no annual contract. " We've
provided a lot of fl exibility with respect to the product, " Ewalt says.
" And we have to be aware of the demographic of our customers.
It's not delivering a general market cable solution; it's mostly
18-24-year-old males in this group, so we have to be aware of the
touch points of communication to engage them with. " That translates
to communicating on social and mobile. " Our agents are frequently
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monitoring Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to understand what are
customers saying and being part of the conversation and their lives. "
And here's a bonus: The service is also a top revenue generator.
Since launching in Camp Pendleton in 2014, distribution has
expanded to include 58 bases and Boingo Broadband now accounts
for 25% of revenue for 2016.
FAST FACTS
uBoingo has agreements with the Army, Air Force
and Marines and makes its high-speed WiFi and IPTV
products available to members of those three military
branches living in the barracks.
uBoingo offers two tiers of service: a standard at
5Mbps for $29.95 per month, and an expanded tier of
30Mbps for $49.95 per month. As many of them are
gamers, most customers choose the fastest tier.
uThe company recently began offering a skinny basic
bundle called Core TV, which is available for $19.95 a
month and includes streaming to multiple devices.
- Kaylee Hultgren
July 2017
Cablefax: The Magazine
http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - July 2017

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