WHATSAPP BUSINESS PLATFORM
MTN Ghana
Providing high-speed, high-quality customer service while improving productivity
MTN Ghana
Brand
Zendesk
WhatsApp Business Solution Provider
SUCCESS STORY
MTN Ghana builds an automated virtual assistant in WhatsApp to provide more streamlined customer service that accelerates responsiveness, increases net promoter scores, and boosts productivity.
increase in agent productivity attributable to WhatsApp
of customer inquiries resolved on first contact in WhatsApp
customer satisfaction score with WhatsApp
increase in net promoter score attributable to WhatsApp
THEIR STORY
Connecting customers to the modern world
MTN Ghana is one of the largest mobile network operators in Ghana, providing prepaid and postpaid phone and internet services for individual customers and businesses. The company also offers its own money transfer and payment services through its MoMo Money programs.
THEIR GOAL
Building pathways to a digital future
As a leading telecommunications company in Ghana, MTN Ghana wanted to undergo a digital transformation by 2025. Encouraging a customer base accustomed to traditional customer service in-person or over the phone to engage digitally required a fast, streamlined communications channel that retained the immediacy of traditional channels.
THEIR SOLUTION
Effective virtual assistant
As one of the leading telecommunications providers in Ghana, MTN (Mobile Telecommunications Network) Ghana allows people and businesses across the country to live and work fully connected to the modern world. Through its range of services such as prepaid phones or broadband internet, as well as mobile money transfer and payment services, MTN Ghana has become a core part of customers’ daily lives.
While the company helps people plug into modern technologies every day, MTN Ghana is on its own journey to go fully digital by 2025. However, many customers were accustomed to visiting stores in-person or calling customer care centers with questions about their services.
Seeking a way to reach these customers online with the immediacy and personalization they expect from traditional customer service, MTN Ghana researched communication channels. Though it already had several channels in place, the company found that WhatsApp was widely adopted across its customer base.
Working with software-as-a-service company Zendesk, MTN Ghana piloted a new customer service channel powered by WhatsApp Business Platform. The pilot enabled a subset of customers to connect with the company through an automated virtual assistant in WhatsApp, in addition to its other digital channels, call center, and in-store visits.
Customers accessing the virtual assistant in WhatsApp are greeted with several options, such as getting answers to frequently asked questions, purchasing data bundles, and managing their broadband routers. If a customer needs to escalate to a live agent, MTN Ghana agents specifically trained in resolving questions through WhatsApp are only a chat away.
Virtual Assistant FAQs reduce live agent requests and increase customer satisfaction
Customers can access airtime and data balances quickly and easily
“Between our virtual assistant and live agents trained to use WhatsApp, we can resolve 76 percent of customer inquiries on the first contact, a six percent increase over other channels,” says Angela Solomon, Customer Social Media & Digital Channels Manager, MTN Ghana. “As customers experience the speed and convenience of WhatsApp, we’ve seen our customer satisfaction scores rise by three percent within a year, reaching 85 percent.”
During the pilot phase, roughly 65 percent of all customer traffic came from WhatsApp, with the volume growing 300 percent year over year – faster than any other channel. Teams regularly update the content shared through the virtual assistant, such as the FAQ section, to ensure that customers have the clearest, most accurate information for effective self-service. Using WhatsApp, MTN Ghana agents can maintain three conversations at a time, instead of handling only one call or a face-to-face interaction.
“By making WhatsApp a core part of our customer engagement, our productivity has increased threefold compared to other channels while continuing to improve the quality of our service,” says Solomon. “Providing greater immediacy and personal attention through WhatsApp deepens our relationships with customers, driving a 17 percent increase in our net promoter score to help us achieve a total of 97 percent.”
With more customers turning to WhatsApp, MTN Ghana team members can dedicate time and energy to developing content for the company’s other digital channels, including information about new products and sales.
Inspired by improvements in customer satisfaction and overall productivity during the pilot, MTN Ghana plans to let all customers access the virtual assistant in WhatsApp – making WhatsApp its key channel for customer service. The company is also exploring the possibilities of developing templates that MTN Ghana can use to send marketing and other outbound messages at scale.
“Every day, we connect our customers with the resources they need to communicate effectively. We’ve found that WhatsApp helps us reach our customers with an essential resource to get us to our goal of being a fully digital company by 2025,” says Solomon.
THEIR SUCCESS
Higher satisfaction, productivity
MTN Ghana creates a virtual assistant through WhatsApp to resolve customer inquiries faster, build better customer relationships with higher net promoter and customer satisfaction scores, and increase agent productivity.
- 3X increase in agent productivity attributable to WhatsApp
- 76% of customer inquiries resolved on first contact in WhatsApp
- 85% customer satisfaction score with WhatsApp
- 17% increase in net promoter score attributable to WhatsApp
“Between our virtual assistant and live agents trained to use WhatsApp, we can resolve 76 percent of customer inquiries on the first contact, a six percent increase over other channels. As customers experience the speed and convenience of WhatsApp, we’ve seen our customer satisfaction scores rise by three percent within a year, reaching 85 percent.”
PRODUCTS USED
WhatsApp Business Platform
Connect with customers easily by using tools to automate and quickly respond to messages.