One of the largest U.K. telecoms providers drives sales and retention success during a cost-of-living crisis
The goal
To develop and implement a customer-centric, data-driven outbound sales and retention strategy that aligns packages and offers with both customers’ financial needs and business objectives during a cost-of-living crisis.
The outcome
+500K
customers saved or retained
72.6%
revenue retention rate
26%
reduction in agent attrition rates
The challenge
For nearly two decades, Foundever® has been the preferred CX partner for one of the U.K.’s largest mobile network and broadband providers. Our mission is to attract new business while retaining and increasing the lifetime value of existing customers.
In the highly competitive telecoms industry, where customer expectations are ever-increasing, we’ve mastered the art of evolving sales and retention strategies. Our balanced approach — focusing on positive customer outcomes alongside top-line results — has been pivotal in consistently hitting year-over-year revenue targets through both outbound and inbound sales activities, all without sacrificing CSAT or NPS scores.
However, the provider recently faced unique challenges. Economic and inflationary pressures across the U.K. and continental Europe forced our client to raise prices and adjust offerings, just as the nation grappled with a cost-of-living crisis. This scenario demanded a radical overhaul of the sales and retention strategy for the client.
The challenge was clear: use outbound sales to tailor the right packages and offers to meet customers’ financial constraints while maintaining, or even strengthening, our client’s market position.
The solution
Support delivered to the U.K. from the Philippines with 700 FTEs
Industries
Telecoms, Media, entertainment & gaming
Channels
Voice, live chat, messaging
Language
English
By analyzing historical customer data and conducting journey-mapping sessions, Foundever® developed a targeted outbound sales and retention strategy aimed at effectively connecting with various customer types.
This is a critical initial differentiator, as often the focus can easily shift to the quantity of calls made and the frequency of attempts. This can alienate customers and even lead to regulatory complaints, especially in tightly monitored industries like telecoms.
Instead, the strategy enabled seamless transitions between synchronous and asynchronous communication channels based on customer needs and preferences, which were programmed into a dialer for consistency. For example, when targeting customers at risk of churning, the team attempted up to 12 phone contacts over a week during times when they had previously engaged. If this didn’t succeed, the team paused for seven days and then reached out via targeted SMS and email campaigns.
Our advanced customer experience platform further refined this strategy by tracking live feedback, facilitating targeted coaching for agents and identifying trends. Direct feedback from the outbound team helped optimize scripts and adapt a working structure, such as implementing a four-day workweek, as Fridays saw lower call engagement and higher stress levels for agents.
Results
500K
customers saved or retained
72.6%
revenue retention rate
26%
reduction in agent attrition rates
By adopting a multichannel, best-time-to-call approach to sales and retention, the team increased the answer rate and call-back rates by 20% and served 1,052,851 meaningful interactions across synchronous and asynchronous channels. This helped the team retain 551,197 customers, including 232,570 who agreed to renew a long-term contract, thus achieving a 72.6% average revenue retention rate during the campaign.
Critically, these figures were achieved while keeping the customer central to activities — the team maintained an 80% agent satisfaction score and an 84% rating for friendliness and helpfulness.
Additionally, due to the introduction of a four-day workweek and a bonus scheme focused on overall performance, attrition rates fell from 6.44% to 4.71% and our employee NPS score rose to 46.7, a 25-point year-over-year increase.