Our reputation is the summation of everything we do at Vodacom. It not only reflects the value and quality of our service and the products we sell, but it also runs much deeper than this. Reputation talks to how we behave as a company, as a corporate citizen and as a member of all the communities in which we operate. We manage our reputation proactively, and use the potential impact on reputation as a key measure when making decisions,” says Shameel Joosub, Vodacom group chief executive.
Vodacom delivers mobile voice, messaging, data and converged services to over 5.7-million customers across South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Lesotho with a mobile network coverage population of around 200-million people.
The company has structured its brand messaging around connecting people, changing lives and conveying trust, service, value and speed. This messaging has formed the cornerstone of its reputation strategy and is used to deliver a coherent message to both stakeholders and consumers.
“For us, being consistent in giving consumers the best network and customer experience is an important element in keeping customers on our network and earning their trust,” says Maya Makankee, chief corporate affairs officer at Vodacom Group. “Getting to where we are has been a journey throughout which we have engaged consumers, listened to their views and reconciled these with our business operations.”
Makanjee highlights three essential building blocks that Vodacom places its reputation on — value for money, listening to customers and improving service and investing to deliver on the value proposition.
“We continue to invest more than R7-billion a year into our network infrastructure to ensure that we offer our customers wide coverage, faster speeds and network quality,” says Makanjee. “Reputation is the sum of the perceptions, views and beliefs of the company’s stakeholders. They interact with us at multiple points and the quality of those interactions and our delivery on the promises we make all leave an impression that contributes towards building our reputation.”
Vodacom undertakes an annual reputation measurement to assess stakeholder opinion and to determine what it can leverage and what needs to be improved. Makanjee believes that to not proactively manage reputational drivers will have a negative impact on the business and that being a poor corporate citizen is a mistake that should not be made.
“Today consumers have more choices than they have ever had and are fully aware that they have the power to make choices that suit their needs,” she says. “In the current tough economic and competitive environment, a good reputation is vital to building a competitive advantage. As a result, communities are more supportive of your business activities, customers more willing to recommend your company’s products and services and employees feel a greater commitment to the company.”
Building a rich reputation offers the brand an opportunity to create affinity and trust and Makanjee points out that by putting customers at the centre of business strategies has played a pivotal role in building Vodacom’s reputation.
“Whether it is delivering the best customer service, growing data or making our business processes more efficient, these experiences improve the customer experience and are vital to driving reputations and business,” says Makanjee. “Poor customer service mitigates all efforts to retain and attract customers, or poor employee morale is a threat to a positive reputation, especially for a customer-facing business. Manage a corporate reputation proactively and ensure senior level support as these are essential to upholding and building a good reputation.”
This article forms part of a larger supplement which can be found here. This supplement has been made possible by the Mail & Guardian’s advertisers. All content has been independently sourced by the M&G’s supplements editorial team