Vodafone: unwaveringly committed to innovation and loyalty to customers

For Vodafone Romania, playing a major role in Romania’s digitalization—whether directly for its employees and customers or indirectly for local authorities—is one of its top priorities. Business Review sat down with Nedim Baytorun, Consumer Business Unit Director at Vodafone Romania, to find out about the company’s transformation into a tech company, learn about the EasyTech concept, and examine its results on the local market.

By Anda Sebesi

How would you describe Vodafone and its transformation from a telecom company into a technology company?

I have been a part of Vodafone for a long time now—almost 12 years. You get to see a lot in 12 years. Trends come and go, new tech disrupts the industry, and so on. But two things have never changed within Vodafone in all this time: its constant change for the better and its loyalty to cutomers. We are in a software-defined digital transformation era, so in order to remain relevant to our customers, it is paramount for us to keep up the pace and bring a technology-driven value proposition to the market. Vodafone is not just a provider of connectivity; it is transforming into a next-gen connectivity and digital services provider. A digital champion. This transformation is made tangible by the products and services we are offering our customers and through all brand interactions, as well as the way we operate our networks and run our operations. For my team, transformation means perfecting digital touch points with our customers. The online store, the My Vodafone app, and the entire retail network, whether online or offline, fall under the newly implemented EasyTech umbrella concept.

With EasyTech, we bring technology closer to our customers and we make it easy to use, test, understand, and acquire. I would dare to say that Vodafone is changing the local communication industry and that we are challenging the status quo.

How does all this translate into your relationship with customers?

Our actions have consistently revolved around placing the customer at the centre. All the benefits are now included in “Meriţi ce-i mai bun,” an easy-to-use platform that gathers the best deals for mobile and fixed services, exclusive experiences, and discounts in one place. The “Meriţi ce-i mai bun” programme aims to highlight all the choices and help clients pick their favourites more easily. Furthermore, the fact that our network has been certified as “Best in Test” for its quality and performance for the sixth consecutive time is proof of our reliability and continuous investments to provide a top notch experience.

We value our customers—that is a fact. The highest form of respect is to give them the best value for money. But more than connectivity, it’s about the experience they have in dealing with us, how easily they can find our stores, how easily they can find the answer they’re looking for on our website. The most important and complex layer is to offer more than just a product or service. As technology advances, connectivity solutions become diverse too, so now we have

TechXperts in every store. They are colleagues who are trained to provide high quality customer journeys in finding gadgets, carry out potential troubleshooting, and offering tips and tricks on how to use technology to its full potential.

Tell us more about the EasyTech concept and the reasons behind the decision to launch it on the local market.

EasyTech is a new approach to retail, a strategic part of our business but also the first step in our transformation journey. Romania is one of the first countries in the Vodafone footprint to visibly step on the transformation road. It’s a transformation that rethinks the customer experience throughout the entire retail chain, not just by extending the range of products. For us, at Vodafone, retail is a major touch point. Brick and mortar retail is actually where the clients get to see, touch, and test the broader range of products they were promised, where they interact with the tech experts and make an informed buying decision.

We started with one store in March and we are currently close to 30 shops that have been remodeled under the EasyTech concept—dealers and franchise stores included. In fact, half of the investment in the EasyTech redesign has gone to franchise and dealers’ stores.

All in all, this transformation was designed to maximise visibility for all customer requirements while creating a user-friendly environment and experience, with our people and our digital solutions. We trust this is becoming more and more a standard of offering consumers a more complete experience and ultimately, more value for their time.

How does the success of EasyTech translate into specific results for Vodafone Romania?

Despite the challenging economic conditions, a significant investment has gone into the EasyTech rebranding. And the results are here. For instance, all refurbished stores have seen a significant uptick in customer satisfaction as well as significant growth rates in terms of device sales. But to stay competitive, we constantly analyse and adjust our store network. For instance, we are now expanding our franchise programme. For us, community is paramount when it comes to business growth. In the past 10 years we’ve seen our franchise network grow into a very strong, reliable community that I believe has contributed significantly to the success of EasyTech.

Who can become part of the Vodafone franchise programme?

We are targeting entrepreneurs, former corporate people or even franchisees in our industry or others, people with a good reputation in their community, good professional networks, and a strong desire to make a difference for the customer. In the 10 years since launching the franchise programme, the network has grown and most of the franchisees have been with us since day one. Besides a turnkey business whose entry costs are among the most competitive on the market, we are also offering a safety network comprising other franchisees, who are all very suportive and ready to help.

Romania is among the countries with the lowest levels of digitalization, meaning a large share of the population lacks basic digital capabilities. How does Vodafone intend to reach them through its portfolio of products and services?

Vodafone plays a significant part in changing this situation. We do that through our commercial initiatives, which put digital education at the core of our projects, and with the support of the Vodafone Foundation. In the 25 years since its setup, the Foundation has reached more than 250,000 pupils and 3,000 teachers from 700 schools.

As for the commercial part, in our Easytech stores, TechXperts are bridging the digitalization gap by supporting our customers throughout their digital journeys. We are willing to play an increasingly important role in the digitalization of the country, whether directly for our employees and customers or indirectly for local authorities. As a global company, our experience is not negligeable and we are here to contribute. It is also a duty to a country where we have been investing continuously for more than 26 years.

If you were to describe Romania in a few words, what would you say?

Since I moved here 2 years ago, Romania has become a home for me and my family. I am enjoying the country for both business and pleasure. We have discovered beautiful landscapes and local communities, warm, smart people, and delicious cuisine. Romania still has untapped potential, as it is strategically located, with highly skilled professionals. Everyone’s heard of Romania’s IT market and its evolving infrastructure, therefore the business environment is increasingly favourable. Romania has genuinely grown on me and I’d like to stay longer to witness the progress of the country.

What has been the most surprising thing about Romania since you’ve been here?

I come from Turkey, with a connecting stay in Albania, so I immediately noticed that Romania, like most other Balkan countries, sticks to tradition. I notice this particularly when I travel to more remote areas, like the villages around Sibiu, for example. But I think what has surprised me the most has been Romanians’ sense of humour, coupled with their resilience. Rarely can you find one without the other.

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