South African telecommunications company, rain, is known for its innovative approach to mobile data and internet services. The company’s strategy focuses on simplicity and flexibility, offering customers unlimited data options without contractual constraints.
Since 2021, rain has been on a company-wide mission to deliver superior products, networks, and support to customers. To support this mission, rain enlisted data-as-a-service provider, DataEQ, for real-time insights that would guide strategic improvements in customer sentiment. As a result, rain saw a drastic improvement in public sentiment from 2020 to 2024. This case study unpacks how they achieved this.
"We knew that consumers were increasingly turning to social media as a preferred customer service channel. Social media offers consumers immediate access to brands and the ability to engage in real-time conversations." – Brandon Leigh, founder and Group CEO, rain
In 2020, despite deploying over 2000 sites to expand its network, the new incumbent faced challenges with the huge influx of interested customers, and was perceived more negatively when compared to other operators like MTN, Telkom and Vodacom.
Armed with real-time data and DataEQ’s Analyse tool, rain was able to transform customer feedback into strategic change across the business, significantly impacting customer satisfaction.
Key actions included:"This data-driven approach has enabled us to make informed decisions quickly, optimise our strategies effectively, and stay ahead in a competitive market." – Conrad Leigh, CEO, rain
"Our journey with Engage has enabled us to transform our customer support. We can now easily prioritise and manage daily ticket allocations in real time, allowing us to stay agile and responsive to our customers' needs." – Shaylen Subramony, Customer Success Lead, rain
By 2024, rain was the top performing network provider, achieving a notably higher Net Sentiment score that was 24pp higher than the rest of the Telecoms Industry average. While other telcos and ISPs began to show modest improvements, rain remained the clear leader, continuing to generate a higher proportion of positive online feedback relative to complaints.
Both Operational and Reputational Net Sentiment improved significantly:
Online responsiveness in 2024 was 81%, an improvement of 34pp from 2020.
By 2024, staff compliments drove 50% of all operational praise and rain led the industry with customer service sentiment.
"Having real-time data from DataEQ ensured we were able to track and understand the positive impact of system-wide improvement on our customer experience." – Shaylen Subramony, Customer Success Lead, rain