Podcast Summary: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®
Episode #690: Focusing on Long-Term Customer Value Using Next Best Action with Tine Van Calster, Telenet Release Date: June 13, 2025
Introduction
In Episode #690 of The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®, host Greg Kihlström engages in an insightful conversation with Tina Van Calster, Product Owner of Segment of One at Telenet. The discussion centers around Telenet's innovative approach to enhancing long-term customer value through personalized marketing strategies powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and the Pega Customer Decision Hub (CDH).
Background of the Guest
Tina Van Calster brings a robust background in AI to her role at Telenet. With a Ph.D. in AI and extensive experience in data science and product ownership, Tina leads the Segment of One program—a data-driven, hyper-personalized marketing initiative built on Pega CDH. Her expertise lies in configuring marketing campaigns that align closely with customer needs, leveraging both marketing and technology teams to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Notable Quote:
"I'm currently a product owner at Telenet, leading the Segment of One program, which focuses on data-driven, hyper-personalized marketing built on Pega CDH." – Tina Van Calster [03:08]
The Check and Smile Initiative
Tina introduces Check and Smile, a pivotal application within Telenet's mobile app aimed exclusively at existing customers. This initiative conducts proactive checks on various aspects of the customer experience, particularly focusing on network quality and product usage. The goal is to enhance customer satisfaction by offering tailored solutions—ranging from technical support to optimizing service packages based on individual usage patterns.
Key Components:
- Network Quality Checks: Proactively assess and address network issues by offering solutions like technician visits or equipment upgrades.
- Product Optimization: Analyze service usage to either stimulate increased usage or recommend downgrades for better alignment with customer needs.
Notable Quote:
"The idea of Check and Smile is to start from our customers' needs, think long-term, and build strong relationships rather than focusing solely on short-term gains." – Tina Van Calster [05:45]
Defining Success Beyond Immediate Financial Returns
When discussing success metrics for Check and Smile, Tina emphasizes the importance of customer loyalty and brand perception over immediate revenue gains. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer engagement rates with the initiative, and operational impacts to ensure that the program does not overburden contact centers or technical teams.
Notable Quote:
"We’re tracking customer loyalty and brand perception through metrics like NPS and whether customers feel valued, rather than just immediate financial returns." – Tina Van Calster [06:10]
Leveraging Pega Customer Decision Hub
The conversation delves into how Telenet utilizes the Pega Customer Decision Hub to power the next best actions in their marketing campaigns. Tina highlights the evolution of their Segment of One program over five years, emphasizing the integration of data-driven and AI-driven decision-making processes.
Key Insights:
- Hyper-Personalization: Utilizing AI to tailor marketing actions to individual customer behaviors and preferences.
- Omnichannel Approach: Ensuring consistent and personalized interactions across all customer touchpoints, including push notifications, app interactions, and advisor engagements.
- Scalability and Iteration: Starting with a manageable set of actions and progressively scaling based on customer feedback and engagement metrics.
Notable Quote:
"The main difference for me when we launched Segment of One was being extremely data-driven and AI-driven in every decision, and ensuring an omnichannel presence." – Tina Van Calster [08:04]
Balancing Automation with Human Touch
Tina discusses the challenges of maintaining trust and empathy in automated, hyper-personalized marketing efforts. While AI enables scalable personalization, ensuring that communications feel genuine and align with the brand’s identity requires continuous collaboration with brand managers and iterative refinements based on customer feedback.
Notable Quote:
"We need to be even more transparent about what's behind the decision and explain why a certain next best action is recommended to build trust with our customers." – Tina Van Calster [10:14]
Enhancing Customer Loyalty and Lifetime Value
Telenet's Check and Smile initiative has shown promising results in increasing customer loyalty and app engagement. Tina shares metrics indicating a 50% increase in customers feeling valued and a 10% acceptance rate of the offers presented through the program. Additionally, non-customers have shown a favorable inclination towards Telenet when considering service providers, highlighting the initiative's impact on brand perception.
Notable Quote:
"50% of our customers feel more valued because we offer this service, and around 10% of the offers we present are accepted, which is promising compared to traditional campaigns." – Tina Van Calster [14:42]
Understanding Customer Expectations in Telecom
Through the development of Check and Smile, Telenet uncovered that customers expect proactive, empathetic, and seamless interactions from their telecom providers. Moving beyond transactional engagements, customers seek ongoing value and meaningful relationships, driving Telenet to elevate their service offerings accordingly.
Notable Quote:
"Customers expect effortless journeys that are proactive, fit their needs, and include a layer of empathy. Transitioning from purely transactional interactions to building relationships is challenging but essential." – Tina Van Calster [17:02]
Internal Strategies for Implementing Change
Implementing initiatives like Segment of One and Check and Smile required significant internal change management. Tina emphasizes the importance of aligning stakeholders, fostering open communication, and maintaining a collaborative culture. For Check and Smile, strong leadership and clear project timelines were crucial in rallying the organization behind the customer-centric vision.
Notable Quote:
"With Check and Smile, we led with strong internal support, ensuring all teams rallied behind the customer-centric vision and met our strict six-month timeline." – Tina Van Calster [18:47]
Highlights and Future Prospects
Looking ahead, Tina expresses excitement about the integration of generative AI (GenAI) with predictive capabilities to further enhance personalized customer experiences. She anticipates that merging these technologies will enable even more sophisticated marketing campaigns and customer interactions, maintaining the human touch through collaborative efforts with brand managers.
Notable Quote:
"I'm excited to see how predictive and generative AI can come together to create even better marketing campaigns while retaining that essential human touch." – Tina Van Calster [21:17]
Staying Agile in a Dynamic Environment
Tina attributes her team's agility to continuous recalibration, open discussions on roles and responsibilities, and a willingness to adapt their workflows. Regular team meetings to assess what’s working and what isn’t have been instrumental in maintaining an agile and responsive approach to evolving market demands.
Notable Quote:
"Having open conversations with the team about what’s working and what isn’t, and being willing to change even small aspects of our workflow, makes a significant difference in staying agile." – Tina Van Calster [22:51]
Conclusion
Episode #690 offers a comprehensive look into how Telenet is redefining customer loyalty through AI-driven, personalized marketing strategies. Tina Van Calster's insights underscore the importance of prioritizing long-term customer value, leveraging advanced technologies like Pega CDH, and fostering an agile internal culture to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of customer experience.
Listeners gain valuable perspectives on balancing automation with human empathy, measuring success beyond traditional financial metrics, and the critical role of internal collaboration in implementing transformative initiatives.
Further Resources:
- Learn More About Tina and Telenet: [Show Notes Link]
- Pega World Announcements: [Show Notes Link]
Stay tuned to The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström® for more expert insights on marketing technology, AI, and customer experience.