SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Sergey Harutyunyan Chief Operating Officer of BetConstruct details to SBC readers how his firm has turned Customer Service into a core corporate competency beyond a day-to-day mechanism.
Placing CS operational feedback at the heart of BetConstruct operations, Harutyunyan details how his firm has gained development, commercial and data strengthens’ from an often overlooked service.
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SBC: Can you detail to SBC readers how BetConstruct have turned customer service into a core corporate competence for its business services, which has received industry-wide recognition?
Sergey Harutyunyan: When BetConstruct started operating, we clearly understood that customer support could in no case be neglected. It is no less important for us than innovative technologies or powerful marketing campaigns. From the start, we decided to ask customers what outcomes they wanted – outcomes and not solutions – that is, what they want a new product or service to do for them. Understanding their wants and needs was the first step towards building trust with them. We believe no matter how good the products or prices of competitors are, ultimately it is the trust that maintains a customer´s loyalty. Our partners trust us because they know that we use our business insight and resources to reveal new areas of growth for them. Gradually, customer service became a core aspect in our company, and as a result it has brought us two EGR awards. This recognition encourages us to work even harder.
SBC: As a corporate value, why do you think customer service has been overlooked or undervalued by industry stakeholders?
SH: Our industry is moving forward quite fast. Industry players have to rush to keep up with the changing trends in technologies. They want to give new features and products to their customers more frequently and more quickly. It can be the reason why industry stakeholders sometimes may fail to take good care of customers, this makes it a hard value to maintain.
SBC: How has BetConstruct created effective Customer Services within changing industry consumer trends with regards to consumer technology engagement?
SH: We try to provide omni-channel services. By offering a standardized platform across desktop, mobile and tablet that incorporates native technology and software alongside a cutting-edge and comprehensive proprietary third-party communications platform capable of near-infinite expansion, we can provide a combination of tools able to integrate chat, social media, email and telephones in an agent-friendly cloud-based interface.
These systems allow our agents to offer a fast and effective experience, whilst our customers work with a near-seamless and standardized communication platform across all technologies.
SBC: With regards to its other business functions, how does effective Customer Service processes help BetConstruct develop new services and products?
SH: We focus not on what features our partners would like to see but rather on the results they want to achieve in doing their business. “I’d like to see this info here or there,” they may say, or “I want to this image with a glow effect.” These are all solutions offered to us whereas we are supposed to offer solutions to our partners. That’s why we speak to them to discuss the outcomes they seek to see and then use these outcomes to jump-start new products and services.
We use this data to uncover areas of opportunity for product development. In the case of our Sportsbook for instance, for partners operating in Asia we developed the Asian View Sportsbook. This was done to provide Asian players a more time-focused and uniform layout of markets and regular updates of odds.
SBC: In terms of future development of customer services, what should industry stakeholders be aware of when looking to create effective and comprehensive CS processes?
SH: Companies will tend to use big data analysis and innovative communication technologies. For example, behavioural data can help predict the customer’s actions and the context. This allows them to be directed to the right service channel more effectively. Omni-channel services will continue be the trend.
Additionally, we believe the consistent trend in customer services should ensure that the company ethos is understood and subscribed to wherever your offices are located. Partners should get the same customer support everywhere and every time they contact you.
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Sergey Harutyunyan, Chief Operating Officer – BetConstruct
