New tricks up Vodafone's pre-pay sleeve

By RICHARD PAMATATAU

Easing the "top-up" process for pre-pay mobile phones and making distribution slicker are on the hit list for Mark Giles, the new consumer director at Vodafone.

Giles, former boss of Telecom network outsource partner Alcatel, surprised the industry when he moved to the mobile giant, which has about 54 per cent of the cellphone market.

But the former IBM sales and marketing executive is now firmly entrenched in mobile and believes there is still growth to be squeezed out of Vodafone's 1.5 million-strong subscriber base.

The processes around topping-up a pre-pay phone were too complicated and did not serve the customer very well, said Giles, who wants to see a system introduced which automatically replenishes customer accounts.

Giles has no specific plans for this yet but says it is high on the agenda given that pre-pay customers make up about 78 per cent of the company's customer base.

Giles was comfortable with that split and said the real issue was how many products and services were being bought by those customers.

Mobile-based payment systems were also something Giles was focusing on.

The carpark payment system tested by the Wellington City Council was a good example, said Giles, of mobile e-commerce working in a practical way.

"I'm thinking about how we can also make the in-store experience better for customers.

"One of the keys to this business is making the counter experience better so we can capture more consumers and sell them a package of products rather than voice calls," said Giles.

Vodafone had a successful campaign to introduce "PXT" messaging - sending pictures by cellphone - where customers were offered free PXT transmission with the exception of the data charge.

It has since run a suggestive campaign that combines text and pictures in a way that makes a mobile phone look like a pick-up tool.

Giles said the campaign and its tagline "you don't know what you'll get back" showed the company had a sense of fun.

At present, Giles said, Vodafone customers were sending about 3 million text messages a day but would not reveal PXT details.