Best Practices To Deliver a Subscriber-First Support Mindset (and Achieve a 92 NPS)

Service excellence is our number one differentiator. YK Communications (YK) may be a small, rural broadband service provider (BSP) serving 3,000 subscribers, but our subscriber experience exceeds anything larger competitors can offer. Our dedication to customer care earned us a Net Promoter Score℠ (NPS®) of 92—the highest achieved by any Calix customer to date—increasing from 80 the year before. It’s also one reason Calix awarded us the 2022 Giant of Customer Support award.
 

What’s the secret to our success? Our subscriber experience is second to none. We are committed to providing our rural communities with advanced communications services (rivaling big cities) and local, responsive customer care. YK’s subscribers aren’t just account numbers. They’re friends, family, and neighbors we see at the sports field, grocery store, and church.

Four ways to put your subscribers first

There are four ways YK achieves this subscriber-first mindset.

1. Make customer service everyone’s top priority, from leadership to technical support. We use open communication, information sharing, and collaborative decision-making to remove siloes and build accountability. Whether we’re launching a new managed service like Bark to help combat cyberbullying or taking care of a service outage, we are all on the same page working as a team. YK’s partnership with the Calix Customer Success Services team has been invaluable in driving this alignment—giving us the necessary tools and resources.
   
   
2. Take advantage of the latest technologies. Calix Cloud® is part of the Calix broadband platform that enables BSPs to diversify, differentiate, and deliver consistency. We leverage Calix Cloud for subscriber insights and network intelligence to optimize efficiencies across teams and really understand the subscriber experience. For instance, every customer-facing employee can access real-time data and actionable insights in Calix Service Cloud to ensure we deliver an exceptional subscriber experience proactively. Calix Engagement Cloud helps us proactively communicate with subscribers across their preferred channels. This approach earns us kudos among subscribers who appreciate outreach and updates—particularly regarding service-impacting situations.
   
   
3. Connect personally with subscribers. Every subscriber has a dedicated account manager to call directly regarding any issue. We also check in with subscribers regularly, not just when they receive a bill. At every interaction, Calix Cloud provides subscriber insights that enable our teams to avoid surprises and customize the service experience. High-touch works for our rural community, but we’re also seeing a trend toward self-service, with nearly 90 percent of subscribers using our CommandIQ® mobile app. It’s a win-win for us, as subscribers gain greater control over their home experience, and we reduce inbound service calls and truck rolls.
   
   
4. Build teams with customer service at heart. Our people love working at YK, and it shows. When hiring, we recruit for important customer care qualities—empathy, compassion, and patience. Beyond excelling in their roles, our employees are measured against our five core values to keep us focused on our mission and make a big difference in the small communities we serve.

Even with a top NPS, we’re not standing still. We always focus on doing better for our subscribers—and their satisfaction and loyalty are the best measure of our success.
 

Ready to put your subscribers first but not sure how to get there? Learn more about partnering with Calix Customer Success Services to help make customer service your top priority.
 

Net Promoter®, NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score℠ and Net Promoter System℠ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.