Mr Basil Okongwu, CEO Of BigSwiss group VTU in this interview conducted by Adenike Fagbemi explains the mission of BigSwiss group VTU services and how customers’s testimonies have been propelling them to do more in making bills payment seamless and reliable for Nigerians.
What inspired you to venture into the VTU, cable subscription, and virtual sales industry?
It is our ability to have done a comprehensive research and the discovery of the massive usage and knowledge of the global information technology
You know, the community is growing and is freezing away the conventional method of getting these services. Be it with those from the rural communities and those in the urban communities, the gap has really widened. For instance, in Nigeria, it is becoming rare for people to go out to purchase either the airtime from local vendors or working to electricity distribution companies to pay for their electricity bills. Also, for cable subscription and many other bills’ payment.
So the inspiration is to help bridge this wide gap and help people get easy access to the services at their fingertips with less stress.
What unique value does BigSwiss and Groups bring to this market?
Secondly, the value that BigSwiss and group bring to the market is in terms of self-service access to get satisfaction in the services we render.
We made our app to be less cumbersome and straight to business. And we also made it in such a way that those in the rural areas can easily use these services without asking people for help.
So it is self-service and friendly and that is why it is unique in the things that we do, especially the services that we render.
Nigeria is a diverse market with various regions and demographics. How do you plan to tailor your services to cater to the specific needs and preferences of different customer segments within the country?
Our services are specifically tailored towards the needs of our customers irrespective of the region or location
One of our plans is to reach a different region in the country. And is through our marketing strategy. This is one of the ways in which we plan to do this. And that is why whatever the place or wherever people live, regardless of the region they are residing, they are able to assess our services, and that is why our app is readily accessible and available readily.
How do you plan to build a strong brand presence and customer trust in a highly competitive and dynamic market like Nigeria?
For me, the question about how we intend to plan on building a strong brand presence is very simple because our unique services actually speak for us. We have our strategic plans, just like marketing. Another major plan in which we strongly hope to build or to use in conquering and building our presence is through advertisement.
So we were able to create a very strong presence. And for customers in this virtual top of the competitive era, our service, accessibility, flexibility and percentage setup are one of the things that we can actually use to help customers choose.
How do you plan to expand into other African countries, and what factors are you considering when selecting these new markets?
I definitely would say that expanding our reach to other African countries is one of our long-term goals because we understand that penetrating into most of these African markets will not only keep us in the forefront, but would help us serve better in reaching a larger audience.
And we are constrained by population as one of the factors for selecting new markets. Basically, that’s one of the things we’re actually looking at.
And we are also looking at the advancement of most of these places or regions. We’re also looking at the advancement in terms of info in the knowledge of information and technology and their precision in this very community.
It’s a global community, you know, and so we are looking at ease as being one of our factors and selection, some of these countries in which we hope to penetrate and we know that this will actually help us to spot profitable areas and help in the expansion plans.
What challenges do you anticipate when entering new markets, and how do you plan to overcome them?
I’ll say one of the biggest is that we’re still going to be looked at as newbies. And because most people might have had one or two companies that use their services. We’re not ignorant of this knowledge, you know, so we are high about our promotion, dissemination message and testimonies of other people who have used our services.
Reliability is one of the things that we hope to use to get our edge in the market. We’re definitely not ignorant of the challenges that would come through, but we are sure going to conquer them with our unique services.
Where do you see the brand in 10 years?
We see ourselves among the best in this VTU services, and also being dynamic in taking up new challenges and expanding our scope beyond what we have on ground now.
We see our brand becoming the most reliable virtual app. This is one of our visions and missions. And also taking over as one of the reliable brands in this sector not just in Nigeria, but also in Africa and beyond. Also to provide massive employment for youths across Africa.
Africa is known for its diverse cultural and regulatory landscape. How will you ensure that your services comply with local regulations and respect the cultural nuances of the countries you operate in?
It is a virtual top up app and has no reason to go beyond or mess with people’s culture and value system. Our services are to help people make seamless payment from the comfort of their homes. Africa too is evolving and technology is taking over how we do things. We definitely respect cultural values.
Every necessary rule and regulation needed to play actively in the industry will be adhered to, and no lapses shall be encouraged.
Technology and consumer preferences are continually evolving. How will BigSwiss and Groups stay at the forefront of technological advancements and adapt to changing consumer behaviours?
First of all, we must say that we know that change is constant. It will be unwise to continue to remain at the back in which one is or has been. We understand the principles of technological advancements and can’t be left behind because that’s where we’re into.
So we take into consideration these upgrades, which is what is power and concern and constant efforts will be made to stand out. We have invested in high end technology that takes into consideration security and efficient service. We will also continue to evolve and upgrade to new technology as things evolve.
Customer service is crucial for success in any service-oriented business. How do you plan to provide excellent customer support and resolve issues efficiently to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty as you expand your operations?
Customer service is very crucial to us. In fact, it is the bedrock of our services. We have a different life channel of chain customer service agents who are not only friendly but available 24/7 to promptly attend to customers without delay.
Our priority is the satisfaction of our customers. And that is why we have created different lines of channels for customers’ assistance and satisfaction.
So basically, we really want to make our time to satisfy our customers because it’s through customers’ satisfaction that we’re able to build a bigger brand and also have good testimonies from our customers.
