Understanding Asian consumers
Innovation takes different forms in different parts of the world. The wide geographic reach of Telenor’s operations means that our innovation has to be decentralised.
Our new R&I satellite in Malaysia is a key part of this strategy. Named The Telenor Research & Innovation Centre Asia Pacific (TRICAP), its goal is to support our efforts to be ahead of the competition in providing unique customer experience and go-to-market approaches. Asian consumers are early adopters of new technology, and the centre in Malaysia is leveraging its Asian presence to improve our understanding of consumer behaviour and preferences, develop new technology and services, and work with partners in this vital region in order to create new attractive concepts and drive value to all Telenor affiliates. Extensive rounds of customer interviews make up an essential part of this effort, as they do in all of Telenor’s innovation work, with thousands of interviews being conducted every year.
Several new solutions launched in 2006 demonstrate Telenor’s ability to innovate also in emerging markets. In Chittagong, Bangladesh, people who have an electricity connection from BPDB can now pay their bills at any Grameenphone authorised BillPay centre. This first-of-its-kind service is available to everybody, also to customers who do not have their own mobile handsets. The service is also a practical demonstration of how the private and public sectors can work together to offer more efficient services in emerging markets.
In Thailand, the Telenor company DTAC launched “DTAC Postpaid LifeCare”, offering free life insurance coverage, worth up to Bt 500,000 (USD 15,000) per person, to any DTAC postpaid subscriber who has been on the network for one year or more. The service is also the first of its kind in the industry.
