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Driving Digital Transformation: KDDI's Collaboration with Pendo

KDDI, a prominent player in Japan's communication sector, has made waves by adopting Pendo, a comprehensive SaaS platform aimed at promoting digital transformation (DX) in retail. This partnership indicates a significant step towards leveraging data and AI to improve business outcomes in the telecommunications industry, particularly through customer interactions at retail locations.

KDDI operates more than 110 branches across over 70 countries, and it is continuously exploring growth strategies centered around next-generation technologies, including 5G and data-driven services. The company recognizes the importance of retail outlets—such as au shops and electronics retailers—as crucial touchpoints for customer engagement. As part of KDDI’s commitment to enhancing customer service, it is actively pursuing a digital transformation strategy to ensure effective communication and service provision at these retail locations.

The Introduction of Pendo

KDDI has recently published a detailed case study on the implementation of Pendo at their facilities, available on Pendo’s Japanese webpage. Staff at KDDI’s retail locations utilize tablets equipped with a store reception system to facilitate customer service. However, as the range of products and services expanded, the user interface and workflows associated with the store reception system became increasingly complex, leading to longer customer interaction times.

To address these challenges, KDDI sought to analyze areas where friction occurred during customer interactions. By leveraging Pendo Analytics, KDDI could effectively visualize user behavior and identify inefficiencies within the system. Previously, translating qualitative feedback from staff into actionable system improvements proved challenging due to a lack of quantitative data. This made prioritizing requests and measuring the success of implemented changes difficult. Pendo allowed KDDI to gather user behavior data much more effectively, streamlining their decision-making process regarding system updates and training for store employees.

Efficiency Improvements through Analytics

With Pendo's integration, KDDI has pinpointed specific areas of operational costs and inefficiencies. For instance, analyzing visual data regarding screen transitions during customer applications enabled the identification of necessary updates within the system. It turned out some critical screen transition functions were not frequently used, leading to a complex logic structure, which unnecessarily delayed service upgrades. This analytical approach facilitated informed discussions among project teams about optimizing the system’s interface and, ultimately, minimizing future development costs and time.

Additionally, Pendo has proven to be invaluable in assessing the efficacy of new features. By implementing a function that prevents erroneous contracts from being processed, KDDI achieved a significant reduction—16%—in instances where transactions were falsely initiated, showcasing Pendo's capability to enhance compliance and service accuracy.

Utilizing In-App Guidance

Prior to the Pendo implementation, KDDI’s staff often relied on manuals or faced long wait times when referencing customer service information. Pendo’s in-app guidance feature has been introduced to alleviate these challenges, offering real-time support that minimizes the need for inquiries to customer support. Currently, KDDI's teams are actively working with Pendo to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these in-app guides.

In terms of product and service launches, KDDI regularly updates staff through various notifications. Historically, critical updates often went unnoticed due to the demanding nature of retail operations. However, deploying Pendo's in-app guidance led to a remarkable increase in software version updates amongst staff, with a rate of 57% on the first day compared to just 40% via previous communication methods.

Aspiring for Enhanced Customer Service

For KDDI, the ongoing management of operational efficiency is paramount amid their expanding services. By harnessing Pendo to analyze user data and translate these insights into actionable outcomes, the company aims to empower retail staff to deliver improved customer service experiences. Executives at KDDI view this digital transformation initiative as critical for the long-term growth and competitiveness of the business.

According to Takashi Nakanishi, Group Leader of KDDI’s Information Systems Department, "By utilizing Pendo, we can visualize customer interactions and device usage. This enables our staff and IT teams to optimize workflows in line with our vision of providing valuable customer service. Our commitment remains solid as we advance towards this goal with Pendo."

About Pendo

Pendo provides a comprehensive product experience platform that merges powerful analytics, in-app guidance, and user feedback functionalities to enhance software experiences across various industries. Since its inception in 2013 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Pendo has empowered numerous businesses, from startups to large enterprises, by facilitating product-led growth and improving user engagement.

For more information, visit Pendo's official website and explore case studies on their transformative technologies.