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“We realised from the very beginning that doing a low cost, no-frills proposition would mean that we’d just be in a price war,” she said.
With Felix, everything is done in the app. If a customer has an e-SIM compatible device, the telco says they can sign up and be active in the network within 10 minutes. Customer support is also handled solely through the app, and with the introduction of the new plans users can move up or down between the options with a few taps.
Felix only offers support through the app.
“There’s a bit of a myth out there that digital doesn’t equal great customer service, and based on our customer data we’ve completely dispelled that myth,” Beater said.
The other aspect of the brand is environmental. Felix says the entire operation is fuelled by renewable energy, it’s certified carbon-neutral, and since the beginning it has planted one tree every month for each customer. With the new plans, Felix also allows customers to exchange 20 GB of banked data for one extra tree planted. It has planted 1.25 million trees so far.
“When people are looking for a telco, at the time of purchase, they’re really focused on price and data. So it is important that we’re really competitive [on that],” Beater said.
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“But when we ask them three, six, nine months after, what is your main driver of satisfaction, interestingly the number one driver is sustainability and the tree planting. Second is the app, and third is price and data.”
In this market, Beater said that affordability and value are paramount concerns. With Australia’s geography making it one of the most expensive places in the world to build and expand mobile networks, Felix had to find a way to offer connectivity for less than $1 per day despite huge capital expenditure. But she believes the other aspects of the brand are the key to retention.
As for those who had already taken up the unlimited plan, Beater had expected some to move down to the less expensive options right away. But that hasn’t happened.
“They’ve really stayed on the unlimited data plan. I think a lot of people are really happy with it. It’s a set and forget,” she said.
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