Building Loyalty with VAS

In our society, providers of almost any product or service type seems to be a dime a dozen to consumers, as consumers are bombarded with more and more providers to choose from than seemingly ever before. So how does an organization stay competitive and appeal to their customers when their customers can switch to a multitude of competitors who all offer a similar product or service? It’s by adding value to the relationship, and one of the ways companies can add value is to offer auxiliary services that customers will find valuable and will complement their core services.

What is Value-Added Service?

A?value-added service (VAS)?is a feature that can be added to a core product to enhance the user experience or a service that could function as a standalone product or feature. An example of the former type of VAS is?mobile top-ups, data bundles, or even gift vouchers. An example of the latter type of VAS is?a subscription to Netflix, that functions for millions of people as a standalone subscription. Some VAS are offered at a cost and can still contribute to the same goals of creatin awareness or driving loyalty.?One recent example of this is Verizon offering a free one-year trial of Disney Plus to its customers.?Offering this VAS not only drives value to Verizon’s core services but also generates revenue for the company as the streaming service can be bundled with their unlimited plan.

A few core characteristics of a feature or service that could be classified as a VAS are that:

• It provides synergy and complements core products and services
• It generates additional revenue either through its direct sale or by contributing to an increase in retention
• It is profitable on its own, meaning that the return-on-investment of offering the product pays for the cost of the product and/or it is funded by offering it at a fee
• It can stimulate additional demand for your core products and services

A quality VAS that meets the qualification listed above, and is in demand by consumers, can go a long way to grow customer loyalty and deliver a competitive advantage. Banks, Digital Banks, Wallets, & even POS providers can benefit from VAS to generate an extra stream of revenue across their exisitng or new networks. MTOs & MONs who have taken the root of remittance and pure financial services can profit a whole lot from VAS by aupscaling and becoming what looks like a larger-size app covering the basic needs of the comsumers of the day-to-day life. What could you customer ask for more than: talk-time, data to socialize, gifts, & some financial services? Imagine having the best of the BAAS & VAS on one app!

Does it get any better than that?