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As Australians continue to tighten their belts amid challenging economic times, exemplary customer service is the key for businesses striving to maintain loyalty and stand out in a competitive market. After price considerations, poor customer support is the most common reason why Australians switch internet providers, according to CHOICE Magazine’s Internet Provider Satisfaction survey. Notably, the most prevalent complaint that Australians have about their internet provider is “No or delayed action by provider”, accounting for 63 per cent of complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman in 2023-24. “With Australians relying heavily on internet access for work, study and everyday life, the impact of outages and poor service has increased,” Luo says. “When there’s an issue, everyone is affected, so timely and truly effective solutions have never been more valuable. “This is a major differentiator in the market, and even the largest telcos frequently fall short in this regard.” Transforming the ISP experience This increased focus on customer service has led the way for emerging powerhouses to change the way people view the telco industry. Customers no longer have to accept long waits and ineffective solutions from their current ISP, and they are looking elsewhere. Established in Sydney in 2016, Occom distinguishes itself as a top-rated Australian ISP, with a 4.9-star rating on Google. Its number of reviews surged by 50 per cent to over 9000 in the last 12 months while maintaining an impressive rating. Occom’s commitment to exceptional customer service has earned it high placements on the 2024 AFR Customer Champions list, while its rapid growth has secured consecutive listings in the AFR Fast 100. “A strong customer focus directly translates to long-term shareholder value,” Luo says. “Our customer-centric approach of consistently exceeding expectations has fuelled our growth, and demonstrated significant market share expansion.” Occom’s dedication to service begins with prompt 24-hour activation and onsite support across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide, with onsite support coverage recently extending further into suburban areas. Occom connects with small footprint fibre carriers to deliver extensive geographic coverage beyond what most ISPs offer, eliminating wait times and connection issues among some other providers. Once customers are up and running, service levels extend to answering 85 per cent of support calls within 17 seconds and a strong focus on first-time resolution. Customer-focused innovation In a multicultural country such as Australia, people who speak a language other than English particularly struggle to get a satisfactory resolution to cases lodged with their provider, according to data compiled by the ombudsman. To address this, Occom offers support in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi and Malaysian, connecting with customers through platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage and WeChat, as well as the traditional channels. This extends to supporting popular international payment options such as WeChat Pay, Alipay and UnionPay. “Beyond responding quickly, empathy is key for delivering outstanding customer service,” Luo says. “When someone contacts their provider due to an internet issue, they’re already frustrated,” he says. “Ensuring customers feel heard and understood is a crucial element in our training, as it goes a long way in easing their frustration while we work to resolve their issues.” A growing pain point for Australian gamers is high latency. Occom addresses the universal demand for lower latency by optimising its game tunnel. This focuses on reducing ping times and improving connection stability to both local and international gaming servers. The innovation has seen Occom consistently achieve top rankings in ping and packet delivery from operators of popular titles like League of Legends, giving players a competitive edge in the space. Occom’s strong focus on customer service and onsite support extends to its work with NDIS providers to ensure reliable internet access for Australians with disabilities. “Many NDIS providers have switched to Occom due to disappointment with the level of support their clients had received from other ISPs,” he says. “This is just some of the many situations that Australians have to deal with. “We take proactive steps to identify as many pain points as possible and resolve them, continuously optimising our products to better fulfil customers’ needs.” People may compare prices, but it’s the feeling of being valued and supported that ultimately determines which provider a customer chooses, and stays with. To learn more, visit occom.com.au/