CALL ME STAYING AHEAD IN EUROPE'S TOUGHEST MOBILE MARKET The Danish mobile service market is among the most competitive in Europe – with price wars driving mobile minutes down to the cheapest on the continent and service providers frequently dropping off the map. To succeed in this difficult environment, telecom service providers have had to innovate and fight for market share. Call me is one such company that’s managed to stand out and thrive. The company’s aim – to provide the optimal balance of service offerings that target customers’ specific needs – has created a positive brand image. One aspect of Call me’s successful approach is debitelsolo.dk, its self-service, web-based MVNO offering. With its focus on cost-efficiency and providing smooth services, Call me chose CDRator as CRM and billing platform for debitelsolo.dk.     A unique market position Call me started as debitel in Germany in 1991. Since then, with more than 10 million customers, debitel grew to become Europe’s sixth largest mobile company and largest net-independent telecom operator. Most recently, in 2007, debitel Denmark A/S was bought by Telia Sonera and in 2008 changed its name to Call me. So what started as the first mobile service provider in Denmark, Call me is now one of Denmark’s largest providers of mobile telephony, operating on Telia’s network. Today, Call me has more than 200 employees and delivers inexpensive telecom services to over 450,000 Danish customers, with a product range that covers mobile, fixed line, VoIP and Internet. Mobile offerings include Call me post-paid, Call me friends&family and debitelsolo.dk.  Learning what customers want is key to success Call me’s position in Denmark can be attributed to its two-part strategy: bridging the market with a broad service range and maintaining a real customer focus. IT-Director of Call me, Henrik Kofod, was the key driver in implementing the Rator system in the debitel/ Call me organisation. He explains the company’s success like this: “The key driver is Call me’s creative and customer-oriented product setup. We learn what our customers want and bring the right solutions to specifically targeted customer segments. And we have also positioned ourselves well. Call me is not a niche player, but rather aim to provide the best overall service across all segments, which is what we’ve achieved. This has given us excellent brand awareness and a very positive perception in Denmark.” “In the mobile sector, especially with web-based customers, you must work within the existing market,” he adds. “This means providing cost-effective service, staying lean, adapting quickly and establishing clear product differentiation. We’ve accomplished this with debitelsolo.dk, creating an overall package satisfying our customers, which is important for Call me. And that’s why Call me has won awards for customer service for the last four years successively.” Henrik Kofod, IT-Director of Call me Finding a proven vendor In early 2004, Call me started a tender process to get bids for a new CRM and billing system for debitelsolo. dk. Henrik Kofod describes the company’s needs at the time. “For debitelsolo.dk, we needed a platform for complete online services including billing. Our previous platform couldn’t provide this. We also wanted to consolidate our infrastructure. We used to have a very complex IT system that could not deliver the cost of ownership level we wanted.” He continues, “When looking for a platform provider, I had to ask myself, ‘On which system do I place our future?’ And this requires careful examination. We focused on four main issues. One was cost of ownership – CDRator could provide a cost-effective and efficient online billing solution. We also wanted an integrated workflow solution combined with a platform that was tailored to telecoms. CDRator understands our industry and has the integrated solution to handle its needs – two key strengths. So from a functionality and cost perspective, it’s been a very good fit for Call me.” “Another important selection criterion was a proven track record. As an established company with 450,000 customers, Call me could never risk partnering with an unproven, start-up supplier. CDRator’s proven success with other telecom customers – as well as a reference from an existing customer about the strong commitment of CDRator’s management – was very convincing. We knew we would get strong support and reliability from the CDRator people.” A committed partner CDRator provided a smooth transition and consolidation. “The overall implementation met all our goals,” says Henrik Kofod. “CDRator’s personal commitment was important here, including the involvement of its individual support teams that are very customer-focused. We had an ambitious time schedule and they kept it. They were fast, with a unique and efficient project approach.” He adds, “They also kept all the financials on target, with a clear commitment to meeting budgets. They were solution-oriented and we shared a common goal. And everything worked. CDRator gave us the best combination of all the factors we were looking for.” Satisfied users Today, Call me is a satisfied customer, with CDRator’s Rator system operating and managing all aspects of the debitelsolo.dk offering. “Rator is a very smart solution and met our expectations in terms of costs, functionality and support,” says Henrik Kofod. “Just as important, it has met the expectations of our customers. Online billing was the main reason we bought it, but we also use the customer support CRM tool. The integrated workflows ease customer administration and customers and employees are happy with how flexible and user-friendly it is. The system always works, so overall customer satisfaction is good. “Call me has a positive brand perception and award-winning level of customer satisfaction because we’re straightforward and easy to work with. The CDRator platform supports that brand personality.” An intelligent solution “The market is always changing and Call me has to be able to adapt – our focus on customer understanding gives us the flexibility to do that,” explains Henrik Kofod. “Using intelligent solutions, such as the CDRator platform, is an important part of staying competitive in the future,” he continues. “Rator is a good solution and we are looking into how we might use it for other offerings in future...” For information about Call me: please call +45 4366 90900 or visit www.callme.dk and www.debitelsolo.dk. For more information on CDRator please call +45 7025 1411 or e-mail sales@cdrator.com.