
Mitch Padua is also the Head of Products, Smart Communications.
Mitch Padua is also the Head of Products, Smart Communications.
In November of 2009, Chikka was bought by Smart. I was only a year young in the company. Changes were for the better. Progress is always good.
During the latter part of 2014, Chikka began merging under Voyager Innovations. Our little pail of water world was suddenly thrown into a pool. Work became more challenging. Stepping up became a necessity for survival. Changes were for the better. Progress is always good.
On this day of October 2018, the pool is overflown. KKR and Tencent invest in Voyager Innovations. The future is brighter than ever. The now, more exciting with challenges.
This is a watershed moment not only for Voyager Innovations but also for the Philippines. With this investment by KKR and Tencent, we will trigger an inflection point in digital adoption and financial inclusion in the country. Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO of Voyager Innovations
Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO of Voyager Innovations
Throughout my career, I’ve met and worked with a class of talented people in the tech industry. Mentors and coaches have imparted invaluable lessons that are ingrained in my leadership values.
Changes are for the better. Progress is always good.
Innovation is not a skill. It is a culture, it is a mind set, a destination rarely reached, and the bountiful return on an investment made in the education of people unafraid.
Aaron Madolora, Chief Innovation Officer, Voyager Innovations
Voyager X (Explorer) is a concept by the new CIO, Aaron Madolora – a gaming app that aims to consolidate and utilize all platforms in Voyager. The game part aims to engage users in interacting with our products and services.
The app begins with a map of the user’s location. In the map will be indicators of points of engagements and interactions.
Corruption is the number one impediment to our country’s growth. “Transparency is the key,” he says.
If a citizen clearly sees where her tax money is going to, let alone it is going to good causes, she will trust the leaders in our country.
The game will enable users to band together for a good cause. For example, in the game it shows that there is a pothole in the road – users could contribute a certain amount that will get the road fixed. It’s like Kickstarter, only this one is integrated in the public sector.
In the game, users would see locations where there are promotions. It’s like Foursquare. The app could have mini games inside it and when the user solves a puzzle, she will be able to unlock a prize.
This idea is far-reaching. It is near-alien it is shaking from where we stand. It warrants a new structure in the organization, in the workflow, in the skillsets. But this is where we’re headed.
And a visionary is just what we need.
On September 8, we at Voyager hosted the general assembly of First Pacific Chief Information Officers Council and simultaneously held a digital transformation learning sessions with them.
I had the opportunity to share with the council about Organic Growth Through Best-in-class UX.
It was the same idea that I shared with IdeaSpace Startups last July 26.
Soon I’ll be sharing the UX improvement ideas here in my blog.
I had the privilege of sharing about Organic Growth and UX with the IdeaSpace 2017 startups. This was a meetup event by Voyager DX (digital transformation).
First of all, congratulations to all of you, IdeaSpace startups in being part of this very helpful and enabling organization.
I am also thankful to be part of IdeaSpace 2016 as the designer for Aboo (an audiobook platform).
Let me introduce myself.
Let me share with you some insights on how you could leverage on UX improvements to foster organic growth within your startups.
I would be mentioning the words “users”, “audience”, and “customers” quite often. Please note that I might use them interchangeably while simply pertaining to the group of people that you serve or wish to serve.
What is organic growth?
What is organic growth?
Now that we’ve defined UX and Organic Growth, the question is:
Could you drive organic growth thru UX improvements?
Yes, of course.
Let me share with you these 4 simple practices of UX improvements.
Question: who among you have Facebook pages or communities for your startups?
How about Twitter?
Instagram?
How about websites?
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It is common for businesses to be where most of the people are.
You are present in those different channels and platforms.
It is important to have a cohesive, unified look & feel in all of those channels and platforms.
1. Cohesive look & feel
The look & feel is the aspect of your brand that appeals to the senses.
It includes but not limited to your
Things that your brand exudes and your audience perceive is the look & feel.
How do you look or appear in their perception?
How do you make them feel?
Be cohesive.
It will strengthen your sense of identity with your audience.
It’s a given. We are present and active in multiple channels and platforms.
We constantly exert effort in maintaining a role in our customers’ lives – some, more active than others.
The messages that we send out to our audience could be more effective if there’s a clear call-to-action.
This is true especially for messages with marketing intent.
2. Clear Call-to-Action
2. Clear Call-to-Action
Let’s take a look at an example of what a clear call-to-action looks like.
This is WeAreVamos.com.
Vamos is a local boutique brand that started 4 years ago with a 4-model line-up of socks and now has a wider product range and is retailing in 100 shops in 4 countries.
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There are only two things to do in this website.
The call-to-action hits the nail on the head by being both
Because of the clear CTA, the customers could immediately begin accomplishing what they intend to do
2. Clear Call-to-Action
Having a clear CTA is just the start.
It’s important to note that what lies beyond the CTA must be what your customers expect to see.
In this case, the e-commerce shop.
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A big part of Vamos’ success lies in leveraging Tackthis as its e-commerce platform.
Tackthis streamlines the operational processes so that the business owners of Vamos could focus more on product development.
3. Consistent Branding
Where should you be consistent?
If you’re present in different channels like websites and search engine assets:
In social media:
And in general:
A consistently active and responsive brand exudes trustworthiness.
Your customers know they can count on you.
Cohesive look & feel, clear call-to-action, consistent branding…
These could all make your users happy but
Remember to also build an audience on your own turf.
4. Own Audience
4. Owned Audience
Being in your own platform is just the start.
Reaching and keeping your intended audience comes next.
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This is Philippine Airline’s own platform – a mobile app.
The time came when they needed to grow their mobile app users.
So they partnered with us thru our customer engagement platform, Freenet.
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Freenet enables your websites and apps to become more accessible to your intended audience thru its Sponsored Data technology.
Partnering with Freenet has helped PAL increase their mobile app visits from 660,000 to almost 2 million in just 6 months – a 190% growth. This translates to a 140% increase in their mobile app usage.
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Let’s have a recap.
Having these 4 simple practices of UX improvements (a.k.a. making customers happy) are sure-fire ways to foster organic growth in your company – especially if you’re a rising star in the startup industry.
Thank you for your time.
More power to your startups.