In the Middle East, customer experience is the whole game

“Customers may accept from the competition things that they wouldn’t accept from us”

What are the specificities of the Middle East market ?
In terms of culture and language, there are a lot of commonalities. Business-wise, most countries in the region have a growth factor, some have a growing population, some are underserved by telecommunication services. Regulations are loosening up a little bit. It’s also a region with several operators doing business in more than one market, and we’re in business with all these groups. This means that if we do something good in one market, we can replicate it elsewhere. It also means that if we fail somewhere, we’re most likely to have a bad reputation in other places. All in all, this is a true emerging region and there is a lot of value that Orange Wholesale can bring.

How is Orange Wholesale perceived in the region ?
We have established ourselves as a technically very strong wholesaler. Customers may accept from the competition things that they wouldn’t accept from us. Besides, they know that we are the French operator with state-of-the-art technologies and network infrastructure, that we can mobilize a deep pool of Orange experts who can take their hands across any journey, providing the perfect recommendation with that unique French accent. All this represents a unique blend of expertise and brand identity.

Why do our customers choose us ?
First, the technical capabilities. They know that we are technically very, very strong. Second, the history, the legacy, the brand: these help me very much in the region. Finally, in terms of flexibility, we’re in a much better position.

“You need to go the extra mile in this region, and the salesperson is there in the loop throughout” 

Our customers anticipate us to share the story of our evolution and success, detailing how we reached this level. They seek our assistance in fostering the growth of their business. Customer experience here is the whole game, so they have high expectations on good customer support, and we do deliver. You need to go the extra mile in this region, and the salesperson is there in the loop throughout. It’s not about just selling the product; actually, your task becomes twice more important after that.  

“I realized that no one is as close to the customer as we are” 

Once the relation has started, we are very remarkable in terms of service against the competition. I know that when I hear compliments from my data connectivity customers. One of them told me “whenever there is a project I have to come to you first because I know that Orange Wholesale is going to give me the most valuable and fastest response, and that if there is any change during the delivery you are much more flexible than others”. I’ve realized that we are the most organized team among the international wholesale telecom players. No one is as close to the customer as we are. 

“Customers rely on us not only for standard data products, but also for solutions within their internal networks”  

Orange is seen as a trusted logo with strong network performance and diversity of products not only in the region but also globally. This puts more responsibilities on us to be ahead of everyone, all the time. 
Customers now deal with Orange Wholesale as a consultancy. They can rely on us not only for the standard data products that we can provide, but also for other solutions within the customers’ internal networks.

“Trust is really what shapes the wholesale business in the Middle East” 

There is one word that shapes wholesale business in the Middle East: trust, which involves commitment. One of our partners told me: “Zaher, the wholesale business is very small, and even more so here. All can change with one word – trust.  You should know that if I commit, then I’ll deliver, and I need to be sure that if you commit, then you’ll deliver as well!”.  That’s it, and it works! We have followed the advice and our bilateral business with this customer skyrocketed from €1M to €25M.