Solving efficiency inside a media giant's CX transformation

Most CX programmes try to fix service by adding more channels. This one started by asking a different question - why were customers reaching out in the first place?

A major European pay-TV and streaming provider came to Firstsource with a straightforward request. They did not want to deflect calls or force migration to digital. They wanted customers to feel that getting help was easy again. That became the anchor for everything that followed.

Start with friction, not features

When the team sat with their product owners, one pattern kept surfacing. Customers were not struggling because support was unavailable. They were struggling because answers were too hard to find. Billing queries triggered long wait times, content searches led to repeat contacts, and the existing model was burning effort without moving the experience forward.

The team started by identifying what created friction, then rebuilt content flows, clarified journeys, and removed repetitive steps hidden in everyday interactions. The goal was kept simple and direct: support should feel effortless however customers choose to engage.

Creating efficient customer experiences

Language was one of the first barriers to fall. German-speaking customers could chat in their own language while agents responded in English, with AI handling translation in real time. Both sides won - customers felt understood, and the client saw close to 30 percent cost savings.

Multi-channel touchpoints were introduced thoughtfully. Simple questions moved naturally to WhatsApp, physical mail was scanned and handled digitally, and email and chat became consistent instead of unpredictable. Customers no longer felt pushed toward specific channels but simply used what felt right.

Quality improved because the team analysed everything - each interaction, every issue pattern, every point where customers paused, repeated, or dropped off. Fixes became faster and more accurate. As the help centre became more effective, website traffic climbed while call volumes diminished.

Building a different kind of partnership

Over two years, the transformation shifted from tactical support to structural partnership. Firstsource now manages 98 percent of the company's digital interactions, roughly a third of all customer touchpoints. The company did not chase channel shift but earned it through better experience design.

Digital containment improved, voice dependency fell, and service consistency stabilised. Customers who once struggled to get help began reporting higher satisfaction and stronger loyalty.

Getting the sequence right

The usual playbook focuses on cost first and experience second. This partnership worked because the order flipped. When you fix the experience, efficiency naturally follows. Customers solved more queries on their own because the digital paths finally made sense, and the company gained better control of service delivery without compromising what mattered to customers.

Three signals stood out:

• Change happens quickly when both teams work toward the same goals.
• Technology works better when paired with the right people and clear processes.
• Bold transformation creates advantages that competitors cannot match with incremental adjustments.

Building services that customers choose

Digital transformation succeeds when it starts with customer effort, not company cost. This partnership proved that making channels genuinely useful drives natural migration without forced deflection. Customers choose digital when it works better than alternatives - not because other options have been closed.

Better experience creates better economics. Sustainable efficiency comes from eliminating friction, not cutting corners.

This partnership, analysed by HFS Research in their assessment of Firstsource's collaboration with a leading European media provider, demonstrates what is possible when both sides commit to solving real problems instead of chasing metrics.