When Circles.Life was first established in 2014, it was clear that the company was out to shake things up in the telecommunications industry.
As Singapore’s first digital telco, Circles.Life set out to challenge the incumbent players and offer customers something different. With a focus on innovation, customer satisfaction, and transparency, the company has made a name for itself as a disruptor in the telecom space.
The founders of Circles.Life — Rameez Ansar, Abhishek Gupta and Adeel Najam — first met while working in various capacities across companies such as McKinsey, BCG, Temasek Holdings, Huawei, and Bain Capital.
They came together with a shared sense of frustration with the static and restrictive nature of telecommunication options at the time, which they saw as lacking in innovation and poor customer service.
Together, they set out to create a new kind of telco with a mission of “giving power back to the customer”.
Over 100,000 to over 1 million customers
Since its inception, Circles.Life has experienced impressive growth.
In its first year alone, the company was able to secure over 100,000 customers, and today it boasts a customer base of over one million. This success is due in large part to the company’s focus on providing a high-quality, reliable service that is tailored to the needs of each individual customer.
One of the key differentiators of Circles.Life is its commitment to innovation. The company has a strong focus on continually improving and evolving its services, and has developed its own proprietary operating system, “Circles X,” which enables it to offer a more seamless customer experience compared to incumbent mobile operators.
Since 2020, eSIM activation and onboarding have been a priority on Circles X. Circles’ mission is to empower users by making mobile activation simpler, more convenient and more affordable through eSIM technology.
With eSIM, there’s no need for physical SIM cards or paper clips, and activation is available 24/7, which gives consumers more choice and flexibility. Additionally, transitioning to eSIM activation has resulted in OPEX cost savings of eight times.
The eSIMs are compatible with selected iPhones and Android devices, and allows you to effortlessly switch between your lines when you travel making it convenient for users.
Circles.Life also do not have any lock-in contracts, giving users the freedom to cancel anytime and placing the power in the hands of the customers. This approach has forced the incumbents to rethink, relook and relaunch their offerings in response.
Another key factor in Circles.Life’s success has been its customer-centric approach. The company goes above and beyond to ensure that each and every customer is fully satisfied with the service they receive, including offering personalised plans and features and providing excellent customer support.
This focus on customer satisfaction has helped to build a loyal customer base that is willing to spread the word about Circles.Life to friends and family.
One of the reasons that Circles.Life is able to offer such low prices, with mobile plans as low as S$5, is because it operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that does not require extensive infrastructure, and therefore has lower overhead costs compared to traditional network telcos.
The company redirects its savings towards customer service excellence, which allows it to offer competitive prices to its customers.
Finally, Circles.Life is known for its transparency. The company is upfront about its fees and charges, and does not have any hidden costs that could catch customers off guard. This honesty and transparency has helped to build trust with customers and set Circles.Life apart from its competitors.
Viral marketing campaigns
Initially, it was difficult for Circles.Life to convince customers to sign up, especially since digital telcos were a very new concept at the time.
The company faced issues with lack of trust, awareness, and resources. However, Circles.Life’s viral marketing campaigns, such as the Youtiao666 vandalism and the “pay $3, get $50” vending machine, significantly helped to encourage sign-ups and solidify the brand’s reputation as a bold and unconventional player in the telecommunications industry.
As the brand matures over the years, its marketing approach has also evolved. Today, Circles.Life is focused on humanising the brand and positioning it as a lifestyle tech brand that aims to solve real-life problems faced by consumers.
One example of this is the company’s recent “Untelco Yourself” campaign in Australia, which called on Australians to stand up to overcharging and under-delivering telecoms companies, positioning Circles.Life as a telco that offers unbeatable value, flexibility, transparency, and control.
Closer to home, Circles.Life hosted “Weird Challenge” fronted by brand ambassador Kishan, which invited Singaporeans to embrace their unique identities. The competition resulted in over a hundred submissions and nearly half a million playthroughs on social media.
https://vulcanpost.com/813228/circles-life-building-growing-singapores-first-digital-telco/
