SK Telecom said on March 17 it held a launch ceremony on March 16 for a customer advisory group at T Factory Seongsu and began full-scale customer value innovation activities.

SKT expanded the role of the customer advisory group, which it began operating last year, into a “customer communication platform” where customers and the company actively exchange opinions. It is made up of people from diverse occupations and age groups, including office workers, homemakers and university students. SKT also significantly strengthened the group’s authority to accurately identify inconveniences customers experience.

The customer advisory group will participate directly with SKT employees from the product and service and marketing planning stages. It will build a field-based feedback system to convey customer requirements and help directly in drawing up improvement measures.

The group will hold regular meetings with SKT once a month to convey unfiltered opinions and customer reactions on the company’s efforts to strengthen customer trust. It will also propose institutional improvement measures and new ideas. SKT plans to reflect ideas with high feasibility and expected effects in actual services or marketing promotions.

The group will also take part in small-group FGI (Focus Group Interview) activities to discuss perceived effects of advertising campaigns and the level of brand favorability. Through regular talks with the Customer Trust Committee, it plans to discuss and continuously check external perceptions of SKT, market perceptions of customer trust activities and resulting points for improvement.

Attendees at the launch ceremony included the customer advisory group, Customer Trust Committee Chairman Wan-gi Ahn (안완기) and committee members, Myung-jin Han (한명진), head of SKT’s MNO CIC, Jae-woong Yoon (윤재웅), head of the Product & Brand division, and Hye-yeon Lee (이혜연), head of the Customer Value Innovation Office, along with other senior executives.

“I have high expectations for the role of the customer advisory group,” Ahn said. “We plan to do our best so that active communication can take place between customers and SKT.”