Steadfastness, the sound of the ocean, and grazing peacocks. Life on a Viking drakkar may seem idyllic, but from the very beginning, Mobile Vikings has been challenging the rigid telecommunications market. Where did this virtual operator, playing by its own rules, come from and how does it function?
A Saga of the Past
Mobile Vikings traces its origins back to 2008 when the company began its operations in Belgium. With its original approach and authenticity, it managed to break through to the awareness of Belgians as an innovative operator that deviated from the practices harmful to consumers. Starting from this position, the Vikings expanded to neighboring Netherlands and distant Poland. While the land of tulips proved to be a market unprepared for such changes, our region has provided the network with nearly 50,000 loyal users over half a decade, boasting the lowest prepaid churn rate in Europe (CHURN 1.6%).
What Do the Vikings Believe In?
The Belgian origins and Scandinavian aura did not ultimately define the specifics of the Polish version of the brand. The crew members have given it a local character and naturalness that resonates in both the operator's marketing communication and customer service interactions. Every conversation begins with "Hi, how can I help you?", and agents address customers informally, referring to them internally as Vikings. Along with openness comes a sense of freedom. The operator does not offer fixed-term contracts, only prepaid tariffs, believing in loyalty built on high service quality, which it strives to ensure by implementing innovative solutions previously absent in the industry. Honesty towards customers has another dimension too – the dream of the founder of Polish Mobile Vikings, Frank Bekkers, is to create a network whose members feel like part of a community. This influences the business model, where profits are reinvested in current users.
Viking Entrepreneurship
Due to Mobile Vikings' revolutionary approach, the operator's business model functions on principles different from current market trends. Sudden sales spikes, based on promotions and tying customers to fixed-term contracts, followed by a period of decline due to similar competitor activity, have been replaced by steady and stable growth. Mobile Vikings is the only operator that, over recent years, quarter after quarter, has consistently stayed "in the black" in number portability reports prepared by UKE. The company avoids large expenditures on individual promotional campaigns, relying on the Member-Get-Member model, through which users who recommend the network gain permanent discounts, up to the complete abolition of fees for using their number. This model clearly aligns with the company's values – honesty and care for service quality translate into a desire for recommendation by ambassadors, which in turn leads to growth. The addition of an intermediary element serves as a public litmus test of whether the direction the operator's ship is sailing is correct.
Arsenal of Offers
The primary product offered by the Vikings is the No Limit tariff, valid for 31 days, around which orbit free services that enhance network usage. The No Limit package includes unlimited calls, SMS, and MMS within the country and 15 GB of internet. The operator facilitates number management by providing an app for account management and a subscription service that, similar to Netflix or Spotify, relieves the user from the need to top up their account manually each month. Unused data packages, out of the 15 GB available within the tariff, accumulate, resulting in hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of gigabytes stored on Viking accounts. Such packages, if one doesn't intend to use them, can be exchanged for Mobile Vikings merchandise – t-shirts, hoodies, bags, or backpacks.
A new offer available on board is Chill On, for those who dislike commitments and formalities. It's a subscription model with an innovative solution – the Smart Wallet, where funds will be stored, which can be spent on roaming and Premium services. The Chill On package includes unlimited calls, SMS, and MMS within the country, 20 GB of internet, and a 10 PLN welcome bonus.
Course for the Future
In the coming years, the network plans to focus on building a sense of shared identity among its users. Their influence on product development is to be progressively increased as their numbers grow. Simultaneously, the Vikings intend to continue working on tools not yet available on the market, which, as they have proven several times, they can do so well that their ideas are copied by other operators. All of this is intended to result in growing strength in the competitive telecommunications market. Strength measured not by the number of users, but by their loyalty and sense of pride in being part of something bigger than just a mobile operator.
