Priya Patankar decodes tenets on which PhonePe’s external comms narrative is built on

We are in a new era of Public Relations. In the last few years, the importance of reputation management has taken a sea change. More brands and clients, especially from the leadership teams, are viewing Public Relations from a close range. The industry has undergone a radical change with the advent of social media, which has to a large extent changed the approach to Public Relations. We have a relatively new and young audience that we need to face in the coming years so there are bigger challenges for brands and PR practitioners, who have to be more agile and proactive in their thinking to draw up business solutions for clients.

In our exclusive column – PR Conversation – Adgully interacts with leading business leaders and obtains their exclusive views and insights on the various trends in the PR and communications industry.

In conversation with Adgully, Priya Patankar, Head of Communications, PhonePe, speaks at length about PhonePe’s external communications narrative. She shares insights into the company’s successful campaigns and their impact on users, strategic adaptations in a rapidly evolving fintech landscape, crisis management tactics, the significant lessons from her extensive career, and more.

What are some key elements of PhonePe’s external communications narrative, and how do you ensure consistency across all communication channels?

PhonePe’s external communications narrative is built on the following tenets:

Focusing on customer benefits: PhonePe is a utilitarian App and we offer fast, secure, and safe digital payments and financial services on our App. Our external communication highlights the ease of using the App and focuses on how it makes our customer's life easier by becoming an integral part of their lives. 

Reinforcing Security & Trust: Trust is paramount when you are in the path of payments. We focus a lot on building customer trust and continuous reinforcement on making safe and secure digital payments.

Talking to customers in the language they understand: Our App is multilingual and is available in most popular vernacular languages. Our help and support flows are also available across languages. We believe that language is one way we make digital payments truly inclusive.

Personalizing and making it relevant: We constantly work on personalizing the user experience on our app, making the communication they receive from us highly relevant. The effort is to not go with a one-size-fits-all approach but to micro-target and tailor our communication to a customer’s age and stage in life.

Here’s how we ensure consistency across channels:

Defining a clear tone and style of communication: We have developed our own style guides on how we communicate. This ensures that we adhere to the brand personality, tone of voice, and style across all communication channels.

Distinct visual identity: We have a very strong visual identity that flows across all our communication. This ensures that as soon as you see anything PhonePe externally, you can connect with the brand.

We communicate omnichannel: We make sure we run campaigns across all channels and don’t restrict it to one or two. This ensures enough surround sound for any news or announcement we are sharing. This also ensures consistency in messaging as all our channels speak the same language at the same time.

Measure, measure, and measure: We make sure to talk to our customers, and gather enough external feedback to continuously adapt and improve our communications.

Could you share examples of particularly effective content or campaigns that resonated well with PhonePe’s users?

There have been several campaigns over the years that have strongly resonated with our customer base. Post the Covid lockdown, we had a run a campaign which spoke about how India is gearing up for the new normal. It showed various businesses opening up amidst safety protocols, with digital payments to enable cashless transactions. Resilience, hope and finding new ways to adapt to the new normal were the themes of the campaign and our users really liked the idea and treatment.

Another set of campaigns we regularly run is around educating our user base about safe transactions and safeguarding against payment fraud. Given that digital payments are now almost ubiquitous a lot of users are trying them for the first time. We make sure we keep reinforcing the idea of safe transactions in multiple ways. These include multi-lingual blog posts with step-by-step guides and videos on how to transact safely, extensive regional PR both on digital and print news to make users aware of safe transactions, and using our own CRM channels to reinforce the message further.

A few years back we had run a ‘Faces of Fraud’ campaign around the Dussehra festival. Launched on the occasion of Dussehra, symbolic of the triumph of good over evil, the campaign used the 10 faces of Ravana to bring to light to users – 10 new faces of evil (that is, payment frauds). The campaign had a video-based format that was distributed on social media educating customers about the different ways in which fraudsters can defraud them, and simple ways to keep their money safe. Given how topical and interesting this was, we saw it strongly resonate with our customers.

How do you adapt your communication strategies in response to the fast-paced changes in the fintech industry?

The fintech industry is constantly evolving and changing, and we believe keeping our customers informed is crucial. Here’s how we ensure clear and effective communication:

Proactive and continuous updates: We prioritize customer communication – it is the front and center of our communications strategy and never an afterthought! Our customers are the first to know about new features, upcoming updates, and any changes that might impact their experience on the app. We make sure the information we share is clear, concise, and always in real-time. This transparency helps build trust and fosters loyalty.

Reaching our customers where they are: We leverage a robust mix of in-house channels (CRM, blog, social media, LinkedIn) and external media (press releases, articles) to ensure our message reaches our customers and resonates with them. This multi-channel approach also helps reinforce key information.

Enabling a two-way dialogue with our customers: We believe in keeping the customer communication two-way, it just can’t always be the brand talking to the customer with no feedback loop. For products like savings and investment, where customers need more hand-holding, we host webinars and customer sessions to facilitate a two-way dialogue.

Using technology for a personalized experience: We leverage AI and machine learning (ML) to enhance the experience on our app. Not only does ML create robust risk and fraud detection systems for safer transactions, but it also personalizes user experience. This includes targeted recommendations, improved upselling and cross-selling, and more relevant notifications and communication.

Could you discuss a challenging crisis communication situation and how you navigated it?

While the rapid rise of social media and digital channels has been great for all communications professionals it has also become a breeding ground for misinformation. In recent years, we've faced challenges related to fake news, including:

• News on offerings or products we don’t offer: These are seen as news articles with social handles circulating information about features or products that don't exist on our app, creating confusion and potentially eroding trust.
• Fabricated fraud claims: False reports on fraud activity that has never occurred again designed to cause unnecessary panic among our users.

To handle these crises, we implemented a multi-pronged approach to combat fake news and ensure clear communication:

Official Social Media Debunking: We actively monitored social media for misinformation and used our verified accounts to debunk false claims. We also linked these stories directly via our social handles, providing users with immediate access to accurate information.

Leveraging Internal Communication Channels: We leveraged our CRM and the blog platform to proactively communicate factual information directly to our customer base. This ensured our users receive updates directly from a trusted source.

Press Releases and Media Outreach: We issued official press releases in multiple languages to clarify our position and provide accurate information to both national and regional media outlets. This ensured that journalists and the wider public had access to the truth.

Reaching the Source: We also contacted the originators of fake news, whether on social media or other digital channels, to encourage them to issue corrections and remove false information. This minimized the spread of misinformation.

Reflecting on your extensive career in marketing and communications across various prestigious organizations, what have been the most significant lessons and pivotal moments that have shaped your approach to communication and leadership?

My career path has been anything but conventional. Throughout my journey, I’ve been fortunate to work and manage diverse functions across startups and established companies, spanning industries from telecom and pharma to education, e-commerce, and finally, digital payments. This diverse experience has not only broadened my perspective, but also given me a unique understanding of each industry’s communication needs. It has allowed me to see the bigger picture when it comes to communication challenges. I understand how different parts of the business work, allowing me to propose solutions that leverage multiple channels for maximum impact.

Another defining moment in my career came early on. As a young professional with a young child, I was fortunate to have a forward-thinking employer who embraced remote work nearly 15 years ago. This experience equipped me with the skills to navigate a home office environment, set boundaries between work and personal life, and collaborate effectively in a virtual setting with a global and diverse team. While the pandemic caused a period of adjustment for many colleagues, the transition was smooth for me as it mirrored my previous experience.

Finally, while mentorship came later in my career, its impact has been profound. I was fortunate to have found a seasoned guide who professionally challenged me and encouraged me to take on more and do my best, while also providing objective feedback on my strengths and weaknesses.