Why data should matter to you and how you see your customers – serviceMob

Anuj Bhalla is the founder of serviceMob. serviceMob, mission is to fix inefficiencies in how consumers access and interact with companies.

serviceMob began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and part of the StartMIT Accelerator. It is a winner of the Funding Board Award from the MIT Sandbox Innovation Program. serviceMob’s roots run deep in customer experience. It has over 30 years of experience in customer analytics, customer experience strategy, and end to end brand strategy.

In this episode, Anuj discusses the power of data and how, when used effectively, it can transform your business. He identifies looking for insights beyond traditional performance indicators and what is drives customer behaviour.

Data is one of the six key components to the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). This episode is full of great tips to improve your data sources and how to use them more effectively.

Transcript

Murray Smith: Anuj Baha from ServiceMob, welcome to Gripping Business Tales.

Anuj Baha: Thanks, Murray.

Murray: Great to have you here. For those that don’t know, before we jump into ServiceMob and all things sales and marketing, we should say—we’ve known each other a while. People will pick up on the American accent, and that’s okay. You’re a classmate from MIT, right?

Anuj: Yeah, it’s been almost six years since we started, and five years since we graduated.

Murray: It’s great to have you on. I’m looking forward to telling people about what you’re doing and what they might take away from today. As we always do, let’s start with two questions: one personal success, and one professional success you’ve had recently.

Anuj: Personally, one thing I’ve rediscovered is how much better I learn when I write things down. At MIT, we got very introspective, and I realised that I retain more when I handwrite rather than type. I invested in a digital notebook called the reMarkable—developed by another MIT alum, I think. It’s reignited my love for writing, but in a modern, digital way. That’s helped with productivity and overall focus. As business owners, our time is limited—anything that helps with productivity is worth it.

Murray: That’s a great personal insight. What about professionally?

Anuj: Professionally, especially in the last year, we took a step back and really asked: are we building the product we want to be known for? We operate in the customer service industry, which has historically relied on over-the-shoulder management. But the pandemic changed all that—suddenly, everyone was remote. That highlighted how little data was being used to manage performance.
We had to be honest and courageous enough to pivot—to focus specifically on data and analytics within the customer service space. It was a shift from adjacent offerings to doubling down on what really mattered. That clarity has paid off over the past year.

Murray: Let’s unpack that. What is ServiceMob, and what problems are you helping to solve?

Anuj: Customer service is a high-throughput environment—across phone, chat, email, social media, SMS, even community forums. The traditional term is omnichannel, but I prefer “omnivalent”—lots of data flying around the customer interaction core, but often disconnected.
We apply systems thinking—something we took from MIT—to bring order to that chaos. We look at the customer journey before, during, and after an interaction, across different devices, channels, and touchpoints. Our goal is to help businesses hopscotch across all the disconnected systems and unify that data into an “ontological brain”—a structured model of how customer service works.
With that, businesses can improve productivity, solve more issues, align supply and demand, and ultimately make smarter decisions.

Murray: And companies have traditionally struggled with this.

Anuj: Yes, especially when it comes to managing by data instead of gut feel. Even in sales and marketing, teams often don’t know what numbers to track. They want to scale, but lack visibility.
What we do—especially in the service domain—is help create a feedback loop. The data from service should inform sales and marketing. It tells you who your best customers are and how to better target future ones. If your salespeople know where conversion is most likely, they can focus their time more effectively.

Murray: So what happens when companies start seeing the right data?

Anuj: It’s powerful. Financially, service is often the largest post-sale cost. So making it more efficient and responsive has real impact.
It also transforms leadership thinking. We’re moving from linear customer journeys—search, buy, service—to loops. According to Accenture, 60% of people who switch brands do so because of a poor service experience. That makes service a key differentiator, especially in commoditised industries like telecom.
For example, in the US, there are now three main mobile carriers. Their networks and prices are similar, so what really sets them apart is service. A great resolution experience can be the reason a customer stays.

Murray: So in a way, problems become opportunities?

Anuj: Absolutely. No business wants things to go wrong, but when they do, it’s a chance to prove your value. A customer’s last interaction is often the most influential.
Yet too often, businesses use operational-centric metrics—like average handle time—to define success. If Murray calls five times for ten minutes each, that might look fine on paper. But you’ve invested 50 minutes across two weeks to get your issue resolved. That’s not great.
From a customer-centric perspective, we should be measuring time to resolution, number of contacts, customer effort—those are the things that correlate to loyalty and NPS. They also correlate more strongly to churn than operational metrics like handle time.

Murray: So why aren’t companies already doing this?

Anuj: Old habits. For decades, service was treated as a cost centre—minimise spend, reduce contact, keep calls short. That mindset persists. But now, with more companies offering subscriptions and competing for lifetime value, we’re seeing a shift.
Back when I worked with a major computer manufacturer, they discovered that customers who had a positive service interaction were more likely to repurchase than those who never contacted them at all. That was eye-opening.
It’s about engagement. Not just cutting costs, but creating loyalty through meaningful support.

Murray: It sounds like people are coming back to the fundamentals—why do we even offer service?

Anuj: Exactly. Somewhere along the way, we forgot. The promise behind offering support is: we stand behind our product. And when something goes wrong, we’re here for you. That’s the foundation of a strong customer relationship.
In today’s digital economy, with subscription models and share-of-wallet battles, that promise is more important than ever. Great service isn’t just a cost to manage—it’s a growth driver.

Murray: What about scorecards? A lot of businesses track CSAT or NPS, but struggle to go deeper.

Anuj: Great point. It’s easy to chase five-star reviews or 10/10 survey scores. But the real question is: what operational actions drive those outcomes?
Rather than obsess over the result, focus on the behaviours and processes that create a five-star experience. Every business, every industry, every customer base is different. We help companies uncover those patterns and align their metrics accordingly.

Murray: So what stops leadership teams from doing this already?

Anuj: Information overload. We generate more data each year than in all prior human history. It’s overwhelming.
Many companies assumed that “big data” would lead to “big analytics”—a centralised view of everything. But that’s not always practical. Different business units have different needs.
What we advocate is a federated data strategy with tailored analytics for each domain—customer service, supply chain, finance, etc. Yes, have a unified data lake, but be deliberate about what you draw from it. Make your metrics purpose-built.

Murray: That lines up with EOS too. Each team has its own scorecard and numbers that may not roll up—but they’re still critical.

Anuj: Exactly. It’s about being intentional—understanding not just what you’re measuring, but why you’re measuring it. Smart measurement leads to better decisions. And better decisions lead to better business.

Murray: Brilliant. If someone wants to learn more about ServiceMob or reach out to you, how can they do that?

Anuj: Visit servicemob.com or just email me at anuj@servicemob.com. I love these conversations and I’m happy to chat with anyone trying to tackle tough problems in customer service.
We’re a domain-specific company—we focus purely on service and helping you make sense of your data. Every industry is different, and we tailor our approach accordingly.

Murray: Fantastic. Anuj, thanks so much for joining. I’m sure plenty of people listening will be rethinking their customer metrics after this.

Anuj: Thanks, Murray. Always a pleasure. Appreciate what you’re doing with this podcast.