Telecom Digital Transformation – 4 Trends That Matter

This industry viewpoint was contributed by Karanbir Singh Saluja, Senior Marketing Executive at Kochartech

Digitization has revolutionized various sectors & organizations, and telecom is no exception. Being the enablers of a connected ecosystem, communication service providers are facing new challenges to be consumers’ preference.

Keeping up with the transformation trends in 2017 require telecom operators to deliver a consumer-centric digital customer service.

Service Providers will Redefine Customer Service

Consumers are expecting more of instant resolutions, and the ability to do almost everything on their device. Instead of connecting to a call center agent, subscribers prefer to view/modify their account, services, subscriptions, and more, directly from their device.

Addressing this need, customer service providers will be investing more in a painless customer service, upgrading their self-care & agent-based support. On an average, a customer service agent has around 100-150 customer interactions daily. This gives telecoms numerous opportunities to deliver higher satisfaction, and create better value as well as business.

Digital Experience is Gaining Hype

Operators will need to switch to digital technologies to minimize the risk of losing customers. As per a Capgemini Consulting report, 58% of telecom customers will switch over to an operator that uses digital-only channels for customer interaction.

Moreover, 46% subscribers of a bad-rated operator in terms of digital technology use will switch within a year, as compared to 16% for a good-rated one. Thus, telecom companies need to invest in digital customer service solutions to avoid customer churn & maximize profitability.

NPS Metric will Gain Prominence

Net Promoter Score (NPS), a measure of a customer’s likeliness to refer a brand, will become a leading factor for growth in revenue. Metrics such as customer experience, loyalty, and brand value will be measured by the NPS. As per the report cited above, Communication Service Providers (CSPs) with higher NPS gained 33% revenue, while those with low scores suffered a 7% decline.

On-demand Capabilities will Proliferate

The growing interest in mobile payments will significantly push the mobile commerce revenue from 22% to 50% of the digital commerce from 2015-17, as predicted by Gartner. This will be accompanied by an equivalent rise in the demand of seamless mobile internet connectivity.

The consequence will be an increase in the demand of flexible, use-based data plans, instead of fixed MB/GB offerings. Moreover, there will be a demand for personalized offers, better control over the account, advance notifications, and ability for instant top-ups.

These emerging trends point towards a rising demand of advanced telecom self care and device care tools. Telecom operators can address the upcoming challenges by investing in the right solutions.

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Categories: Industry Viewpoint