Telecom Companies Need to Adapt to the Digital Revolution – Sreevathsa Prabhakar, Founder, Servify
The year was 2005. Steve Jobs and team were about to launch the original iphone. Apple wanted to own and control the end-to-end sales, service and support of the iphone. So why not be their own telecom carrier as well? Jobs and team had considered this as a viable option, ultimately leading to a dramatic power-shift between telecom players and OEMS. A decade later, Google rolled out a telecom network which was, under the hood, an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) service to select devices, as part of Google Fi. The idea was to be in full control of the product experience and not rely on anyone. That move put traditional telecom players on notice. Big tech wanted to disrupt big telecom.
New Age: New Moves?
The first telephone call was made more than 140 years ago. Within that time, the telecommunications industry has undergone a complete metamorphosis. We now use our phones to watch the news live, book flight tickets to anywhere in the world, play games in ‘mixed reality’ and get access to any information on the internet with just a few taps.
3.4 billion consumers connect to the internet and spend, on average, six-and-a-half hours online. However, if the past two decades have taught us anything, it is that resting on laurels and not worrying about small churn numbers is the perfect recipe for downfall. For many years, ebay was the leading e-commerce destination for consumers and Amazon was seen as the dark horse. Today, most end users aren’t even sure if ebay still exists or not, whereas Amazon’s businesses have soared and the company routinely hovers around the $900B-1T market capitalisation zone.
To argue that telcos can still garner brand loyalty based merely on a fatter data pipe is Jurassic era thinking. The new-age consumer is hungry for digital solutions, which add convenience to their user experience without compromising on the quality of service. Consumers are spoilt for choice, and switching providers is an easy option for them.
It’s natural to be excited about advancement in technologies giving rise to 5G, Low Earth Orbit satellites, mesh networks, edge computing, and ultra-broadband solutions. However, if consumers don’t see any value-add to their experience, the churn felt by telecom operators will be substantial.
Consumer 360: Make Every Experience Count
While 5G and other evolving technologies will elevate consumer experiences on mobile devices, the advent of IOT will produce its own set of challenges. In an interconnected world, offering competitive offers and bundles might increase ancillary revenues, but won’t help build consumer loyalty. However, if a consumer’s experience while using your services is a consistent ‘wow’ instead of ‘okay’, you already have a group of evangelists willing to spread the word.
To achieve this, telecom players need to make sure that CX on their service is better than what they expect. To that end, we’ve recently seen how Apple’s partnership with Vodafone for their top-tier subscribers, is aiming to do just that. The two brands are involved in a program which replaces a damaged iphone within a day. Although there is significant complexity delivering on expectations, it is managed seamlessly and could be given shape with the enabler being a technology platform.
The possibilities to expand or evolve such programs is immense if the enabler has integrations with the entire ecosystem. One where OEMS, channel partners, service partners, logistics and other businesses can co-exist, offering a holistic view to end-users. Right from pre-purchase to re-purchase.
Integrations With Every Post-sale Experience Partner
While businesses can operate alone and even prosper, the reality of today’s marketplace is that without specialised partners, growth will plateau quickly after a certain point. Even though there are uphill challenges to transform the consumer experience in the digital age, having a technology platform which has partnerships with repair centres, logistic partners, payment gateways, distributors and retailers will propel business for telcos.
Unification of various business functions by seamless integration is key to delivering class-leading CX. This collective power of multiple systems has to be made available at the frontline; to the executive who is interacting with the customer. Not only does this unlock transparency across the board, but it also keeps every agent in the ecosystem on the same page for each post-sale request.
Critical to Adapt
The Telecom industry will soon find itself at an inflection point, where 5G bandwidth coupled with the ever-evolving IOT sector will open up a world of uncertainty and doubts. So to adapt to the digital age, they need to have an enabler who can extend their technology platform to empower telecom players to offer future-proof solutions to their subscriber base. Only by committing to this approach can the telecom sector can begin its digital-only adoption journey. ■