Five Best Practices for Increasing Customer Engagement in the Telecom Industry

In the telecom industry, customer engagement has become more crucial than ever, especially given the anticipated growth in worldwide telecom service revenue from 2022 to 2027, as projected by Analysys Mason with a 1.8% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). However, the landscape is rife with challenges, notably highlighted by the "State of Customer Churn in Telecom" report's findings of a significant 22% decrease in customer loyalty during the pandemic.

This drop underscores the important role of customer experience (CX) as a key differentiator for telecom operators. With a vast majority of customers - 70% to be exact - considering CX a critical factor in their choice of telecom provider, and a staggering 86% indicating a willingness to switch brands after just two negative consumer experiences, the urgency to meet and exceed customer expectations cannot be overstated.

Furthermore, in the face of escalating competition and the dominance of Over-The-Top (OTT) services, traditional telecom services are facing a decline. Telcos are therefore compelled to redirect their focus towards innovative strategies aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction and engagement.

Telcos have large cost burdens and bigger responsibilities to deliver quality service. In 2024, their investments may not pay off, and due to strong competition from multiple quarters.

In this evolving landscape, leveraging cutting-edge solutions like the moLotus mobile video customer interaction platform has become imperative for telcos. moLotus presents telcos with a holistic GSM-based tool that transcends conventional communication channels, offering personalized and interactive experiences tailored to individual customer preferences. By harnessing the capabilities of moLotus, telcos can tap into new revenue streams while simultaneously elevating metrics such as customer lifetime value, Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), and Return on Investment (ROI).

moLotus enables customized content delivery, allowing telecom operators to interact with customers on a deeper level and drive heightened engagement and satisfaction. By leveraging the innovative features and functionalities of moLotus, telcos can navigate the evolving telecom landscape with agility and resilience, ensuring that they not only meet but exceed the expectations of their customers in today's dynamic digital era.

Keeping in view the current industry trends and expert opinions, here are the five best practices to drive customer engagement in the telecom industry:

1. Personalized and Interactive Customer Communication

Personalized and interactive communication is crucial for enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty in the telecom industry. With a major portion of customers still preferring phone support, personalized interactions across all channels are important. Telecom operators are expected to leverage customer data to personalize their communication, providing targeted recommendations and support that align with customer needs and preferences. This personalized approach ensures a more engaging experience, ultimately building stronger relationships and loyalty among customers.

In 2024, data-driven customer communication is predicted to be a transformative strategy for boosting customer engagement and revenues. Telcos should adopt breakthrough solutions like moLotus to leverage customer data effectively, delivering personalized offers and promotions. By analyzing consumer behavior, preferences, and product usage patterns, operators can design hyper-personalized packages and promotions that resonate with the individual customer.

With tools like moLotus, telcos can segment their customer base based on various factors and offer personalized plans and services accordingly. Excelling in personalization is vital for telecoms to stand out in the competition, driving consumer revenue growth. By leveraging customer data assets and analytics via moLotus, telcos can transform customer lifecycle value management, offering personalized recommendations and ads tailored to individual customers.

This hyper-personalized approach extends to special occasions and events, ensuring that customers receive relevant and timely offers. moLotus simplifies the process of customer interaction offering various response options such as SMS, mgram, web link, USSD, call-back, and mgrams.

moLotus revolutionizes telco-customer communication, making it real-time, mobile-friendly, seamless, and easily accessible. By embracing moLotus, telcos can enhance their customer engagement strategies, driving ARPU growth and standing out in a saturated market.

Overall, personalized and interactive communication facilitated by moLotus is instrumental in strengthening the bond between telcos and their customers, leading to increased loyalty, satisfaction, and revenue generation. As telcos continue to prioritize customer-centric approaches, solutions like moLotus will play a pivotal role in driving success in the telecom industry.

2. Incorporate Big Data and Predictive Analytics

Telco brands are in an interesting position. They have a massive customer database siloed in their systems. However, most telecom operators struggle to transform this data into meaningful insights.

According to an IDG survey, a mere 20 percent of telecom operators have been able to leverage data analytics successfully. Most of the telecom failures in data monetization are due to a lack of the right analytics tools.

Big data analytics in the telecom industry is at an initial stage across the globe. However, the innovators highlight that investments in data analytics tools like moLotus result in significant payoffs, especially in terms of customer engagement and profitability.

The breakthrough technology has come up in a big way with Big data Analytics helping telecom partners manage and monetize their huge databases. Telco brands are capable of targeting based on multiple business criteria, buyer intent, interactions, interests, demographics, etc. to generate deep insights which further assist them in delivering personalized content to the customers, finally enhancing customer engagement.

By using moLotus predictive analytics, telcos can anticipate customer needs and preferences, proactively offering suitable products and services. This proactive approach not only improves customer engagement but also drives revenue growth by boosting cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

Furthermore, moLotus big data analytics enables telcos to optimize their marketing efforts by identifying high-value customer segments and tailoring marketing campaigns accordingly. By understanding consumer behavior and response patterns, telcos can fine-tune their marketing strategies to maximize ROI. This data-driven method ensures that marketing assets are appropriated in the best possible way, with more engagement and conversions.

3. Integration of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping telco customer engagement paradigms and driving significant innovation. The market potential for AI in telecom is projected to soar to USD 40 billion by 2026, indicating its growing importance (Source: MarketsandMarkets).

Telcos are leveraging AI across various facets of their operations, from network optimization to customer support, to drive efficiency and innovation. By harnessing AI technology, telecom operators can boost customer engagement and unlock new revenue streams through personalized services and targeted advertising while optimizing networks and operations, leading to substantial cost savings and improved business outcomes.

In this era of AI evolution, moLotus emerges as a transformative force for telcos, offering personalized AI avatars that redefine customer engagement and customer interactions. These AI avatars infuse telecom brands with unique personalities, enhancing trust and influence among customers. Powered by subscriber intelligence and moLotus's robust big data capabilities, these avatar-based promo videos drive conversion and product uptake across diverse customer segments.

With tailored avatars catering to various demographics, moLotus facilitates a range of interactions, from offering personalized suggestions to providing timely support, ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. This personalized approach not only uplifts average revenue per user (ARPU) but also strengthens customer retention efforts.

Leading telecom brands such as AT&T, Vodafone, Orange, and China Mobile exemplify the transformative impact of AI across different areas of their operations. From streamlining network operations to enhancing customer service and combating fraudulent activities, these telcos are leveraging AI to deliver personalized experiences, driving higher levels of engagement and loyalty among their customer base.

4. Transform Customer Processes

In 2024, the automation and transformation of the customer experience stand out as crucial strategies for telecom operators seeking to enhance customer engagement. With a focus on prioritizing customer satisfaction and fostering lasting relationships, telcos must ensure seamless experiences across all touchpoints. This involves streamlining processes and leveraging innovative technologies to meet changing consumer expectations and deliver personalized interactions at every stage of the customer journey.

Digital transformation has ushered in a multitude of benefits for telcos, significantly enhancing their ability to engage customers more effectively. Telecoms worldwide are leveraging advanced technologies like moLotus to automate and digitally transform their customer processes, aligning with customer engagement and revenue objectives.

Marketing automation tools such as moLotus and Hubspot are revolutionizing customer processes, streamlining them for enhanced efficiency and convenience. moLotus, with its robust automation capabilities, is leading the charge in seamlessly automating telco customer processes, encompassing onboarding, reminders, gratitude communication, and more, resulting in cost reductions, revenue growth, and heightened customer engagement.

Innovative mobile technologies like moLotus are driving a paradigm shift in the loyalty card segment, replacing traditional plastic-based cards with mobile loyalty cards. Telcos are nurturing lasting relationships with millennials by leveraging moLotus's transformative features such as digital rewards, FAQs, real-time customer ratings, mobile reminders, instructional content, and mobile feedback. The research underscores moLotus's impact, revealing up to a thirty percent reduction in telco outbound process costs, coupled with improvements in customer satisfaction.

5. Strategic partnerships and alliances for enhanced customer experience

In 2024, telecom providers must ally with emerging technologies and innovative solutions that have the potential to revolutionize customer engagement and revenue generation for telcos.

Mobile advertising technologies like moLotus serve as a gateway to new revenue streams, addressing the evolving demands of consumers and offering personalized advertising experiences. Automation and AI-based tools play a crucial role in transforming customer support and engagement, leading to improved efficiency, consumer satisfaction, and ultimately, higher consumer revenues.

Leading telcos such as Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Vodafone, Celcom, Airtel, and Maxis are increasingly forming strategic partnerships with mobile technology leaders like moLotus to strengthen their presence in the enterprise business sector. For instance, moLotus has collaborated with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison in Indonesia for the iAds-MGram service, powered by moLotus, resulting in increased lead generation, conversion rates, customer responses, and acquisition of new customers, leading to immediate revenue growth with high margins.

The remarkable growth of moLotus is evident from its successful entry into emerging markets like Vietnam, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other Middle Eastern countries, where it has formed new alliances with telcos. This expansion underscores moLotus's commitment to providing globally scalable mobile solutions that transcend industry boundaries and geographical borders.

Partnerships between telcos and companies specializing in contextual advertising, such as Jio and GumGum, leverage image recognition technology to display relevant ads based on users' mobile app and website content, enhancing ad relevance without intruding on user experience.

Verizon Media's partnership with OpenX, a prominent programmatic ad exchange, has led to the launch of "Verizon OneBid," an ad exchange platform enabling advertisers to reach Verizon's vast customer base through a unified platform, simplifying ad buying and offering better-targeting options.

Similarly, collaborations like Airtel and Xandr (AT&T's Ad Tech Platform) utilize rich customer data and programmatic advertising platforms to offer targeted ad solutions to advertisers. Initiatives like "Airtel IQ" enable precise ad targeting based on demographics, interests, and mobile app usage, enhancing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Telcos can boost engagement by bundling telecom services with premium content, attracting new customers and encouraging existing subscribers to upgrade their plans. This strategic approach delivers additional value and entertainment options, ultimately reducing churn and elevating consumer revenues.

Conclusion

In 2024 telcos have unparalleled opportunities to elevate their customer engagement. By embracing cutting-edge technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence, and impactful collaborations with pioneers such as moLotus, telecom providers can redefine customer interactions and unlock new revenue streams.

As we step into the age of big digital transformation, the synergy between telecom companies and breakthrough solutions becomes crucial. The success stories of collaborations highlight the transformative power of strategic alliances.

The journey to enhancing customer engagement is not just a necessity; it's an exciting voyage into the future of telecom. The adoption of immersive mobile videos, mobile advertising technologies, and AI-driven tools not only enhances operational efficiency but also delights consumers, driving up satisfaction and revenues.