As consumers increasingly demand seamless connectivity and personalised service, innovative CX solutions must become a top priority for telecom companies looking to stand out in a highly competitive market.

Previously, pricing and network quality were the primary factors for customer retention, but now CX has emerged as equally important.

Adopting a new approach to managing telco customer experience requires embracing a comprehensive platform equipped with tools to streamline interactions, anticipate needs, and deliver personalised experiences.

Fundamentally, data-driven analysis plays a crucial role in improving customer satisfaction, and an enhanced CX ultimately aids in customer retention. When organisations effectively leverage this valuable source of insight, they gain a significant competitive advantage.

However, despite having abundant data, most telecom operators are not exploiting the full potential of analytics and insight-driven personalisation.

This oversight prevents them from achieving a true competitive advantage and maximising revenue growth.

Customer expectations can be met by plugging advanced data analytics into every stage of the CX journey, and given the complexity of telecom data, ensuring accuracy and consistency across various systems is imperative.

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into data analysis is becoming increasingly crucial for telecom companies.

AI’s ability to analyse large datasets and recognise patterns will provide telecom companies with a potent tool for predictive analysis and decision-making.

For example, AI can analyse customer behaviour and service preferences to anticipate future service demand, enabling proactive adjustments and personalised offerings.

More telecoms are recognising the need to maximise value and personalise interactions in Customer Value Management (CVM), and not just in the support arena.

They are increasingly incorporating preferred customer channels that enable rich communication, alongside marketing engagement solutions supported by a customer data platform.

Additionally, the operational advantages are significant, as AI-driven insights lead to better resource allocation, reduced operational expenses and enhanced strategic planning.

By leveraging these technologies, telecoms can not only improve their service delivery but also streamline their operations, resulting in greater overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness. 

Personalised customer experience

By adopting omnichannel strategies, telcos can offer personalised customer experiences across various channels and devices.

This includes traditional touchpoints like SMS, voice and email, as well as popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and Telegram.

More critically, an omnichannel solution provides failover options and seamless transfer to support agents, while also enabling telcos to use customer data to contact them at the right time on the right channel and with the right message.

Market trends suggest that subscribers are increasingly moving away from an app-only approach. Instead, they want to communicate with brands using their preferred methods, so businesses must ensure they are where their customers are.

Furthermore, the adoption of emerging technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing will redefine possibilities, opening new paths for growth and transformation.

As we step into this new era, the shift of telcos from purely offering traditional communication services to becoming technology leaders highlight the industry’s resilience and capacity for reinvention.

The future of telecommunications goes beyond connectivity to pioneering the digital frontier, offering unparalleled opportunities for innovation, engagement and growth. By embracing these trends, telcos can unlock new revenue streams, enhance customer relationships, and place themselves at the centre of the digital economy.

Promising future

As AI technologies and tools become increasingly prevalent in the telecom industry, the future looks promising, offering numerous opportunities for forward-thinking telco leaders.

With the advent of the 5G network standard and the upcoming 6G, AI is set to continue transforming telecom operations, processes and services.

Telcos must adapt to new technologies, address the current lack of automation and meet evolving customer needs. For instance, AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can enable telecom operators to provide high-quality customer service easily, reliably and conveniently.

Utilising these bots allows telcos to offer personalised support, 24/7 assistance and prompt responses to customer queries, leading to enhanced customer engagement and satisfaction, reduced waiting times and efficient service delivery.

Additionally, these bots can act as strong sales agents, identifying customer needs, recommending products and services, and facilitating purchases, thus driving revenue growth.

To maximise these benefits, telcos should partner with a global engagement leader with unique industry expertise and reliable business guarantees.

By leveraging advanced analytics, AI, and ML, telcos can enhance customer experience, streamline operations, and unlock new revenue streams.

As the industry continues to evolve with the advent of technologies like 5G and IoT, telecom operators must prioritise personalised, omnichannel customer interactions to stay competitive.

Embracing these innovations not only positions telcos as technology leaders but also ensures they meet the ever-evolving demands of their customers, paving the way for sustained growth and transformation in the digital era.

The post Telcos Must Embrace Data-driven Strategies to Enhance Customer Experience appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

RCS is the new standard of messaging that provides a native, “brand-safe” environment, turning messaging into an interactive, actionable, feature-rich experience, including rich media, high-resolution images, videos, chatbots, file transfer, payment, location sharing and much more.

RCS brings the functionality of rich messaging apps like iMessage, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp directly into mobile phones without having to download any third-party app.

The Rich Messaging campaigns have been launched using OTM’s creative services and proprietary mobile advertising technology Mobucks.

The news follows the launch of the partnership between OTM and MTN Nigeria announced last July, aimed at strengthening the mobile operator’s digital advertising strategy by driving advertiser interaction and engagement with its 65 million subscribers through this highly engaging, extremely interactive, and brand-safe digital messaging format.

The first ground-breaking Rich Messaging campaigns have been launched with mega-brands such as Unilever Nigeria, the World Health Organization (WHO) and FilmOne Entertainment for movies like Dr. Strange and Wildflower. 

The campaigns yielded ground-breaking results with average engagement rates of 58% and average attention-based value of 26 seconds.

These are ground-breaking results compared to the attention-based value of other formats, such as banners with 0.1 seconds, video ads with 4.9 seconds, social media ads with 1.6 seconds, and TV with 13.8 seconds, putting Rich Messaging at the forefront of advertising and media.

Kerstin Trikalitis, Co-Founder and CEO, OTM, says: “It is rewarding to see how our growing partnership with MTN Nigeria is bearing fruit, working with leading brands to show the truly innovative and ground-breaking opportunities for RCS with Rich Messaging as a new media channel. Nigerian consumers are whole-heartedly embracing the opportunities brought by our unique, end-to-end, cloud-based and fully-managed Rich Messaging solution.”

“Our proprietary technology platform, Mobucks takes full advantage of this new media channel allowing users to interact with brands in an unprecedented way. It produces a rich experience not yet seen in the marketplace and generates a highly effective return on investment for brands.”

Lunga Mooi, Media and Digital Hub Director, Unilever, reveals his enthusiasm about Unilever brands, such as Closeup and Pepsodent, “embracing the opportunities to reach Nigerian consumers in ever more interesting ways and achieve unprecedented engagement rates than is possible with other formats.”

Both campaigns achieved outstanding results with Closeup hitting a ground-breaking engagement rate of 60% and attention-based value of 27 seconds, Pepsodent 57% engagement rate and 25 seconds as attention-based value.

FilmOne campaign witnessed equally successful results: 60% engagement rate and 29 seconds of attention value. Moses Babatope, Co-Founder and Managing Director, FilmOne Entertainment, states: “Over the years, embracing technologically innovative solutions has been a crucial part of our strategy for development. Hence, OTM’s pioneering sophisticated mobile advertising solution was a no-brainer to consider. We are excited to explore this medium that engages with our customers effectively.”

Lynda Saint-Nwafor, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer (CEBO) at MTN Nigeria, says: “The FilmOne, WHO and Unilever Nigeria campaigns ran by Out There Media and MTN Nigeria demonstrate the value of RCS for mobile customers and brands alike. By using innovative solutions like Mobucks, we can keep Nigerians connected and engaged with their favourite brands, and also informed about valuable health information.”

Out There Media now not only enables MTN Nigeria to bring subscribers targeted, interactive messaging and rich media experiences from its chosen brand and agency partners, but also harnesses the power of RCS in Nigeria.

The post Out There Media, MTN Nigeria Bring RCS to Market appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.