Converging products and services

The telecoms industry continues to grow at pace, driven by improvements in technology, smartphone adoption, rural coverage and penetration. And with the deployment of high-speed data networks, customers’ appetite for data on both mobile and fixed networks is increasing significantly. Market leaders are also investing considerably in their capability to offer ‘converged products and services’, establishing themselves as a ‘one-stop-shop’ serving all of a customers’ entertainment and communication needs.

Music, cinema, video games … the entertainment industry has seen consumers move into the era of immediacy: download and subscription streaming have atomized a market previously focused on the purchase of CDs and DVDs distributed by powerful brands or labels. In the United States, for example, streaming revenue is $ 1.87 billion and far exceeds traditional channels.

A digital tidal wave

Whether it’s music, movies or video game competitions tracked online by millions of netizens, the market is witnessing a digital tidal wave that’s shaking established codes: artists produce and manage their content while the pure players and subscription providers, expand their catalogs to offer an entertainment offer that meets the simultaneous use of several media. And that satisfies not only the need to combine media channels, but also addresses the very specific tastes of customers.

Big data and algorithms contribute to producing a wave of content that takes on a social dimension. Communities are created, followed, shared, liked … so, for consumers, the acquisition and accumulation of products is no longer considered an end in itself. The use of the products, at an individual or collective level, is thus gradually replacing its possession.

Could operators be the ‘’go-betweens of trust’’?

The telecommunications market in general, and very high-speed broadband in particular, is booming and evolving. To facilitate linking and transactions, operators could become the new “intermediaries or go-betweens" of trust, serving consumers. The real-time generation of mega-data, investment in secure networks, implementation of new payment methods, combined with their well-known and recognized brands, are all assets to transform our phones into multi-service platforms with high added value and perhaps become the next GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon).

Digitization in everyday life creates opportunities to innovate and add value

Among the evils of the century, “nomophobia" is, to say the least, unexpected. The fear of being separated from one’s phone is testimony to the central role played by mobiles in our lives. According to the Deloitte global mobile survey 2018, US consumers view their phones an average of 52 times every day. And within the first 15 minutes of waking up, 4 out of 5 smartphone owners check their phones – among these, nearly 80% reach for their phone before doing anything else.

The era of digitalization in everyday life offers operators unparalleled innovation potential and new horizons in terms of value creation and additional revenue. By investing, of course, massively in infrastructure, but also by developing new services for consumers.

In an environment where contact points are multiplying and interlocking due to new technologies, customer expectations are strengthening and consumption patterns are changing. As a result, telco operators are gradually moving away from models based on massive volumes managed independently regardless of channels, to ones based on segmentation of customer requests by universe (fixed, mobile, ADSL, etc.), an omni-channel analysis of customer pathways and a more global “home" vision. New pricing approaches – based upon services and options chosen – take into account the growing importance of the consumer relationship with the brand.

Customer experience is a major lever for customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and value creation

The improvement of the customer experience is a major lever to meet the challenges of delivering customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and value creation. This ambition requires us to imagine simple and seamless customer journeys with the constant goal of achieving brand preference. At the same time, the organization must move away from a logic based on internal processes towards a customer- centric organization, capable of handling end-to-end requests, from the acquisition of new customers through to customer retention, loyalty and advocacy.

It’s then imperative to gather all the brand data within the melting pot of an extended CRM and to develop a strategic partnership with consumer marketing professionals to set up a 360 ° front office organization.

The goal is to respond to the need for immediacy expressed by consumers and approach the customer, whatever the channel, by communicating in a relevant and appropriate way (that they expect of your brand). Thanks to the big data and data analysis algorithms, operators can invest in hyper-personalization across the entire customer lifecycle.

With the explosion of the use of data authorized by smartphones ever more powerful but also with the appearance of new connected objects, whether dedicated to well-being, health, automotive or home automation, the telco industry continues to develop.

The emergence of new geographies

According to the GSMA’s report in the mobile economy 2019, there will be almost 6 billion mobile subscribers by 2025. Whilst high saturation levels have been achieved across numerous developed countries, mobile penetration continues to grow within emerging markets – improving access to information and services, with great opportunities for operators.

Mobile technologies will be used to increase access to financial services, education, healthcare and many other sectors within these emerging markets. This is evidenced by the development of m-payment, the ability to access basic financial services, such as deposits and transfers, from any mobile phone without the need for a formal bank account. A particularly important opportunity for consumers in Africa in particular.