Meeting Customers’ Rising Expectations, Telecom’s Top Challenge

The telecommunications industry operates within one of the most competitive markets worldwide, where service providers understand the significance of retaining their existing customer base. Acquiring new customers can be a costly and challenging endeavor, making it imperative for telecoms to prioritize customer loyalty. However, the landscape of customer expectations is rapidly evolving, presenting a formidable challenge for telecom companies.

In this blog post, we will explore why customers’ rising expectations pose a top challenge for telecoms and how these companies can navigate this dynamic landscape to foster customer satisfaction and long-term success.

Telecom CX Business Challenges

The telecommunications industry faces several customer experience (CX) business challenges. Firstly, intense competition within the industry demands that telecom companies differentiate themselves through superior CX to attract and retain customers. Additionally, customers have become more demanding, expecting personalized experiences, seamless service across multiple channels, and quick issue resolution. The complexity of telecom services, such as bundling multiple products and services, further adds to the challenge of delivering consistent and satisfactory experiences.

Moreover, the rapid advancement of technology means companies must constantly adapt and innovate to meet evolving customer expectations. Finally, the high rate of customer churn in the telecom industry customer experience highlights the importance of addressing CX challenges effectively, as dissatisfied customers are more likely to switch providers. In fact, within the past year, 46% of customers have canceled phone, internet, TV, or cable contracts with their providers.

Keeping existing customers costs less than attracting new ones. So, telcos need to focus on building loyalty and trust to retain their customers and create a viable business.

The Importance of the Customer Journey

Telecom customer experience (CX) refers to the overall impression that clients have of a brand throughout the entire buyer’s journey. It has a significant impact on a company’s image, brand, and revenue.

In today’s landscape, clients demand engaging, personalized, and satisfying experiences, underscoring the importance for service providers to prioritize digital innovations in order to enhance their telecom customer experience journey. Nowadays, information and services are easily accessible with just a few swipes, resulting in heightened consumer expectations. This is particularly evident in the mobile network services market, which serves as the mainstay for many telecommunications providers. Both individuals and enterprises heavily rely on their phones for planning their day, conducting business, communicating with friends, making purchases, finding entertainment, and paying bills. Consequently, their dependence on these services is significant, and any disruptions or issues can significantly impact their daily lives.

Telecom CX Challenges

Currently, customer experience in the telecom industry is not meeting the necessary standards. Why is this the case? Over the years, carriers have invested significant time, money, and effort into developing customer service applications. They divided the work among different departments and assigned specific groups to handle various problems, such as answering a phone call for cable TV service or responding to a text message for a smartphone service.

However, this approach is no longer sustainable. When customers reach out for assistance, they expect to interact with one unified company instead of multiple departments. They anticipate that anyone they speak to or chat with will have a comprehensive understanding of the services they use and their previous experiences, enabling them to answer their questions effectively. Unfortunately, this is often not the case.

To provide such seamless services, carriers must break down the barriers that exist between their customer service channels. They need to be able to respond to customers regardless of the channel they choose to contact the company, be it phone, text, or social media, and address their questions, whether they are for billing or troubleshooting slow connections. Essentially, carriers need to integrate their applications, remove obstacles, and deliver omni-channel experiences.

However, upgrading the various applications poses challenges, as many of the existing solutions were built for outdated landscapes and do not align with today’s needs. Therefore, carriers need to enhance and modernize their applications. Additionally, achieving true omni-channel functionality requires the seamless integration of all systems into a cohesive whole.

Furthermore, carriers face complications due to their increasing reliance on various contractors and subcontractors who contribute to overall telecom customer experience management. Therefore, telcos need to exercise caution and select partners who offer open and easily integrated solutions, such as field service management software. Only by doing so can they ensure a consistent end-user experience.

Proactive Customer Engagement

Proactive customer engagement is critical for telecom businesses that seek to address and surpass growing customer expectations. It includes identifying the customers’ needs, solving problems that may arise before they become big, and making special arrangements to make customers happy. Here are three key strategies for effective, proactive customer engagement, helping to improve customer experience in telecom:

Predictive Care for Issue Resolution

Of these, the most important is the concept of ”predictive care,” where the organization takes preventive measures to address concerns before the customers even know they have them. Field service management software is essential for providing solutions to predictive care problems using IoT and AI.

In tandem with IoT devices, FSM software is a real-time guardian of your network’s health. It constantly scans for performance issues and makes instant diagnostics. For instance, sensors placed on network equipment can swiftly identify problems like signal loss or hardware failures. AI algorithms run for determining potential failures. This data is then fed into the FSM system, where this early detection allows you to send technicians to fix issues before they impact the customers.

It also improves customer satisfaction by minimizing service interruptions and decreasing operational expenses. This way, companies can prevent problems from worsening and causing business interruptions that require emergency repairs. This approach makes customers trust the company, knowing they will receive excellent and reliable service.

Efficient Issue Resolution Across All Channels

Customers are savvy and demand that their needs be met quickly and in the shortest time possible across the different touch points. Field service management software allows telecom companies to deliver on their promise of professionalism and attentiveness to needs. This omnichannel approach is beneficial because customers are provided with the same quality of services, regardless of the contact method.

FSM software stores customer data and service histories, making them readily available to all support personnel. The customer profile, which includes all relevant information and previous communications, enables agents to address customer issues more efficiently. This single view of the customer across different interfaces eliminates the need for customers to repeat their needs, thereby reducing their frustration and enhancing their satisfaction.

For example, if a client submits a complaint that they have lost connection to the internet, the ticket will be routed to a specialist who can resolve such issues. With remote visual assistance, the specialist can visually diagnose and address the problem in real-time, reducing the need for on-site visits. Besides, it also helps enhance customer experience management for telecom by offering solutions quicker and more efficiently.

The ability of FSM software to engage customers before they even realize they need help, market to them in a personalized manner, and resolve issues swiftly is a game-changer for companies in the telecom industry. This proactive approach is crucial to meet rising customer expectations. FSM software is vital in achieving these goals, enabling organizations to deliver superior customer experience management in telecom, foster customer loyalty, and drive business growth.

How to Provide Better Customer Experience

Telecoms companies need to retool their support infrastructure as new technologies have emerged to enhance their customer experience in telecom.

Cloud:

Field service management software in the cloud simplifies application deployment and updates. Previously, software vendors would create a central solution and then distribute it to customers in a hodgepodge manner. However, with the cloud, they maintain a central system that all customers work with, ensuring that updates are immediately available to everyone.

People working in the field can get up-to-date information and tools, which will help them solve problems more effectively. Such real-time access ensures that customers get the best service at the right time, improving overall satisfaction.

Data Analytics:

Telcos today collect more customer and system information than ever before. However, the information itself holds little value. Data analytics enables them to process vast amounts of data and gain valuable insights into their business operations. They can create reports that help analyze trends, allowing workers to identify patterns. Employees can then make informed and data-driven decisions to improve operations. The reporting features uncover hidden patterns, detect anomalies, and predict outcomes, enabling organizations to optimize processes, identify new opportunities, and mitigate risks.

When combining FSM software with superior data analysis, telecom providers can better understand their business. For instance, analytics can examine the service requests that companies receive and predict potential problems that are likely to be reported. This proactive approach helps reduce downtime and improve the customer experience in the telecom industry.

In addition, data analytics can help with appropriate scheduling and resource management. When Field Service Management (FSM) software leverages historical data in conjunction with third-party integrations like Asset Management or ERP platforms, it enables predictive maintenance. This predictive approach recommends the best times for technicians to visit specific locations, minimizing travel time and the number of visits needed. Consequently, this boosts efficiency, reduces operating costs, and ensures the highest level of service delivery.

Artificial Intelligence:

With computer processing power growing rapidly, telcos can revamp their business processes. AI enables the automation of repetitive and mundane tasks, saving time for both businesses and customers. By leveraging AI technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing, companies can streamline operations, increase efficiency, and reduce human error. AI-powered automation handles tasks like data entry and customer support, freeing up workers to focus on more complex and creative tasks. One example, Praxedo’s AI powered SmartScheduler automates scheduling and routing of service technicians with one click, increasing efficiency and streamlining operations.

AI-powered solutions also improve customer experience through predictive maintenance and support. AI can also forecast problems affecting clients based on historical service calls and current network conditions. The technicians can then fix these problems, and most of the time, this is done before the customers have even noticed that they have a problem. This kind of proactive service goes a long way in enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Field Service Management Software Integration

The combination of FSM software with cloud computing, data analysis, and AI creates a powerful arsenal for the telecom sector. This integration makes field operations efficient, data-driven, and customer-centric. Therefore, by embracing these technologies, telecom providers can provide comprehensive and exceptional customer experience management for telecom businesses.

Field service management software is the tool that supports this process and provides the technological foundation. It enables technicians to communicate in real-time, manage resources effectively, and provide technicians with the tools required to provide high-quality service. This empowers telecom companies to lead customer experience trends in telecom, ensuring their long-term viability in a competitive sector.

Benefits of Providing Top Customer Experiences

Telecommunications is a complex, forms-based, process-oriented business. In the past, staff members spent a great deal of time ensuring that documents were filled out correctly and that best practices were followed. However, with the advent of digital technology, they are now able to offload many of the mundane tasks associated with such functions. In many cases, this benefits not only the company but also the customers.

Speed Up Sign Ups 

CX impressions begin to form as clients sign up for a service. Nothing frustrates potential customers more than encountering obstacles during the sign-up process. Many individuals become so aggravated that they immediately navigate to competitors’ websites. Therefore, it is crucial for these touch points to be efficient and user-friendly. Onboarding should be hassle-free, and the service should be installed, activated, and operational swiftly.

Thanks to digital technology, carriers can now offer self-service options, which shift the sign-up process from their staff to the consumers themselves. However, it is essential for the carrier to design a system that is easy to navigate and use. Consumers are not engineers and tend to resist complex and confusing workflows.

Automate Business Processes

AI powered solutions automate form filling and data flows. Rather than individuals ushering documents through the appropriate channels, the system does so automatically. Digital input eliminates traditional manual and paper-based transactions, streamlining the process and reducing personnel expenses. Praxedo’s field service software has a modern, digital design that simplifies and speeds up such processes.  Consequently, technicians spend more time tuning network equipment and less filling out paper, improving network performance and customer satisfaction.

Personalize Customer Service

Another advantage for customer experience management in telecom is personalization: AI enables personalized experiences by understanding user preferences and customizing recommendations and interactions accordingly. It analyzes user behavior, demographics, and historical data to offer personalized product recommendations, content suggestions, and customer support. This process takes various forms. Personalization in telecom can involve addressing customers by name, keeping them informed about their usage, and providing relevant push notifications, discounts, and special offers. Predictive care proactively identifies and resolves issues before clients engage with their provider, thereby reducing costs and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Enhance Customer Loyalty

Improving customer experiences enhances customer loyalty. If a customer has a positive experience with a company, they will continue to do business with them and even encourage others to do the same. Digital transformation tools help collect feedback and make changes in real-time, which benefits companies. Also, loyalty programs can be made personal and even self-service, which will keep customers coming back and maintain the bond with the brand.

Drive Sales

Also, carriers can significantly increase sales through these new personalization features by leveraging upselling opportunities. By identifying micro-segments of customers and understanding their individual needs, marketing efforts become more targeted and effective. In essence, these advanced capabilities enable carriers to extract valuable insights from customer data sets, facilitating informed actions that not only reduce customer churn but also drive revenue growth.

The Bottom Line Benefits of Exceptional Customer Service

Telecom suppliers’ businesses become stronger when they prioritize improving customer experience in telecom.

Seventy percent of consumers consider customer experience a major factor when selecting a telecom service provider and are willing to pay up to 8% more for an excellent experience within the industry. A loyal customer tends to spend over 60% more in a single transaction, thereby ensuring unit profitability that is 23% higher than the average customer.

Transform the Customer Journey

Telecom companies must prioritize how to improve customer experience in telecom to maintain relevance and competitiveness in the industry. Understanding customer expectations has become paramount for achieving top performance. Telecom companies need to adopt a customer-centric approach and comprehend their customers’ expectations. Carriers must provide convenience, accessibility, prompt issue resolution, and self-service options. Proactively enhancing the telecom customer experience enhances brand value, boosts engagement, fosters customer retention, and cultivates long-term loyalty, ultimately ensuring business growth.

For further resources, read our ebook on How field service management software addresses challenges for telecoms operators 

Discover the Praxedo advantage

Praxedo has been a trusted provider of field service management (FSM) solutions such as telecom customer experience management tools for companies across the globe since 2005. Our success is attributed to our unwavering focus on delivering the best FSM tools in the market. Unlike other providers, we don’t aim to supply all enterprise applications. Instead, we prioritize our expertise in FSM and offer a cloud-based solution that streamlines deployment from start to finish.

Today, more than 1,300 companies including large enterprises and SMBs, and 40,000 users across the globe rely on Praxedo daily to optimize their field service operations. Our solution enables them to increase productivity, optimize resources, and facilitate seamless data exchanges between field personnel such as technicians and engineers, and their dispatchers.

Want to learn more?  Schedule a demo today.