Customer experience management as an ultimate clue to success

The article was published on Telecoms.com, you can read the published version here. 

We have to admit that Telecom operators are at a standstill. They lose customers, while the core voice and messaging services are no longer profitable. Hence, Telcos are heading to creating positive customer experience. However, shift to customer experience improvement is not an easy step. On the road to optimization Telcos face some burning challenges:

• Low core services` income
• Absence of personalized services
• Growth of  internet services

Pursuing the goal of developing customer experience management Telcos rush about multiple options trying to define what actually users need.

So far, the concept of customer experience management is actively promoted and exercised by such Telecom giants as Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Austria Telekom Group, AT&T and Verizon.

Even there is so much fuss around CEM few actually know which button to push to jumpstart the process. Let`s see what trends rule in this sphere and improve customer experience.

Cloud 
Recently Telcos have seriously increased the range of Cloud based services. Data centers, storages, platforms create digital ecosystem allowing users to have 24/7 access to information. Still, cloud is not only about the storages and data centers. It also can underpin and enable digital, Internet of Things services and Over the Top services, which gain popularity among the Telecom companies.

M2M
Machine-to-machine (M2M) is driving the IoT by connecting machines, devices and objects to the internet turning them into “intelligent” assets that communicate with the world around them. Making machines talk Telecom companies help customers to synchronize all devices and get relevant information right on time. I guess with M2M Telecoms bring communication technology to a new level.

Telemetry
Today almost every car has a GPS device integrated in a board computer. To provide safe driving, easy transporting, and emergency calling along with infotainment services Telcos launch telematics service that grows its popularity among individual and enterprise customers. By introducing the telemetry service Telecom providers connect vehicles, machinery, people and public infrastructure with one network.

Streaming and IPTV
Seating on a coach and watching TV is something from the old days. People are constantly on the go today. Therefore the opportunity to watch broadcasting, for example, of a football match right on time from any place becomes more and more valuable for users. Customers lifestyle doesn`t fit with fixed television schedule anymore, thus IPTV service is on high demand. Above that web conferencing is the asset that has become vital for businesses. Providing these services Telecoms get closer to customers.

Virtual reality
With the rise of the consuming video content users` life style is changing. It impacts the range of information-communication technologies and Telecom services. The rising awareness and popularity of Google Glass and Toshiba Digital Mirror is about to change video, gaming, navigation, education and science customer experience. Though some think that virtual reality is something that would appear first in games, certain Telecom companies already look in this direction aiming to transform the whole communication process.

By implementing those trends Telecoms put themselves at the forefront of digital innovation. Still, when a Telecom company launches a program for management and improvement of customer experience it doesn`t mean that it should include all those trends. A company has to define what it is better and develop the idea to a full scale service.

Why does it all matter?

It is all about people! According to Bruce Temkin, Vice President & Principal Analyst at Forrester Research focusing on customer experience: the essence of customer experience management is treating customers as individuals! Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.

They come for experience, new emotions and a better service. It is noticed that users are ready to pay more for a better experience but few companies can deliver it.

“Your customers don’t live in spreadsheets; you need to go out and talk to them to understand who they are as people. That is, of course, unless each of your customers is really a 55% female with 2.3 kids who is 48% from a suburb and is 11% hispanic.”

It is vital to understand that creating improved customer experience is not a corporate slogan, not an idea that you advocate. It is something that you deliver. It is something that makes your customers come back and brings you profit.

The more relevant your offers are, the closer the relationships between your business and your customers become. So, why not make a step forward and give customers what they really need – positive experience.