Big Data seems to be the innovation panacea these days, doesn’t it? After all, the proper analysis and manipulation of large, massive volumes of data can lead to great things, right?
While this sometimes seems like an overused cure-all, it’s is an inherent truth in the telco industry and for communication service providers (CSPs). Telcos spend more per company on big data initiatives than any other industry.
Big Data provides many opportunities for CSPs, but none more important than the ability to deliver an enriched customer experience through powerful personalization that is driven by better and more relevant content. And when CSPs can provide a better customer experience, they’ll reap the benefits of Big Data through reduced churn, greater loyalty, more up-selling and cross-selling opportunities, and, of course, increased revenue.
Tune into the pivotal moment of purchase
For CSPs, it’s all about giving consumers the products they actually want, at the place and point in time when they’re ready to buy.
Being able to do this in real time, at the pivotal moment which will influence sales, can be a game changer. In fact, in a recent SAP survey, 71% of CSP’s said that the ability to effectively deliver real-time marketing offers was the primary driver for their company’s big data initiatives. If CSPs can provide timely
and relevant supported selling and appropriate recommendations right on the spot – wherever the spot is – they can leap ahead of the competition.
Big Data analysis, when properly managed, helps CSPs connect events captured on the network (usage behaviors) with other behaviours (such as adding money to a prepaid account or purchasing a new SIM (card). With this kind of real-time information, CSPs can offer customers more tailored and sophisticated offerings, such as richer and more context aware product information and instant access to an entire extended product range. And
they can essentially create a whole new kind of experience for customers in that pivotal point of purchase.
Leverage Big Data in new ways
For CSPs to deliver the experience above, they need a next-generation digital commerce platform that goes beyond customer engagement profiling provided by basic data analysis systems.
To properly become an omni-channel Telco retailer, CSPs need help with intelligent merchandising as well. They need to fine-tune and manage customer service and delivery in terms of the management of stock across centralized locations and individual stores to enable seamless order online and pickup in stores.
A master data management solution will help CSPs address all their transactional, operational, and customer needs and allow them to:
- Implement personalization rules based on an individual’s behaviors and engagement preferences, with recommendations and self-care options that are tailored to the engagement of the moment.
- Manage billing systems, pricing, subscription-based services and service bundling – all in real time.
- Utilize real-time analytics from a huge variety of sources – content, physical data points, processes, inventory, search, social, text, mobile, Web, and more – to gain insights on customer conversations across all channels.
- Match available inventory and recommendations with what customers want right now.
With this kind of Big Data system, an instantaneous analysis of demand patterns can help optimize inventory and manage the delivery of back end services while allowing CSPs to merchandise in the moment.
