by John Myers
Whether focused on a particular market niche or attempting to be a triple- or quad-play provider, long-term dedication to a profitable business plan for particular subscriber markets should be the focus for telecom service providers in 2008. In this excerpt from Past is Prologue in Telecommunications, expert John Myers explores the industry's need for strategic approaches to customer care. Read the entire piece on Business Intelligence Network's Telecommunications Channel.
One of the big stories of 2007 was the "firing" of 1,000 customers by Sprint for being too much trouble from a customer care perspective. However, it brought up an interesting concept:
Where is telecom customer care heading?
Has customer care become simply a cost center to be optimized using offshoring and voice recognition software? If so, this will only hasten the commoditization of the telecom service provider "experience" and drive subscribers to cost-only considerations for their patronage. Loyalty, and ultimately churn, will be measured simply on where a subscriber is in relation to their contract obligation and whether or not a telecom service provider can offer enough value over another provider when that contract or handset obligation expires.
Premium customer care will be a key attribute for value-added product/service subscribers' loyalty. Since these value-added subscribers will provide an overall higher level of ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) and AMPU (Average Margin Per User) to the telecom service provider organization, those subscribers should be treated with additional customer care services, much like the stratification of customer care seen in the airline industry. Directing the right subscriber to the right part of the customer care division and having those customer care reps provide the right value will be the key. Yet, with the ever-evolving diversification of the telecom service provider's operations, this will be an issue.
For example, I had a recent experience with my "landline" service provider about the ISP portion of my package. To find the "right" answer to my question, I was in contact with four different customer service representatives before I finally was put in touch with a senior support engineer from the ISP division who could help me with my technical question (it should be noted that I had completed 9 of the 10 intro troubleshooting tests on the CSR script before I even called, just as I have every time that I call in with these types of questions...).
Now, imagine if my "landline" service provider were able to capture the fact that I am an adept technical subscriber and that I rarely call for support. I could have been placed directly to a senior support representative rather than on the fourth stop on the route. That would have provided me with value in the encounter, and it would have saved 75% of the overall call center expense associated with my experience.
John Myers has more than 10 years of information technology and consulting experience in positions including business intelligence subject-matter expert, technical architect and systems integrator. Over the past eight years, he has a wealth of business and information technology consulting experience in the telecommunications industry. John specializes in business intelligence/data warehousing and systems integration solutions.
This post was originally published on BeyeNETWORK.com on February 5, 2008. Reprinted with permission. Visit the Business Intelligence Network website.
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