Insights from Rob Beswick of Virgin Mobile, KSA

• Being the first mobile virtual network operator to launch in KSA, Virgin Mobile challenged itself to offer "next-generation mobile services" and a "fully re-defined customer experience."
• The company's market entry strategy was innovative and included digital advertising and social engagement. It promoted a number-booking service through digital advertising and social media whereby new customers could register online to choose the numbers they preferred and pick up their SIM card at a retail outlet, thus using a click-and-collect model.
• The outcomes were remarkable as 71% of bookings came from digital advertising (Google advertising) at 60% of the digital budget. The cost per lead through Google Search was 80% lower and the return on investment was 35 times higher. Also, 30% of the customers who booked a number online went to a store to collect a SIM.

Insights from Pandora's Enhanced Digital Advertising Strategy

• Pandora experienced strong growth of its premium subscriber base and ARPU through acquisition in the space of innovative digital advertising.
•  Various digital partnerships along with enhanced digital marketing techniques helped Pandora lower its subscriber acquisition costs and retain old subscribers as well.
• Considering digital audio advertising technology is one of the fastest-growing formats of digital advertising, Pandora tapped the right note with the planned acquisition of AdsWizz, a digital audio ad tech company. This rendered Pandora with improvised advertising capabilities enabling it to expand its addressable market and acquire new subscribers.

Insights from Altice, USA

• Altice USA, with a recent spin-off from Altis N.V., adopted a targeted, multi-screen platform, thereby combining TV and digital advertising all into a single purchase.
• The company thus focused on enhanced audience targeting that was "supported by rich, privacy-compliant household data sets with an automated self-serve model for advertisers." Further campaign management was "supported by robust analytics and attribution."

Other Insights

• As per McKinsey, all telcos may achieve quick "benefits from structured, digital marketing-and-sales approach regardless of their digital maturity, though companies that advance their digital customer engagement will experience the biggest upside." As an instance, "a global telco in the process of transforming its marketing and sales through the combination of digital, analytics and agile methods," was able to increase its digital sales in under a year with its first pilot in a mature market.
• The head of Global Marketing and Communications at Datamatics pointed out that digital innovation in sales and marketing is a continuous process ranging from omnichannel marketing to automation tools. He considers digital to be his main pillar of the entire marketing plan since the customer is going digital today.
• The digital age has further brought in smarter players who spend a fraction of the traditional media spend on online channels to maintain customer-centricity. Many new-age telco retailers have already done away with retail points of presence and enhanced their online entity and digital self-service models to engage new subscribers.
• Stan Tan, digital marketing manager at Selby’s, advises digital advertising efforts to be focused on how one can solve the target audience’s problem with the product or service apart from providing solutions that are 10 times better and faster rather than the expected 2 times.
• Ally Gruber, a digital marketing associate at The Powerline Group, emphasizes that advertised content should be relatable, engaging, and shareable to draw in potential customers and keep current customers coming back for more. Camilla, founder of Influence With Content, has similar thoughts on focusing the marketing on the needs of the target audience.

Research Strategy

Use of Direct Response Advertising in Multiple Channels

• Customers experience pain points in their customer journey when their expectations, such as instant responses to queries are not met. Improving the customer's journey in organizations increases customer experience, satisfaction and retention.
• Using multiple platforms to reach consumers, including social media platforms, directly impact customer relationships positively, according to Comcast's EVP of Customer Service, Tom Karinshak. Multiple channels create more opportunities to address pain points in a customers journey.
• There is a significant increase in focus on direct response advertising on social media platforms such as twitter and even Snapchat.
• Using personalized direct response advertising shows customers that a business' advertisements are not merely to raise brand awareness and promote its image. Instead, it demonstrates how the products and services directly benefit them, increasing perceptions of customer centricity and, thus retention.
• As such, a combination of utilizing multiple channels for direct response advertising improves retention.

AI-based Tools

• There are other strategies to address customer experience, particularly in regard to social media, which, in turn, will result in better retention.
• "Digital Customer Experience" (Digital CX) integrates automation into existing tools used by companies to manage their relationship with customers. Essentially, this is a blend of the use of AI and human interaction to provide personalized support and experiences to customers based on past interactions.
•  Kelley Kurtzman, the Vice President of Global Consumer Sales & Service Centers at Verizon reckons that AI and conversational interactions such as Alexa, Google Home and Siri have changed the way businesses can interact with customers and improve their customer experience.

Digital Transformation is about Improving Customer Experience Rather Than Cost Cutting

• Digital Transformation reduces costs in businesses and some business leaders primarily focus on cost-cutting initiatives when transforming their businesses.
• However, digital transformation impacts several aspects of a business, including optimized use of technologies available, the internal structure of a business, its culture and its processes.
•  Rob Roy, chief digital officer of Sprint, disclosed how digital transformation has meant spending some money to have a longer-term, better customer experience — which improves retention.
• Digital transformation, specifically engaging mobile-optimized customer experiences combined with direct response campaigns are a successful marketing campaigns according to David Humber, marketing director, digital engagement at The Economist. This combination, therefore, increases retention.

Simplicity is Vital for Improving Customer-Centricity and Retention

•  Customers' priorities are evolving and time-consuming services are not favorable in this environment.
• Other services and digital platforms such as Amazon, Netflix and Uber use the technological tools at their disposal to create sophisticated but simple-to-use and personalized platform which have set the benchmark. Customers expect these from telecom companies as well.
• Bain & Company analysis of more than 150 telcos in 12 markets determined that telecommunications companies which have simpler digital platforms are more profitable and retain customers better when compared to their peers.
• Frédéric Debruyne, who leads Bain & Company’s Telecommunications practice in Europe, the Middle East and Africa recons that several telecommunication companies have accumulated complexity over several years — perhaps decades — and undoing complex processes will result in better Customer Relationship Management and retention.

Telecommunications Companies are Well Positioned to Use Data to Create Personalised Direct Respose Advertising

• Successful telecommunication companies are expected to go beyond mere connectivity. Dan Bieler, a principal analyst for Forrester Research, they will be expected to offer customers personalized digital services.
• In order to do so successfully, they will have to successfully use the enormous amounts of data which they will have access to due to 5G, AI and other developing technologies.
•  Bieler recons that telecommunications companies already know significant data about their clients, including age, income level, consumer behavior, and they should become absolutely customer-focused, understand customer pain points and design solutions around them.
• Additionally, this data can be used to create personalised direct response advertising which improve the customer's experiences and aid retention.

Research Strategy

Useful Insights

• Saasquatch, a digital platform that drives customers to a brand, highlights the importance of clearly defined rewards for referring a friend. For example, AT&T and T-Mobile have landing pages with clear explanations of how much (e.g. up to $575 a year), to refer friends.
• Refer-a-friend programs, according to Saasquatch, use the principles of self-affirmation psychology, which "effectively illuminates how easy it is for customers to help both themselves and newcomers they know and love."
• Successful youth-centric referral incentives involve rewards, such as "more music and free data" from Virgin Mobile or a $50 prepaid MasterCard from T-Mobile.
• According to Saasquatch, successful refer-a-friend programs ask a question of the consumer, for example, Virgin Mobile asks "How do I refer a friend?" and "What can I earn?"
•  Each of the examples that Saasquatch highlights include a Call To Action (CTAs) (a button to click) to start getting rewards or to refer a friend. CTAs are a core part of Direct Response marketing.
•  DirecTV launched a referral program in email--a Direct Response marketing campaign--with a powerful visual of 100 dollar bill, explaining what both you and the friend you refer will earn.

Research Strategy

Insights

• Telecom companies who use online video advertisements can personalize the video targeted to a customer based on that customer's browsing habits and knowledge about his or her current plan. The SundaySky Blog explains: "Personalized video ads are unique to each individual viewer and support customer acquisition by leveraging consumers’ online activity, history and behavior. Because the messages and promotions within an ad are highly relevant to each viewer at the moment the ad is viewed, brands can more effectively drive conversions, revenue and brand awareness."
• Telecom companies employing personalized video advertisements should also use analytics to measure their effectiveness and return on investment (ROI).
• Mojo Marketing explains that if Telecom companies adopt hyper-personalized email campaigns--drawing on "qualities such as interest, demographics, and more" of potential customers--it will increase open rates and thereby be a successful campaign.
• McKinsey & Co claims that personalized advertising will increase revenues between 5-15% in Telecom.
• Part of a successful personalization strategy in industries, such as Telecom, involves developing "trigger messages" that are relevant to the potential customer, based on his or her "purchases, online browsing, and social media posts." Developing such "trigger messages" requires advanced analytics, such as "a next-product-to-buy algorithm based on machine learning could send a message suggesting a set of related products triggered when mothers have clicked on a different product but not bought it."

Research Strategy