The New Telco Imperative: Integrated End-to-End Customer Lifecycle Management

Powered by Persona Sorriso Technologies, Inc. ® The New Telco Imperative: Integrated End-to-End Customer Lifecycle Management The fast pace of technology evolution is not only fuelling the telco industry, it is re-shaping the way telcos market, sell, and service their offerings. The infrastructures that power customer-facing systems are, however, segmented. E-commerce, e-billing, and e-care systems, for example, are often separate solutions implemented in a stovepipe fashion. As a result, it is extremely difficult to deliver a consistent, high-quality, customer experience, which can have a significant impact on the bottom line. Ofcom, the regulator for the UK communications industries, commissioned a study to understand the quality of service offered to customers of broadband, mobile, fixed line, and pay TV providers.1 Ofcom found that satisfaction with customer service is lower in some sectors, including broadband and landline, and that dissatisfaction is increasing. Ofcom also found, not surprisingly, that delivery on customer service appears to have a direct impact on customer loyalty. A study performed by J.D. Power and Associates2 found that Studies show: performance-related issues are not among the top reasons ▪ Customer service has a direct impact on customer loyalty customers would consider switching providers. Rather, service-related issues are key to customer loyalty. The study ▪ Empathy and responsiveness keep customers from found that the greatest differences in satisfaction between switching customers intending to switch and those intending to stay ▪ Electronic billing has a strong effect on customer satis- with their current provider revolve around empathy and faction responsiveness of account executives and customer service representatives. The study also found that electronic billing Conclusion: has a strong effect on overall customer satisfaction. → Telcos must deliver integrated end-to-end customer lifecycle management Improving individual customer-facing functions incremen- tally is certainly important. But as these studies indicate, an increasingly sophisticated and demanding customer base creates an imperative for telcos to re-think their online sales and service operations. This white paper discusses the need for truly integrated end-to-end customer lifecycle manage- ment to enable telcos to address the unique needs of their 1 Office of Communications (Ofcom), “Quality of Customer Service”, 21 July 2011. 2 J.D. Power and Associates, “2011 U.S. Major Provider Business Telecommuni- markets and generate significant customer and business cations Study – Data Services”, 19 May 2011. value. The New Telco Imperative 1 Industry Gap Results in Customer Frustration Today’s customers don’t segment their experience with →→ Delivering a consistent, high-quality customer telco vendors between pre-sale and post-sale activities. experience requires a solution that’s truly integrated They naturally expect to receive a consistent, holistic ex- end-to-end. perience at every point in the process, for every process →→ Maximising the customer experience requires a sys- in the customer lifecycle. Vendors, however, often have tem that leverages customer intelligence to provide a difficult time meeting these expectations. A signifi- a personalised experience tailored to the needs and cant reason is that vendors’ systems are segmented behaviours of individual customers. and don’t support the complete lifecycle from attraction to purchase to customer care to renewal. This is the →→ Supporting business agility to provide the flexibility to result of a natural evolution over time as technologies anticipate and quickly respond to business changes is emerged to enable companies to bring aspects of their critical to maintain competitive advantage. businesses online. Advancements in point technologies →→ Reducing operating costs requires automation and and integration capabilities have provided incremental streamlining of workflows. improvements, but the time has come for a revolutionary new approach to fully address the challenge: Figure 1: Customers use many touch points to interact with companies today; telcos must provide a seamless customer experience across all of them. The New Telco Imperative 2 Manage the Entire Customer Lifecycle Customers don’t think of themselves in terms of where →→ Manage sales and fulfilment efficiently. they are in the “customer lifecycle” – they expect a Recommendations provide opportunities for up-selling consistent experience with their telco no matter what they and cross-selling. The ability to support a variety of need to accomplish or which channel they are using. You convenient delivery options – such as order online, need to understand the needs of each step in the cycle pick up at the nearest store – continues the superior and ensure you have an integrated approach for delivering shopping experience. And integration with back- on the unique needs of that step within the context of a end systems streamlines accurate billing, inventory seamless and high-quality overall customer experience. management, and other back-end operations. →→ Deliver a superior customer care experience. →→ Attract customers with effective and compelling Complete visibility of the customer’s history across marketing. all channels enables consistent support – regardless Integrated online and offline advertising and of channel used.