How to improve telecom customer experience

While pricing and actual service are key components of whether a customer will stay with a telecom provider, providing excellent customer experience is another way to keep their business. Therefore, customer-centric telecommunications service providers are likely to stay ahead of the competition.

An ICD study found that 54% of telecommunication decision-makers¹ say that improving customer experience (CX) was a top transformation initiative. Telecoms providers are increasingly launching initiatives as part of digital transformation exercises to improve all aspects of their business, including customer experience.

Every customer interaction in the telecom industry provides an opportunity for telecom companies to meet and exceed customer expectations. From customer engagement to customer support, telecoms providers that invest in serving customers are likely to improve profitability.

One issue might be that not enough telecoms companies are proactively planning for the future. An IBM Institute for Business Value study analyzing 2030 plans found that only 26% of telecom organizations are embracing new technologies to energize growth.”

Telecommunications industry executives are expecting seismic shifts in the world by 2030, yet many CSPs might not reflect these new realities in their strategic planning.  IBM Institute for Business Value research suggests that many CSPs expect to focus on adapting capabilities for future needs rather than proactively pursuing growth. This approach might leave them vulnerable to competitive risks and blind to new services opportunities.

It is especially important to account for situations where customers need assistance specifically because they are having connectivity issues. Exceptional customer experience is a great way to keep customers satisfied and minimize churn.

Customers want their relationship with companies in the telecom industry to be simple and fulfilling. Improving customer experience can be a differentiator that can help improve customer satisfaction, minimize the customer churn rate and improve customer loyalty.

Customer experience optimizations can help several important business metrics like customer lifetime value (CLV) and monthly recurring revenue.

Companies in the telecommunications industry have several tools at their disposal to provide a better customer experience.

Organizations should aim to never surprise customers, unless it is with something good. Many customers have previously experienced sticker shock with overages or other data costs. Modern telcos should avoid repeating those mistakes.

For example, providers can inform customers when they are close to their data limits and provide cost-effective ways to upgrade their plans instead of incurring more costly data overages. They should also inform customers when they are traveling abroad and subject to roaming fees.²

Telecoms providers can immediately improve the user experience by offering consumers a mobile app that can streamline access to relevant information and provide a simple way to get in touch with a customer representative. Meeting customer needs requires allowing them to communicate their pain points simply.

Mobile apps also provide self-service options like chatbot functions for customers to get the answers they need across the end-to-end omnichannel customer journey.

5G (fifth-generation mobile technology) uses radio waves for data transmission but provides faster download and upload speeds than previous technologies. Offering customers superior connectivity is a great way to meet customer expectations and avoid unnecessary complaints. The Internet of Things (IOT) connects individual electronics to each other to reduce friction in completing tasks. For example, consumers can use smartphones to control their heater or air conditioner or turn off lights, even if they are far away from home. Telecoms that invest in this marketplace not only stand to make more money, but also provide much-needed services to their existing customers, boosting customer satisfaction.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation both help telecom operators more efficiently and effectively deliver solutions to their customers. According to Microsoft, 62% of telecommunications providers³ enhance customer experience through generative AI, with an expectation that this figure will rise to 90% in 2027.

AI can help telecommunications providers achieve greater efficiency while freeing up employees to spend more time working on deeper strategy.

For example, WINDTRE, a data-driven telecommunications company from Italy worked with IBM to develop an “Intelligent Automation” to better handle customer complaints and to reduce the repetitive tasks customer support employees needed to do. The company now uses automation and AI to handle over 10,000 reports per month.

Automation and AI can power self-service options for customers to get answers at any time of the day, provide customer care professionals with quicker answers so they can solve more customer problems, and identify potential gaps in service delivery.

An IBM Institute for Business Value study found that while 97% of telecom executive respondents were assessing or deploying generative AI for customer service, only 3% of them were optimizing. Many still have work ahead of them to truly take advantage of generative AI.

Telecoms providers have access to plenty of valuable customer data. Leaning into metrics and data analytics helps companies make smarter decisions about how to handle their customers’ issues and how to provide better service now and in the future.

For example, telecom providers can use machine learning to improve their data analytics through several key areas of focus. They can use it to study usage patterns to identify the best areas to put their 5G towers.

They can also use it to collect and analyze data to better understand customer behaviors. They can use it to detect bill anomalies, such as potential fraud. They can also use machine learning to identify customers who might be at risk of churning because they are not using their account enough.

Predictive intelligence can help organizations in several ways. One, they can better service patterns so they can avoid preventable outages. Two, they can anticipate when customers are likely to be unhappy and call, by using what are called propensity models. This can help them reach out to customers before they receive an inbound call.

Telecom providers can improve customer experience and gain customer trust by providing real-time updates on service issues, including disruptions through multiple touchpoints, such as email, social media and their websites. The telecom provider should also clearly provide instructions for how customers can get service restored quicker or provide them with alternative options.

Telecommunications providers manage sensitive customer information, such as banking records and call histories. They should invest in advanced cybersecurity and thoughtful policies to protect that information from would-be attackers. Having customer data stolen or hacked can lead to fines and damages to an organization’s reputation. Like other industries, the telecommunications industry is engaged in an AI arms race between malicious actors and cybersecurity teams. AI, specifically, can increase the speed in which IT professionals can configure and manage networks and detect and resolve attacks.⁴

Organizations can use that customer data to provide customized plans and make device recommendations⁵, for example. Personalized customer experiences can improve customer satisfaction scores by 20% to 40%. Data-driven, customer experienced-focused organizations can create different segments and make specific offers that are relevant to those audiences. For example, they can target people who are moving out of their homes and offer free transfer of services. Organizations should also roll these experiences out to customers in an omnichannel environment, so customers can get their experiences and information on whichever medium they prefer.

Customers don’t want to go through multiple steps to pay a bill or learn about their accounts. Organizations that provide several options, such as automated or one-click billing.

Simplified, automated notifications and billing also enables telecoms providers to offer upsell and cross-sell opportunities. For example, a telecom provider can send account upgrades to subscribers that constantly go over their data usage limits.

One way to improve customer experience and improve customer retention is to not only listen to customers but use that feedback to improve their service. Dubber, a company that is part of the IBM partner ecosystem, captures 40 million minutes of conversations each month. Using Watson AI, Dubber translates phone calls and video conferences into text, creating opportunities to mine the data for actionable insights.

The modern business environment provides several ways for individual companies to partner with others in building an ecosystem that benefits telco customers. The telecoms industry is embracing the blockchain to potentially facilitate high-volume transactions that happen on mobile devices. McKinsey cites an example where a telecoms company that knows an individual spends much time on fitness mobile apps can create a digital-only promotion for a discounted fitness subscription⁶.

The entire telecommunications industry is subject to potential churn if companies don’t treat their customers right. They need to provide exemplary network service and offer the latest technologies, but they also need to listen to their customers' needs. They can provide exemplary customer service by proactively communicating, listening to criticisms and complaints and providing simple-to-use tools to manage their accounts.

Telecoms providers can expect societal changes in the next few years brought about by technology and how customers interact with companies. Only 25% of telecoms providers are pushing “technology modernization as a primary path to growth,” according to the IBM Institute for Business Value.

Embracing technology and prioritizing customer experience is a telecoms provider’s best defense against the competition and those societal changes to thrive in an uncertain future.