Data Management: The key to a better customer experience for Telecommunications providers

In this exceptionally competitive telecommunications industry, customer service and experience are crucial factors in gaining a competitive edge and delivering results. In fact, these initiatives should be top-of-mind for every forward-looking telecom company. Whether that means implementing an omnichannel strategy or becoming a top down driven customer-centric culture, your organization’s goal should be to improve your relationship with your most important resources, your customers.

The competition is fierce and rapidly expanding. If you want to be a leader, now is the time to strike. Knowing the key areas to focus on for the biggest impact is critical for the telecommunications industry.

Having spent the first half of my career in the telecommunications field and working inside various carriers I can tell you a little secret: Data quality, volumes of data, access to data, and managing data are huge challenges for communications organizations. Having worked for a data quality company for over 5 years now, I can share best practices for tackling these challenges and enable you to streamline your operations and improve your customer’s experience.

Many organizations are implementing a data strategy or data management platform to maintain control over this imperative information and to monitor their data integrity over time. This business intelligence is the key to improving your customer’s experience—and every company will find their own balance.

There are four key areas of focus that will transform you from an account-based management company to a customer-centric organization, providing an enhanced customer experience.

1. Know your customer.

You have a diverse client base and they need different support. You must understand their preferences and be prepared to support them on their terms. If not, they will find a service provider who will. This is expected in today’s ultra-competitive market and it requires you to provide options for your clients, call centers, bot chat, online portals, mobile app, etc. Your client will feel comfort knowing you have considered their needs.

2. Implement an omni-channel engagement strategy that is consistent and familiar.

The client experience should have the same look and feel regardless of the chosen engagement channel. You should provide frictionless tools that gather full, complete, valid, and accurate data on your customers.

3. Utilize big data and analytics.

The power of this information is only as good as the data you put into it. If you have gaps in your data or inaccuracies, all subsequent analytics will be negatively impacted. If curated correctly, this data can serve as a foundation for future business decisions. Truly effective analytics will enable you to run more effective campaigns and promotions, service your clients faster, and identify cross-sell and up-sale opportunities, building loyalty and retaining your clients longer.

4. Personalize each engagement.

Industry disrupters have changed the game for all. Customers now expect the same individualized experience from their Telcom provider as they do from Amazon and Uber. They expect you to know them and how they want to be communicated with. Accurate contact data will enable you to enrich your client profiles with crucial insight to fuel an improved customer experience.

How to become data-driven

High-quality data is key to navigating this competitive landscape and putting your customers first. Let’s talk about what you need to consider when building a data-driven foundation:

1. What data do you need to improve your customer experience?

This starts with customer contact data. Down the road, you can append additional consumer attributes to get a deeper understanding of who your customers are and what they need.

2. How do you want to capture accurate contact data?

There are various ways to capture contact information. One option is capturing and verifying data in real-time. For example, implementing data validation software directly into online forms so, once data enters your database, it’s accurate. Another option is to perform regular bureau cleanses. For example, you can send your data files to data quality experts who will clean up your records. Whether it’s real-time or regular bureau cleanses, this will enable you to always have a foundation of high-quality data.

Experian is here to help you with information management solutions and would welcome a more in-depth discuss on your data-driven projects. Power your business with trustworthy data insight.

3. How to empower your organization to use this information?

This is crucial to a data-driven organization. When a wider range of roles, including business users, have access to data, it’s important to enable their data usage and knowledge with user-friendly technology and a data literacy program.

Experian is here to help you with information management solutions and would welcome a more in-depth discuss on your data-driven projects.