LeveragingData into Actionable Insightsfor Telcos

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYData in its various forms now forms the underlying bond between telecommunication providers, partners and end users. And those who have access to this data also have access to the opportunity to leverage this raw information into valuable insights and positive customer action.

The key to success lies in the ability of telco providers to identify what consumers seek and mold their offerings into captivating products. And with data, this can be easily achieved through intensive sifting and mining of data. Personalized customer products are the need of the hour and data is the underlying enabler to this revolution.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS LIES IN THE ABILITY OF TELCO PROVIDERS TO IDENTIFY WHAT CONSUMERS SEEK AND MOLD THEIR OFFERINGS INTO CAPTIVATING PRODUCTS.

But how can telco providers decide which types of data are relevant to their needs? With data sources and types so fragmented and unstructured how can we justify the customer segments and the various insights that are derived from them as viable to base customer strategy?

THE RATIONALE BEHIND USING DATAFor telcos data is now easily available like never before. Access to market and customer level analytics is greatly simplified and can be acquired from multiple sources. However, the way how this wealth of data is used is still a point of contention among the industry. While decision makers and key influencers all agree on the ubiquity and the indispensability of data to their marketing and customer outreach strategy, it is a minority of organizations that have actually taken the plunge into integrating data. Reasons for such apprehensiveness cover anything from lack of trained resources to difficulty in integration at a systems level. Yet data remains the most viable of tools to base customer strategy on; chiefly due to its availability and malleability (from a strategy perspective). Success is underpinned by the ability to transform a deluge of data into actionable insights and the intense market dynamics make it unforgiving for those who don’t.

WHILE DECISION MAKERS AND KEY INFLUENCERS ALL AGREE ON THE UBIQUITY AND THE INDISPENSABILITY OF DATA TO THEIR MARKETING AND CUSTOMER OUTREACH STRATEGY, IT IS A MINORITY OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY TAKEN THE PLUNGE INTO INTEGRATING DATA.

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THE EVOLUTION OF DATA IN THE TELECOM INDUSTRYThe evolution of data is synonymous with the evolution of the telecom industry itself. Data acquisition finds its roots in the days of wired communications when telecom providers had exercised exclusive rights to their customers’ information which were acquired through subscriptions. The advent of wireless communications opened up the ecosystem marginally with mobile behavior and customer wants and needs came into the picture. But the evolution reached new heights through the mass influx of smartphones and internet enabled devices. Telco providers found themselves in the company of new partners, burgeoning customer demographics and an overall richer quality of data that promised insights like never before.

The current state of affairs however sees this data as being severely underutilized. The data being used by telcos today is just the tip of the iceberg and the bulk of customer data (device and services related) remain woefully neglected.

THE DATA BEING USED BY TELCOS TODAY IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG AND THE BULK OF CUSTOMER DATA (DEVICE AND SERVICES RELATED) REMAIN WOEFULLY NEGLECTED.

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We use 10% of our total Brain

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SO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?Consolidating and harnessing this vast trove of ‘owned’ data is the need of the hour. Telcos can use this internal data and create relevant customer segments and profiles. The next step however, requires looking beyond self-generated data and at complementary data sources. Tapping into such multiple data sources can grant access to a wealth of market and customer information and can help fine tune customer segments. Such data that telcos need to gather are described below.

CONSOLIDATING AND HARNESSING THIS VAST TROVE OF ‘OWNED’ DATA IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR.

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● FIRST PARTY DATA

This is data that is directly generated as a result of interaction with customers,

● Existing voice and data plans

● Apps downloaded

● SMS usage patterns

● Support and Contact Center history

● Payment Track record

● Customer Location

● Site and Community behavior

This first party data is primarily internal but can be distributed across various systems and forms within the telcos internal environment. The challenge here would be to collate and consolidate such potentially fragmented data into a usable form.

● SECOND PARTY DATA

Telcos no longer operate in an isolated environment. They work in cooperation with various partners such as retailers, device manufacturers and channel partners to name a few. Data from such partners forms ‘Second Party Data’. Simply put, this is defined as data that can be obtained from such partners and offer a more expanded insight into customers that are mutual to both entities. Examples of such data include

● Customers’ device preferences

● Point of Sale information

● Offer uptake

In some ways Second Party Data can also be considered as partners’ First Party Data. Hence telcos should foresee challenges in not just data acquisition and storage but also internal integration with their own tools and processes.

● THIRD PARTY DATA

Third Party Data is that which is publically available or that which can be purchased from organizations that sell consumer and market data. Examples are

● Demographics Data

● Market and Market Share Data

● Consumer Purchase Power Information

Such data sets tend to extend into millions of records. Hence such data can contain a wealth of information and simultaneously offer huge challenges in the form of manipulation and insights extraction.

Consolidating and harnessing this vast trove of ‘owned’ data is the need of the hour. Telcos can use this internal data and create relevant customer segments and profiles. The next step however, requires looking beyond self-generated data and at complementary data sources. Tapping into such multiple data sources can grant access to a wealth of market and customer information and can help fine tune customer segments. Such data that telcos need to gather are described below.

● FIRST PARTY DATA

This is data that is directly generated as a result of interaction with customers,

● Existing voice and data plans

● Apps downloaded

● SMS usage patterns

● Support and Contact Center history

● Payment Track record

● Customer Location

● Site and Community behavior

This first party data is primarily internal but can be distributed across various systems and forms within the telcos internal environment. The challenge here would be to collate and consolidate such potentially fragmented data into a usable form.

● SECOND PARTY DATA

Telcos no longer operate in an isolated environment. They work in cooperation with various partners such as retailers, device manufacturers and channel partners to name a few. Data from such partners forms ‘Second Party Data’. Simply put, this is defined as data that can be obtained from such partners and offer a more expanded insight into customers that are mutual to both entities. Examples of such data include

● Customers’ device preferences

● Point of Sale information

● Offer uptake

In some ways Second Party Data can also be considered as partners’ First Party Data. Hence telcos should foresee challenges in not just data acquisition and storage but also internal integration with their own tools and processes.

● THIRD PARTY DATA

Third Party Data is that which is publically available or that which can be purchased from organizations that sell consumer and market data. Examples are

● Demographics Data

● Market and Market Share Data

● Consumer Purchase Power Information

Such data sets tend to extend into millions of records. Hence such data can contain a wealth of information and simultaneously offer huge challenges in the form of manipulation and insights extraction.

Consolidating and harnessing this vast trove of ‘owned’ data is the need of the hour. Telcos can use this internal data and create relevant customer segments and profiles. The next step however, requires looking beyond self-generated data and at complementary data sources. Tapping into such multiple data sources can grant access to a wealth of market and customer information and can help fine tune customer segments. Such data that telcos need to gather are described below.

● FIRST PARTY DATA

This is data that is directly generated as a result of interaction with customers,

● Existing voice and data plans

● Apps downloaded

● SMS usage patterns

● Support and Contact Center history

● Payment Track record

● Customer Location

● Site and Community behavior

This first party data is primarily internal but can be distributed across various systems and forms within the telcos internal environment. The challenge here would be to collate and consolidate such potentially fragmented data into a usable form.

● SECOND PARTY DATA

Telcos no longer operate in an isolated environment. They work in cooperation with various partners such as retailers, device manufacturers and channel partners to name a few. Data from such partners forms ‘Second Party Data’. Simply put, this is defined as data that can be obtained from such partners and offer a more expanded insight into customers that are mutual to both entities. Examples of such data include

● Customers’ device preferences

● Point of Sale information

● Offer uptake

In some ways Second Party Data can also be considered as partners’ First Party Data. Hence telcos should foresee challenges in not just data acquisition and storage but also internal integration with their own tools and processes.

● THIRD PARTY DATA

Third Party Data is that which is publically available or that which can be purchased from organizations that sell consumer and market data. Examples are

● Demographics Data

● Market and Market Share Data

● Consumer Purchase Power Information

Such data sets tend to extend into millions of records. Hence such data can contain a wealth of information and simultaneously offer huge challenges in the form of manipulation and insights extraction.

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FROM DATA TO ACTIONABLE INSIGHTFrom data the challenge now extends to extracting relevant information and transforming it into actionable intelligence that can help telcos standout in the competitive marketplace. Described below is a sequence of activities that drive the same.

● DATA CONSOLIDATION

At this stage emphasis needs to be on collating the various first, second and third party data sources and inventorizing them for segmentation purposes. Telcos must ensure that this step is completed in an efficient manner as sourcing and integrating the multi-source, multi-format data can be a challenge.

...EXTRACTING RELEVANT INFORMATION AND TRANSFORMING IT INTO ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE CAN HELP TELCOS STANDOUT IN THE COMPETITIVE MARKETPLACE.

Consolidating and harnessing this vast trove of ‘owned’ data is the need of the hour. Telcos can use this internal data and create relevant customer segments and profiles. The next step however, requires looking beyond self-generated data and at complementary data sources. Tapping into such multiple data sources can grant access to a wealth of market and customer information and can help fine tune customer segments. Such data that telcos need to gather are described below.

● DATA MODELS

The next stage involves the development of customer data models by using environmental, online behavior, offline, temporal, and referrer variables on first party data.

● FIRST PARTY DATA

This is data that is directly generated as a result of interaction with customers,

● Existing voice and data plans

● Apps downloaded

● SMS usage patterns

● Support and Contact Center history

● Payment Track record

● Customer Location

● Site and Community behavior

This first party data is primarily internal but can be distributed across various systems and forms within the telcos internal environment. The challenge here would be to collate and consolidate such potentially fragmented data into a usable form.

● SECOND PARTY DATA

Telcos no longer operate in an isolated environment. They work in cooperation with various partners such as retailers, device manufacturers and channel partners to name a few. Data from such partners forms ‘Second Party Data’. Simply put, this is defined as data that can be obtained from such partners and offer a more expanded insight into customers that are mutual to both entities. Examples of such data include

● Customers’ device preferences

● Point of Sale information

● Offer uptake

In some ways Second Party Data can also be considered as partners’ First Party Data. Hence telcos should foresee challenges in not just data acquisition and storage but also internal integration with their own tools and processes.

● THIRD PARTY DATA

Third Party Data is that which is publically available or that which can be purchased from organizations that sell consumer and market data. Examples are

● Demographics Data

● Market and Market Share Data

● Consumer Purchase Power Information

Such data sets tend to extend into millions of records. Hence such data can contain a wealth of information and simultaneously offer huge challenges in the form of manipulation and insights extraction.

● SEGMENTS

With data models constructed, the next stage would be the development of customer segments and profiles based on the proprietary first-party data.

● FINE TUNING

With rudimentary segments constructed, the segments need to be fine-tuned by overlaying second and third-party data. Doing so helps to identify additional demographic, techno-graphic and life-event triggers that expand the understanding of customers beyond proprietary data sets.

● INSIGHTS

A key consequence of customer clarity is the insights. Learnings from the prepped data set give rise to actionable recommendations that can help optimize customer contact programs.

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BENEFITS:The structured and data driven approach to customer contact provides multiple benefits a few of which are elaborated below.

● The level of granularity in segmentation activity is increased significantly. This allows telco providers to create tailored and innovate products and services that can better resonate with their customers

● Data driven segmentation also enables a greater degree of transparency on pricing. Telco providers can offer differentiated pricing based on specific segment attributes and maximize customer value

● Data helps in optimization of the overall customer journey. At-risk customers and root causes of customer churn can be identified with a high degree of accuracy and can mitigate attrition and dissonance levels significantly.

TELCO PROVIDERS CAN OFFER DIFFERENTIATED PRICING BASED ON SPECIFIC SEGMENT ATTRIBUTES AND MAXIMIZE CUSTOMER VALUE

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CONCLUDING THOUGHTSFor telcos, data must extend beyond being just a buzzword and must exist as a part of their overall strategy. The benefits of data in customer strategy are well documented but the motivation must come from within companies to consider data as a worthy ally in the quest to establish themselves at the forefront of the customers’ decisions.

ABOUT XERAGO08.................................................

Xerago is a new age marketing solutions company with a footprint across Asia Pacific, now making its foray into USA. Clients include Citi, DBS, HDFC Bank, SM Retail, Celcom, Starhub, Intel, BharatMatrimony, and a number of other market-leading and start-up brands.

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