Mastering Monetization
For consumers and businesses alike, there is no longer fixed or wireless, voice, data or video – only devices and applications. Customers expect the applications they want to work on any device at any time. Network connectivity is now as ubiquitous as electricity and transportation. The challenge, then, for operators as they continue to invest in technology is how to become more than a large, face-less regulated utility.
To escape that trap, operators are adopting powerful tools and strategies that alter business attitudes and operational processes to embrace a retail identity and customer-driven mindset. While the need for operators to invest in both network and IT infrastructure has not diminished, 5G and subsequent network evolutions are enabling these alternative strategies. Operators are now in a position to differentiate themselves by offering high quality, reliable and secure services that focus on the customer experience.
For 70% of operators, developing new revenue models is a priority. For nearly 80%, content and B2B2x partnerships are being prioritized and yet all the ads we see and read are about 5G bandwidth and capacity – speeds and feeds. While that certainly contributes to the customer experience, there’s much more to consider.
Create Lasting Customer Experiences
Improving and optimizing customer experience ranks at the top of every operator’s business goals. Recent global health events pushed customers and businesses to use digital channels for living and working, which makes understanding and upgrading the customer experience even more critical. Tele-health, entertainment streaming and remote work are here to stay and delivering a superior customer experience requires more than network performance, reliability and security.
5G enables operators to offer a wide variety of new services and business models that were difficult, if not impossible, to deliver just a few years ago. Operators now have the infrastructure to become the go-to provider for a wide variety of services. But it takes more than a new network. Operators need to explore and expand ecosystems that link customers to cloud, application and services partners. Customers expect performance, reliability and security but they are willing to pay extra for convenience, simplicity and personalized experiences.
There is value in offering customized services, especially to business customers and, if done efficiently by engaging cloud and partner resources, more revenue can be realized by including value-added features, so customers have inclusive services that they don’t have to purchase separately.
For example, some landlords include services like electricity, water and trash collection in the rent charged to tenants. But what if there was a way for tenants to also select customized services like laundry, cleaning or dog walking that are then bundled into the monthly charge or available on-demand? Tenants are willing to pay extra for convenience and more likely to stay once they have experienced it.
Operators have the ability to become providers of any type of desired digital service. Given their existing customer relationships and mountains of customer data, they have what they need to understand their customers and improve the experience. Now, it’s time to listen.
Operators Can’t Do It Alone
Operators can become the trusted source for any type of connected service a customer might want. To do that, however, operators have to restructure operations and establish or engage with partner platforms that accomplish rapid evaluation, certification, on-boarding, off-boarding and settlements.
Customers, especially business customers, want a genuine service provider that removes the complexity, bundles the necessary elements into a service and bills accordingly. Operators fit this role perfectly because of their access to customers and commitments to reliability and security.
Operators cannot own every conceivable service or content asset. Instead, operators need to put themselves in a position to rapidly access a wide variety of partners that will come and go based on demand, economics, geography or other customer demographics. Beyond technology partners, operators need to work with digital services partners, content providers and even other operators.
Marrying partner products to network services and rapidly delivering those to customers will find increased market penetration and monetization. Quality, selection and personalized service will become the foundation for differentiation and revenue generation. Operators must take a century of experience, harvest the important lessons, and use that hard-won knowledge to establish new business and operating strategies. The alternative is the utility model and while that might work for some, many are embracing new business and operational models that focus on the customer and their individual experiences.
Join us for our upcoming Real Talk – Mastering monetization session on 26th of October to see how you can unlock business growth with #NoBoundaries. Hear from Duncan Wardle, former Head of Innovation and Creativity at Disney, Robbie Kellman Baxter, author of The Membership Economy, and other experts discuss how CSPs should re-evaluate their monetization approach to focus first on the customer experience.
Register today.