Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but we maintain some editorial control to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: [email protected].
Redefining the status quo
Most communication service providers use data the same way they’ve been using it for years – to drive business processes; enhance network efficiencies; and identify solutions for challenges such as revenue assurance, least cost routing and fraud detection.
Extracting answers from this data involves buying and operating software applications designed to gather specific information from operations and business support systems. That information then produces a report that details performance gaps and tracks progress within the business.
If this sounds familiar, then it’s likely you’ve invested in a solution that cleans up and organizes your data to make it more useful to your business. In the long view, investments in these platforms are justified as cost prevention; if you don’t have and use them, inefficiencies will ultimately take away from the bottom line.
These efforts work best in times of stability; when the technologies used and the services rendered are stable and fairly regular. The communications services industry has long been in transition. We’ve seen the entire industry evolve from old-fashioned landlines to smart, mobile devices capable of consuming vast amounts of content anytime, anywhere in a world full of competition, choice, and consumer empowerment. With such a drastic market transition it’s now time to transition away from the data status quo.
Information as an asset
Gartner’s Doug Laney is a thought leader in “infonomics,” a way to view information as an asset. Laney’s Infonomics framework perceives and treats information differently, as it evolves from cost management to asset management. When you consider information, you might ask:
–Where do we get our information?
–What are we doing to add value to it?
–How is our information providing business benefit?
We’re getting the base information out of the same systems used to manage the network and services it supports, but this isn’t a simple task. Most networks contain a variety of technologies supporting voice, data and content delivery. Adding to the complexity of the network, are the applications driving content consumption and bandwidth usage. We’re acquiring trillions of bits of information about service and equipment identifiers, usage and consumption, contracts and plans, billing history and device capabilities.
The first way to add value to this information is to correlate and condense it. That means linking the information from multiple systems into information asset summaries that reflect a chronological view of each customer’s behavior. This view of the customer behavior helps businesses internally assess who the key customers are, where underserved customers are and what customers provide very little opportunity for growth.
Linking behavior to consumer demographic information, buying behaviors, media consumption habits and “firmagraphics” (for business customers) reveals richer patterns that allow for refinement and location of segments or groups that are like your best customers.
Deriving the business value
The customer behavior information asset continues to be useful as it was in the status quo, but with new attributes and organizational constructs in place, it can help drive revenue growth and customer loyalty. If you know your best customers, and where to find similar customers, you create countless opportunities to solidify new revenue streams and make better business decisions.
Use this information asset to guide strategic market plans based on predictive segmentation. Adapt your creative development to message the right customer through the right media. Decide which products to offer based on facts, and focus effort on locations identified as the highest performing marketing activities optimizing marketing returns.
Internal customer data is an information asset that will ultimately drive business efficiency, customer loyalty and revenue growth. Leverage trusted high quality third party data to expose your best marketing efforts, and tailor your messaging and media choices. Ultimately consider packaging information asset capabilities for other businesses – a move that can grow revenues beyond your existing and future subscriber base. Businesses that do not see this opportunity will fall behind their competitors.
