-
About 55% of telcos have invested in data-driven marketing operations
-
About 40% of telcos expect spend for improved customer experience to increase considerably within the next 18 months
-
About 11% of telcos marketing budgets will go to investment in analytics tools
-
Customer retention, churn and campaign management are the most popular use cases
Mahindra Comviva, the global leader in providing mobility solutions and Ovum, today released a research 
study on Trends and Future Plans for Telcos’ Data-Driven Marketing Operations. The study investigates the investment trends, current and future use cases and challenges associated with the use of analytics in driving data-driven marketing operations. Ovum, in association with Mahindra Comviva conducted a survey with 110 telco executives (including CMOs, CIOs, CSOs and heads of departments) across Latin America, Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, North America and Western Europe.
The research study reveals that about 55% of telcos across all regions have invested in data-driven marketing operations with an objective to improve customer engagement. Over 80% of telcos face data integration as a core challenge, owing to the intensive and expensive process of collating data from multiple sources. The study predicts that over the next 12 to 18 months, telcos in Africa and Middle East plan to invest about 4 to 15% of opex spend to marketing operations while telcos in Latin America will drive investment in analytics. On average, 11% of the marketing budgets are allocated to advanced analytics tools such as data mining and predictive analytics.
Commenting on the latest trends in customer engagement, loyalty and campaign management, Amit Sanyal, Head for the Consumer Value Solutions, Mahindra Comviva said, “Across the world, contextual marketing solutions are gaining importance. It is therefore imperative for telcos to deploy analytics tools that enable the delivery of an improved and personalized experience to create custom delight. Mahindra Comviva provides a portfolio of digital marketing solutions that help the marketer manage end-to-end consumer lifecycle. The study reiterates our belief that adoption of analytics for data driven marketing operations is the name of the game. And this can be thrived through investment in data management and integration tools. The very fact that about 55% of telcos across regions are investing in analytics is a testimony to this.”
Vikram Shanbhag, Senior Vice President, Americas and Global Channels, Mahindra Comviva said, “The real challenge lies in integrating customer data across multiple data sources. As an industry expert, we understand the need to address this gap. Our Customer Value Management offerings will support operators in achieving customer retention and improved customer service goals, promoting spend on network, offering services that deliver timely and relevant promotions. Furthermore, intelligent context-aware application of optimization techniques would enable operators to balance twin pressures of network and revenue growth.”
Commenting on this study, Adaora Okeleke, Analyst, Telecoms Operations and IT at Ovum Research commented, “Competitive pressure means that immediate insights and activity are a pre-requisite for effective customer engagements, from both a churn and data monetization perspective. 60% of telcos (in our survey) identify these as the top drivers for their investment in data analytics tools to support data driven marketing operations. However 80% face significant data integration issues to gain the comprehensive view of customer activities they need, in order to respond with a personalized, real-time offers.”
“Telcos are adopting data analytics tools but aren’t using them well. 55% of telcos interviewed during this survey have invested in these tools, however most applications are point solutions analysing data in silos. As a result, 33% of those that have invested are confident in their use of analytics. Given current pressures and the need to remain profitable, telcos must reassess this practice. They need data integration tools and centralized data stores, to enable the consolidation and access to data from multiple sources. Analytics tools can then generate insights that give the telco a competitive edge, an overall view of customers, and drive better business decisions,” further added Adaora Okeleke.
The study shows that operators are trialing new tariff plans and bringing in innovative new pricing models to differentiate their offerings, attract new users, increase loyalty and retention. It is observed that customer churn remains a challenge that telcos must resolve to remain profitable. Telcos from Africa, Asia and Western Europe have deployed customer engagement, data monetization, and churn reduction as use cases.
Another interesting insight, the factors leading to churn for telcos in the emerging markets of Africa and Asia are based on pricing and the services provided. For telcos in the mature markets of North America and Western Europe, the factors influencing churn are based on the overall quality of service delivered to customers.
The study indicates that almost 60% of telcos deployed customer loyalty and retention management as the use cases. About 80% of telcos with well-developed analytics strategies have deployed churn and campaign management use cases of real-time and next-best offers, and identifying specific use cases and integrating the results from analytics into existing marketing processes. is the clear route to success.
