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Telecoms:
The terrorist attacks in the US in 2001 had a profound impact on the telecommunications market and the companies in this sector. One of the least expected results to emerge from the attacks was the rush to bring new technology to the market.
From the planned next generation mobile phones to video conferencing devices, manufacturers and service providers rapidly prepared themselves to ride the wave of the publicity about mobile phone use during and after the attacks and the subsequent short-term decline in the public's appetite for air travel.
Reigniting demand
In an instant, on that day in 2001, mobile phones went from a 'yuppie status symbol' in the US to must-have emergency equipment. Sales are growing. After the attacks came the realisation that the internet and the telecommunications that support the information superhighway provide businesses with an invaluable data-management safety net. Companies now want to have an alternative back up to potential future disasters.
All of this has reignited demand in the sector, which is characterised by companies which have historically enjoyed monopolies or are relatively new entrants. All are grappling with the challenge of increasing service and retaining and growing their customer base.
Customer problems
Customers, however, have their own frustrations from their day-to-day relationships with telecoms. They have:
- complaints about the billing process - rates, invoicing, collecting. They feel powerless in these complaints
- complaints about the installation and repair processes: low quality work, work not performed on time as promised
- complaints related to the quality of service: that it is not matching the promised standards, and that there is a lack of explicit promises regarding service standards
- experiences of poor post-sale service: account executives typically limit themselves to offering new equipment and/or services instead of advice on how to best take advantage of existing installations.
For telecoms, however, their focus tends to be on maximising the return on investment through creating technological and operational efficiencies such as:
- improvements in the network's efficiency and optimisation
- improvements in the processes efficiency
- reducing costs
- improving the average revenue per user
- maximising customer retention
- maximising the efficiency of the billing system.
The way forward
Telecoms' concern for their customers' concerns traditionally has been secondary to such operational and technological efficiencies. The benefits of improved quality of service for their customers comes from the improved efficiency in their internal processes, their capacity to anticipate the increased demand on the services and their readiness to respond to such demand.
VISION believes that telecoms' quest for return on investment, and the need to respond to customer concerns, are not mutually exclusively. VISION helps telecoms through processes and technology focused on customers and delivered to produce measurable results fast. VISION helps these organisations move from telecommunication companies to business enablers and business solution providers.
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