Telecom Business Review

In times of emergency and uncertainty, clients expect self-service, omnichannel and instant communication more than ever.

With the extension of coronavirus across the globe, consumer requirements vary for all industries, and the telecom industry is barred none.

In times of emergency and uncertainty, clients expect self-service, omnichannel and instant communication more than ever. They also long for fast, seamless data connections and immediate resolutions to network issues.

Telcos are realigning their business strategies to satisfy consumer demands and stay on top of the situation. As a result, many had to quickly embark on journeys to become digital service providers. This implies several challenges in architecture, operations, networks and customer service.

Here is the kind of disputes companies in the telecom industry face.

1. The Requirement for Quick and Personalized Customer Service

Most telecom service providers obtain millions of customer requests daily, now more than ever. Still, with the ever-growing number of requests, the inability to go to physical stores, and numerous employees working from home, delivering fast and empathetic support becomes a problem.

During this crisis period, immediacy, personalization, and omnichannel communication are more significant than ever. Unfortunately, ignoring these needs can lead to long waiting times, annoying to-and-fro conversations with multiple executives to resolve the issue, and unsatisfactory automated responses.

All of these can ruin a customer's relationship with your company. And an agitated customer is not something you would want. But on the other hand, being empathetic and providing instant solutions is essential to maintaining a long-term relationship with your customers.

2. Complex Operational Processes

With millions of subscribers and various products and customized solutions, operational tasks have become increasingly complex since face-to-face assistance is not an option. Consequently, even simple tasks such as service configuration, invoicing, order completion, and payments are now difficult.

Complex operations need more resources and tools, raising telecom companies' financial overhead.

Furthermore, consumers want everything to be super quick. They aren't ready to endure any delays in the operational processes, especially not while facing a pandemic and global quarantine. So it's time to be more resolutive as ever.

3. Remote Working

With Covid-19 rapidly spreading worldwide, keeping hundreds of employees inside a contact center is dangerous to their health and, in some nations, even illegal. Quarantines are being imposed, and most companies are migrating to remote working.

The telco industry heavily depends on huge contact centers to assist its customers. In this context, it is a huge question to continue operating and offering support even with agents working from home. This is even more challenging if your team depends on complex and on-premise technology.

The only solution is to depend on user-friendly technology that can be controlled from the cloud. And if they don't previously have it, they require this technology to be easy to implement and launch as soon as possible.

4. Network Security

With the egress of new technologies, guaranteeing network security has become another major dispute for telecom operators. New technologies introduce new threats to the security of networks and applications. This is especially true with remote teams and customers asking for assistance from home.

It requires several operational and technical upgrades to meet customer expectations of system security. For telcos, it is necessary to implement measures such as reliable and secure authentication features.

5. Leverage over-the-top players

The smartphone revolution and the enormous growth of messaging apps have directed to the birth of several over-the-top (OTT) players such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. These apps have redefined customer experiences in messaging and voice and video calling services.

Nevertheless, the increase in the popularity of messaging apps is luring traffic away from what most telecommunication companies have to offer. For years, they have been hurting telecom players' call and messaging (SMS) revenues. They compelled telcos to terminate roaming charges.

Despite this a major struggle for telcos until last month, the main challenge is implementing the industry's best habits as fast as possible to continue delivering customer service. And comprising channels such as Facebook and WhatsApp in the customer service strategy is no longer a debate but a priority.