According to the Nelson Company report, Q3 2016, the top smartphone apps were Facebook, Facebook messenger, YouTube, Google Maps. Interesting thing to notice is, all the applications are provided by OTT players.Over-the-top (OTT) players, which offer apps and streaming content directly to consumers through the Internet, have gained dominance over even the core entities of messaging and voice services. This not only contributes to the information overload but offers stiff competition.
WhatsApp, Viber, and Apple’s iMessage already represent more than 80% of all messaging traffic, and Skype alone accounts for more than a third of all international voice traffic minutes. Consequently, significant decreases are being witnessed across the telecom sector in basic communication service revenues. These declines have proven to be as steep as 30% in SMS messaging, 20% in international voice, and 15% in roaming.
As of October 2017, GSMA shows more than 5 billion unique mobile subscribers globally, which indicates a 4.76% YoY growth. Telecom network operators across the globe are a part of this noisy market with plenty of competition.
This is where you can utilise the concept of precision marketing that embraces various processes to employ a holistic yet specific marketing approach to users. Research by Bain & Company showed, it takes 5 times more effort and resources to obtain a new client rather than retain one. This is practically an age-old adage in marketing and it’s entirely true.
How does it work? Data sits at the heart of precision marketing. You mine data related to the most differential details. This is used in conjunction with micro-segmentation to define a customer base. One segment could comprise of details like urban-based girls between the ages of 12 and 18 with access to sizeable capital (between Rs. 3000 and Rs. 10,000) with 3G-enabled phones. You could consequently gather data on their internet usage and offer them tailored packages based on their individual requirements in place of a vague text message that is sent to all consumers. For instance, Uber offers higher discounts to consumers that use their Share services daily and lower amounts to less regular users to encourage loyalty.
In US alone consumers look at their devices more than 9 billion times a day and GSMA Intelligence report predicts that by 2020, 64% of world population will be covered by 4G-LTE networks. How can network operators retain their customers with this rapidly growing market. Precision marketing would be an apt practice for operators to learn about their customers and make right offers at the right time in the right place.
