By: Dan Carella

Humans tend to overcomplicate matters. Rather than follow the simplest path to a solution, we often seem to prefer more intricate routes. Yet, embedded solutions can help counter that misguided instinct, helping people accomplish tasks quickly, efficiently and precisely when needed. In other words, embedded experiences help humans get out of their own way to make faster, smarter, and sometimes safer, choices. By learning from banks, insurers and retailers that have successfully executed embedded strategies, telecom providers can enhance the customer experience while simultaneously smoothing the path to various business goals.

Embedded Strategies Create Win-Wins for Companies and Customers

One instructive example comes from the world of lending. By embedding payment protection options into the digital borrower’s journey, the lender alleviates a common worry customers have, since six in ten are concerned unexpected expenses will hurt their ability to repay a loan. At the same time, the strategy can improve the lender’s bottom line: reducing defaults, increasing revenue, and decreasing customer acquisition costs.

Insurers take a slightly different tack: embedding technology in vehicles and wearables to offer usage-based policies like pay-as-you-drive auto insurance or health insurance premiums based on activity levels. Policyholders get personalized experiences, while insurers benefit from reduced portfolio risks.

Embedded payments return similar benefits for retailers and their customers. Ecommerce businesses are integrating a growing suite of card-on-file systems, digital wallets, and buy now, pay later platforms that enhance the user experience while reducing cart abandonment rates.

As lenders, insurers and retailers continue to expand their use of embedded tactics. Industries like telecom are increasingly looking for opportunities to reap similar benefits within their own ecosystems.

Five Embedded Use Cases for Telecom Providers

Telecom providers have several opportunities to deploy embedded strategies for the benefit of their customers and businesses.

Bundling services: In addition to bundling mobile plans with broadband and streaming subscriptions, telecom providers can embed highly relevant and personalized services into the account opening experience. Products like mobile device insurance or cybersecurity protection carry great value for consumers who increasingly experience fraud attacks via their mobile devices, something the majority of consumers believe their mobile phone carriers should help protect against. When customized to the buyer, such embedded offerings not only enhance the customer experience, they may also create new revenue streams for the business.

Embedded finance: Telecoms can take a page from their lending counterparts by enhancing their apps with targeted financial services. Prepaid cards, microloans and the like can help consumers manage their telecom services and other financial obligations from one place. Segmenting these offerings by consumer group can offset costs, ensuring only those most likely to find value in the services are targeted. Financial wellness tools, such as free credit report checks and credit score calculators, are additional resources to consider integrating into the digital experience. Among consumers polled in TransUnion’s Q2 2024 survey, a majority (60 percent) believed monitoring their credit reports was extremely or very important, and 55 percent reported monitoring their credit at least monthly. Deploying this kind of strategy can differentiate a telecom provider from its competition while contributing to the financial well-being of its customer base.

IoT integration: Offering connections to smart home devices and security systems is a potential differentiator for telecoms. If given the opportunity to manage smart home devices and systems from their telecom providers’ apps, customers could have a seamless, one-stop channel for controlling their homes’ safety, comfort and connectivity. Embedding IoT connections also helps telecoms enhance their understanding of how various segments of their customer bases engage with technology. Depending on the IoT platform and its data sharing policies, telecoms may be able to leverage IoT intelligence for predictive analytics, such as next best product recommendations or customer lifetime value, or to identify accounts at risk of default or leaving for a competitor.

Identity security: Data privacy is increasingly important to consumers as research consistently points to public concerns over the availability of personal information.