Scrapping Persona-Based Marketing with Analytics

By: Bobby Srinivasan

Competition has traditionally been between telcos of a similar ilk, but with so much of the competition diversifying to exploit alternative revenue streams and the arrival of telecom virtualization, the level of competition has reached new heights.

Digitization, in particular, has provided a catalyst for monumental change and now the industry is being required to transform as a consequence.

Telcos are turning to new tactics to compete in a vastly different landscape and quickly need to come to terms with new strategies. Approaches now focus on methods like customer journey mapping and data driven services and products, rather than relying on tried and tested voice and data services. In order to transform their businesses and stay competitive in this rapidly evolving industry and digitized world, telecom operators need to monitor user behaviour and quality of services effectively.

Research from Digital Strategy Consulting found that two thirds of consumers in the U.K. and Germany like to receive personalized communications. In order to foster better relationships with their customers, operators must consider leveraging data analytics to improve and streamline business processes. This means understanding their customers in segmented, granular, context-rich ways.

The key to achieving a segmented offering is through the use of data. CSPs have data in abundance, and combining data collection with analytics will help identify new business models, which can in turn drive operational excellence. Telcos can use these insights to predict data loss or network deterioration and prevent service disruptions. Additionally, the same insights can simply help to make decisions faster thereby driving operational efficiencies.

For decades, telecom operators have trusted persona-based marketing to craft pricing plans, design advertisements, and identify the potential for new or re-packaged products. This persona-based approach has involved dividing current and potential customers into specific demographic groups based on marketers’ perceptions. But now operators can do so much more.

It’s time for carriers to scrap persona-based marketing. Data, including customer interactions, usage, location, applications, devices, browsing history, call patterns, etc. makes it possible for carriers to move away from the use of broader archetypes (such as explorer, adopter, outlaw) and create individual marketing plans based on a “segment-of-one” concept. This means treating every user as an individual with specific behaviors, interests and buying patterns and, in turn, developing individualized marketing messages for use on the most effective channels based on that individual’s specific needs, context and “intent”.

This shift in thinking was pioneered by companies like Levi’s, Dell and Amazon. Jeans that fit you exactly, PCs made to order and products recommended to you based on previous purchases, all exemplify the move from delivering standardized value through mass production to creating customer-unique value through mass customization. This method for approaching markets is now widely embraced. Customers benefit by getting precisely what they want and need, while companies with a better understanding of their customer base can deliver tailored products and services that provide more value.