Experience-driven CRM - a three-dimensional view of the customer

Operators need to take a new approach to customer relationship management, whereby all customer interactions are performed in the context of the customer’s end-to-end experience.

Research shows that up to 73 percent of telecoms operators’ churning customers defect owing to poor customer service.

At a time when competition is intensifying in most telecommunications markets and operators are searching for ways to differentiate other than on price, poor customer service should not be an operator’s principal differentiation factor. On the contrary, operators should be able to positively differentiate on customer service.

The ability to transform customer relationship management (CRM) – and in particular, customer care – into a positive differentiator is therefore highly valuable to operators. Indeed, according to Ericsson ConsumerLab, 55 percent of customers would be prepared to pay a premium for superior service.

In order for operators to offer this superior service, a fundamentally new approach to CRM is needed, whereby sales, marketing and customer care are performed within the context of the experience the customer – whether good or bad.

This requires a "three-dimensional" view of the customer built on insights into their end-to-end experience, including purchase, billing, seeking support, use of the network and device, and even dunning.

To gain this full view of the customer, operators must exploit all the customer-experience data assets within their network – OSS, BSS and CRM – and make it seamlessly available in an intuitive IT environment. Only then can they have the information tools they require to proactively meet customer needs, build loyalty and reduce costs.