Customer service plays a huge role within the telecommunications industry, with a report last year showing that 66% of consumers hold telco brands up to a higher standard than the majority of other sectors when it comes to service. 70% of consumers also said that customer experience is a major factor when selecting a telcos service provider.
This means customer centricity should be placed as the focal point of any business strategy for telcos, and that is exactly what T-Mobile is doing in the US. The company, which recently topped the Customer Effort Index (CEI) US telecommunication rankings, had hugely positive results in October after adding 865,000 postpaid phone customers in the third quarter of 2024. This marks the firm’s highest customer growth for the period in a decade.
The telecommunications giant, which also reported a 4.7% increase in revenue to a staggering $20.16 billion, has found itself top of the CEI rankings for four straight quarters now and is currently looking to advance its customer experience further after developing an AI-driven CX platform IntentCX with OpenAI. This software has been designed to autonomously identify and resolve customer needs, surpassing the capabilities of traditional chatbots.
This is just one example of how telcos can improve customer centricity, with digital marketing is another area with huge potential. Within this sphere, telcos and their agencies can improve by focusing on delivering highly personalised and relevant experiences to customers and taking extra steps to protect consumer privacy, the latter being something AI is making it easier to achieve.
Customer centricity is the key to sustained growth within the telcos sector, and businesses should be placing it as their long-term strategy focus. By prioritising this through AI integration, digital frameworks, and employee training, they will be fostering long-term loyalty and growth.
