One of the biggest risks for telecommunications companies nowadays is not understanding their customers' values. In the past, telecom companies focused on building the largest network and charging customers for service bundles through long-term, binding agreements. This worked for a while, but too many companies benefited from bad profits. That's when a company makes a profit through unfair or deceptive pricing, such as roaming charges.
The good news is that the industry is starting to change. Telecom companies are focusing on providing a more humanized customer experience. They're doing away with bad profits and working towards a better NPS score. Speaking of which, the Net Promoter Score® average for telecom companies is currently 31, which is the lowest industry average.
But telecom companies face another challenge - disruptors. With so many frustrated customers, it's no surprise that industry disruptors providing alternative solutions are popping up all the time. Subscription media and messaging companies like Viber, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Skype are already taking over a large portion of messaging and voice traffic.
5G Networks: The rise of 5G networks promises to spark an enormous wave of change for faster internet. While the technology is still in development, carriers are already moving forward with lab and field trials.
Internet of Things (IoT): More than 20 billion devices will be connected to the IoT by 2020, with an impressive $300 billion market. The growth of the IoT could dramatically change the customer experience.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): From speech recognition to augmented reality, AI helps smartphones perform highly sophisticated tasks. It's also a fast-growing trend in customer service with chatbots and voice services.
Overall, telecom companies need to innovate and personalize their services to stay relevant and competitive. It's an exciting time for the industry, and we can't wait to see what the future holds!