The rapid growth and use of smartphones has changed customer behaviour and their expectations interacting with different business providers. Embracing 'over the top' (OTT) services such as instant messaging platforms offers operators one such mechanism to engage with customers in a fast and convenient manner. 

People's use of mobile continues to expand and evolve

Each year the mobile phone becomes more ubiquitous and pervasive. In many countries it is not just the typical communications mode, it is also people's only personal computing device – their only means of connecting with the rest of the world.

Because of the increased availability and immediacy of information digital and mobile technology has enabled, people expect greater personalisation and agility from businesses, and because personalisation breeds trust, this becomes an increasingly critical factor in people's decision making; today's consumers want all of the information – the good, bad and ugly – so they can decide for themselves.

The digital challenge for telecom operators

The task of providing the desired level of immediacy and agility in commerce and service is made more challenging for telecoms companies by the increasing breadth and complexity of their business. This will only get more complex as new types of connected devices such as cars and connected homes enter the mass market.

Consumers are becoming accustomed to an 'on-demand' service model so operators (and companies more broadly) need adapt to these new expectations and channel paradigm.

Responding to the twin challenge of evolving customer expectations and rapidly changing mobile technology requires telecom companies to embrace some key cultural and strategic characteristics of Digital Economy businesses in order to better reflect their market.

Embracing OTT

Successful telecom operators are adapting to changing consumer preference by using technology and messaging services to transform into more customer-centric organisations that respond to consumer needs more rapidly and effectively.

Embracing OTT services such as instant messaging platforms offers one such mechanism to engage with customers. Such platforms can meet individual, people-based needs and provide both parties with a fast and convenient channel through which they can interact with one another. The relatively low cost of these channels and the relatively high familiarity that many employees already have with them, makes running prototypes to test and refine their use comparatively simple.

You can learn more about how the adoption of an array of online tools, apps and people-based platforms, such as Facebook Messenger service, can help telecom operators meet rising customer expectations and transform into more customer-centric organisations in 'Digital transformation for telecoms operators'.

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