After Data WAR, What Next for Telcos’ Customers

In a ‘Signature Research’ series, an industry leading perspectives on telecoms technology, competition, and market evolution released by Ovum in November 2011, the analysts without much equivocation pointed at ‘customers’ and ‘cost reductions’ as the prime focus areas for telecoms service providers today.

They opined that, if tackled correctly, these objectives are not mutually exclusive: they are complementary. The Signature Research reflected the breadth and depth of Ovum's coverage, including informed opinion, advice on how to capitalize on industry developments, and intelligence in the form of forecasts and market insight.

In a nutshell, analysts at Ovum identified thus, “telco customer service directors have identified that ‘addressing the customer service model’ is a top priority while CIOs have acknowledged that ‘improving the customer experience’ is a primary area for investment.

This demonstrates that telcos have recognized that their future lies with their existing customers.

However, customers’ service expectations have been raised by their experiences in other verticals, meaning that telcos will need to work very hard to engage, retain, and satisfy their existing customers.

It seems the telcos in Nigeria are borrowing a leaf from the Ovum’s perspective, as they have recently been entangled in a ‘data price war’; a sort of cold war with Airtel first to adjust its data plans, starting with the Android market.

Airtel today offers over 2GB data for less than N2000 and 4.5GB for N3000 on BlackBerry phones it could be applied on Android too; a feat that seemed impossible few years ago.

Glo followed with an even more enticing data plans, to the extent 12GB of internet data for sells for N5000.

Prompted by the enticing packages of the two operators mentioned above, MTN and Etisalat threw their hats in the ring. Are you kidding me? 3.5GB data on MTN line for N2000 and Etisalat offering with 1.5GB for N1000 and 3.5GB for N2000 club.

Well, this piece is not meant to dwell entirely on the so called ‘new data price regime’, but to remind the telcos that there are other nagging issues they must swiftly address - customer care.

Take the issue of electricity for instance. Mr. Babataunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) have been labouring towards convincing Nigerians on how to pay more for power, so that the GENCOS and DISCOS of this world will perform better. The argument has always been: provide power and we shall willingly pay.

In the case of telcos and the customers, the case is a little bit different in the sense, telcos seems to be covering their tracks by stuffing the mouth of the customers with price reductions. How do I mean? Remember, some time in 2015, the telcos, knowing that revenue from voice services has been on downward trend, they introduced ‘buy-now-pay-later’ campaign, where customers are to live as real kings; no more running out of credit. Though that is still on play, but the stem is no more there. That is not to say Nigerians have totally ditched that scheme. No.

Customer Service Is Lacking
Customer service is key! I think most customers would prefer an uninterrupted quality of service. Of what essence is giving one 2.5GB of data at the lowest price, but he ends up utilising only 1GB. That is obtaining by tricks; in other climes it would be called a deception and scam.
I believe such customer would prefer a moderate price regime with adequate service provisioning. There is no sacred cow here, but all telcos default at one point or the other. Yes, I admit that telcos are at the forefront of deepening the ecosystem, but there are plenty rooms for improvement.
From the same study quoted above, Ovum emphasized thus, “Customer service does not describe a point-to-point relationship between a telco and its customers, nor is it a relationship that exists purely to resolve problems. The relationship between a telco and its customers extends all the way from pre-sales research to in-life usage as customers look to purchase new services, upgrade existing ones, and add new features throughout their lifecycle. To secure the customer relationship in the face of disruptive competitors, telcos must stay with the customer through every step of their lifecycle”.

Please, pay attention to this, “Telcos need to be accessible, responsive, consistent, and effective. Web-based customer service delivers on accessibility and consistency and has the added benefit of diverting costs from more expensive alternatives such as contact centres, and has the ability to scale without adding exponentially to costs”. What can I say, as a result of Ovum’s breath-taking postulation, telcos in Nigeria should not cease from increasingly investing in web-based platforms, software, and business processes to improve their online customer service channels.

When the initial results are encouraging, with customer service-related capex, call volumes, and repeat calls to contact centers will start to decline.

“However, online customer service tends to lack the personal touch that other channels provide, and telcos need to ensure Online customer that they retain the hearts and minds of their customers”.

At this junction, it is pertinent to acknowledge the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for using its policy thrust in such a positive manner that now innovation dictates the pace of competition aimed at customers’ satisfaction.

ICT Investment
Fortunately, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications, speaking at the first industry stakeholders forum convoked by the Ministry on his assumption of office, he acknowledged the need for improved infrastructure, as “Inadequate ICT infrastructure is the bane of ICT development in the country and a leading cause of quality of service deficiencies. From broadband penetration to last mile fibre optic connectivity, this infrastructure deficit is preventing all Nigerians from gaining affordable and reliable access.

Lack of affordability, due in part, to the proliferation of taxes, fees, levies and associated costs further inhibits investment in infrastructure required to support and grow our boisterous ICT market”, he said.

Nigeria’s ICT sector is growing and in view of the prevailing potentials, the Federal Government is targeting additional Foreign Direct Investment in the sector in excess of N4trillion ($15billion).

To this end, the government needs to stimulate the industry for further investments and deal with the issue of multiple taxation particularly the notorious right-of-way, while the telcos become more customer-centric to ensure that subscriber get value for their money.