Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but we maintain some editorial control to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: dmeyer@rcrwireless.com.
Once you were what you ate. Today, you are your mobile device. Mobile operators have an intricate and involved relationship with their customers. As technology evolves, smartphones are becoming an extension of their customers. Phones have become much more than a simple means for communication. Customers share their lives through photos and connections on social networks, use their phones as a way to get around, for shopping and as a payment system, and for business communication. If you take a look at someone’s phone, you will know his interests, his taste in music, what kind of job he has, what kind of things he buys; essentially, you can get to know a person just through the information on his phone.
It’s clear that there is boundless opportunity for mobile operators, but what is the best way that data, privacy concerns, and customer relationships can be approached?
Mobile operators
Mobile operators have a rich wealth of data available to them. The available data can be categorized in the following points:
–Customer account information and preferences include the basics such as personal information, financial history, etc.
–Location-based data is unique to each user and is determined by all network activity.
–Customer networks – the people customers communicate with – who they text, who they call, and who they interact with through their mobile devices. The interaction aspect relates not only to people, but to content and organizations as well.
Account information and location-based data are extremely valuable, and it can be argued that this information is unique to mobile operators. It puts them in the unique position of having information about customers that others would find extremely important.
Big data
Big data is inseparable from the mobile industry. The emerging solutions, business processes, and expertise in gleaning insight and taking action from big data can be put to use through a few different dimensions:
–Improving your business processes across the board and maximizing efficiencies.
–Improving products and services that you offer on the market.
–Delivering a better customer experience.
The mobile space – for both developed and emerging/developing markets is highly competitive – and thus delivering a better customer experience is increasingly a top of mind priority for every operator. With satisfied customers, the operator faces better prospects for retaining the customer (ongoing spend), selling them more services (increasing spend) and having them recommend the operator’s services to their network. All of these outcomes directly impact the operator’s top line.
The customer
It all begins with the customer. Data-driven insights from business processes all impact the customer and drive the customer experience. Big data is, of course, the place where these insights come from. It’s also important to consider how customers measure their experience, which can be described in the following terms:
–How enjoyable it was.
–How easy it was to use.
–The value that was derived from it.
Customer experience correlates to loyalty. Loyalty can be measured by the likelihood of the following possibilities:
–Consideration for another purchase (increase).
–Recommendation to a friend (increase).
–Possibility of switching to a competitor (decrease).
When mobile operators and big data come together
Clearly, there are third parties who would pay money for a mobile operator’s data. Just imagine the advantages this would create for advertisers or service providers in other sectors who can improve the service they provide upon knowing information about customers in general or a specific customer in particular.
In an increasingly digital world, privacy is a barrier in not just the mobile industry, but in all industries everywhere. When big data comes into play, adhering to regulations and data protection almost becomes a balancing act.
There is an evolving focus on the customers being actively engaged in their data privacy. Initiatives are underway to put the consumer in control of his data, and to let him define how and when it is accessed or used, as well as who accesses it. Innovative operators like Telecom Italia and Telefónica have started “Smart City” projects that are exploring new models of sharing and aggregating data about individuals and objects, and of putting the control of this data directly in the hands of the user. Moves like this one are certainly driving the future of how data ownership and control will be understood and executed.
Ultimately I would argue that consumers will be much more open to sharing their data – all of their data if they can see and understand the value that it gives them. If they believe there is an ecosystem of trust, they will be much more open to it. Mobile operators can best monetize their role in a world full of data by actively engaging in and furthering the capabilities for data exchange in a trusted environment.
