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Seven simple steps to improve data roaming usage
The rate of today’s mobile data usage is truly astounding. According to the latest Cisco Virtual Networking Index report, global mobile data traffic grew 81% in 2013. As a result of this trend, data roaming continues to provide a great growth opportunity for mobile network operators. Yet, despite soaring growth in domestic data usage, international usage continues to be relatively small because a large percentage of mobile users routinely switch off data service when they travel — a group often known as silent roamers.
The influx of smart devices has caused a surge in data demand and has transformed the mobile world, making connectivity crucial for users on the go. MNOs face several challenges in tapping this opportunity. Chief among these is the capability to gain an instantaneous view of a user’s connectivity needs and to serve those needs in a relevant and timely way — the concept of real-time intelligence. Meeting this need involves the use of real-time data to deliver a superior quality of experience for each user and to provide personalized offerings for new services. Fortunately, new technology and service advancements are now enabling MNOs to overcome this challenge and unlock a valuable market segment.
As specialists in both real-time intelligence and data roaming services, we developed the following seven simple steps to help MNOs improve customer satisfaction and deliver personalized offerings.
Take action in real time: It’s critical to have a real-time snapshot of when, where and how users need connectivity options — and to act on this information. If a traveler lands in a foreign country and plans to purchase a local SIM card instead of investigating other options, that user’s MNO must be prepared to detect the traveler’s arrival and proactively contact the person with a personalized offer that enables roaming at a competitive price before the person even considers purchasing a SIM card.
Know your subscribers: Understanding the subscribers’ usages patterns and utilizing this information to respond to customers’ needs is critical. If a subscriber has opted to allow the MNO to access location information for their mobile device, and the device is detected to be in a particular international city more than five times per year, the MNO should be able to sense this pattern and provide a roaming plan for that city, relevant to the subscriber’s exact needs.
Simplify purchases: Implementation of purchase options that make it as easy as possible for users to buy data packages at any time can also help drive data roaming usage. These options include data package purchases, recharge options and even direct operator billing options for app purchases, which enables users to purchase content through a seamless process that adds the charge directly to their mobile phone bills while roaming.
Personalize offerings: Creating customized offerings is also important. New technologies now make it possible to offer a number of tailored data usage and pricing plans that can be targeted to specific subscriber segments. These plans represent a major improvement from the more traditional one-size-fits-all plan, offering subscribers packages based on how they expect to use roaming service.
Give consumers the power: Advanced real-time alerting technologies put the power of controlling usage monitoring directly into users’ hands, with interfaces that allow access to usage information anytime and anywhere. This empowerment provides a powerful tool to avoid bill shock, and MNOs should make this feature available as widely as possible.
Avert complaints: Subscribers should have options to set spending limits or apply usage thresholds for data services and to receive automatically generated mobile messages as they approach these thresholds. New technologies enable this preference through simple but dynamic tools that MNOs can use to mitigate bill shock and to reduce customer complaints, negative media coverage and the risk of nonpayment of a roaming bill.
Keep quality as top priority: Maintaining the highest quality of service is paramount in driving increased data roaming usage, and it’s especially important in today’s hyper-competitive mobile market. The latest roaming-monitoring applications ensure that MNOs can consistently deliver top service by identifying network abnormalities — such as data registration failures and traffic patterns — and efficiently solve issues before they affect subscribers.
As these seven practices illustrate, ensuring a superior quality of experience and providing customized service offerings for subscribers can deliver a powerful solution for enhancing data roaming usage. Competition is fierce in today’s roaming market, and MNOs must be able to take advantage of these capabilities to solidify the direct connection between their subscribers and the unique value that MNOs deliver to them when they roam.
Mary Clark was named CMO in early 2014, and leads Syniverse’s product marketing, corporate communications, branding, digital strategy, strategic events and industry relations. Previously, she served as SVP of Next-Generation Roaming Services and Standards, and, prior to that, SVP of Roaming. In these roles, Clark spearheaded new product introductions in Syniverse’s Real-Time Intelligence and strategic consulting services, defined Syniverse’s LTE strategy from concept to product introduction, and played a strategic leadership role in Syniverse’s acquisition of Mach. Prior to joining Syniverse, in a career in mobile that has spanned more than 20 years, she held several executive-level positions at Mach, CTIA-The Wireless Association, Cibernet and CellularOne. Clark earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Delaware, and she previously served as the leader of the Ciber standard for approximately 10 years.
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