Debunking 5 major customer loyalty myths: How OSS can help elevate loyalty for telcos

Our article paraphrases Picoult’s 5 myths (in italics) and then suggests ways in which OSS can assist.

Debunking 5 major customer loyalty myths

Myth #1: Satisfied Customers are Loyal Customers

Satisfied customers defect all the time. A notable study by Gartner revealed that one-fifth of customers who claimed to be satisfied with a specific company also indicated an intention to take their business elsewhere. For companies to foster enduring loyalty, merely meeting customer expectations is insufficient; they must impress their customers, thereby encouraging both repeat purchases and word-of-mouth recommendations.

OSS can be used to collect, analyse and personalise data on customer behaviour, not just satisfaction levels. This data can be used to identify what really impresses customers. For example, OSS can track the performance and usage of various services, thereby helping to tailor offerings that go beyond mere satisfaction to create genuine loyalty.

Myth #2: Customer Expectations are Higher Than Ever

Companies that excel in customer experience, often referred to as the "Amazon effect," have set new standards for the industry. Conversely, consumers have grown increasingly tolerant of poor service, such as lengthy waits on customer service lines, inadequately staffed stores and sluggish responses that telcos are widely renowned for. Research by Watermark Consulting supports shows that almost half of consumers expect a struggle to find assistance. Moreover, customers are genuinely pleased when they contact a business and are promptly and effectively attended to by a live representative. What used to be considered a basic service expectation has now become a source of customer delight and a catalyst for loyalty.

The two main contact points for telco clients are typically the contact centre and field staff.

Rather than trying to deflect customers from contacting call centres, telco can actually delight their customers with effective support. When a live person immediately answers customer service calls and has pertinent, up-to-date information about the client’s service and overall network health, it goes a long way to exceeding current expectations, thereby driving loyalty. 

Whilst telcos can’t always control the customer service skills of their field workers, many who are contractors, they can leverage their OSS to ensure field workers have great information and proposed remedial activities to update clients with.

 

Myth #3: Great Customer Service is the Key to Building Customer Loyalty

In the telecommunications sector, the need for customer service often signals an underlying issue - be it network disruptions, billing errors, or service complications. After all, customers don't look forward to contacting their telecom providers. According to Gartner, the more effort and time customers have to expend to resolve issues, the more likely they are to show disloyalty (by as much as 400%). Therefore, while a telecom company may pride itself on excellent customer service, the very need for such service could be eroding customer loyalty rather than enhancing it.

Most telcos invest their customer service budgets in training people and providing front-of-house customer service systems. This investment could instead be diverted to prevention - being used to identify and rectify issues before they reach the customer, reducing the need for customer service interactions, preventing order fall-outs, etc. For instance, OSS data combined with predictive analytics can forecast equipment failures or service disruptions, allowing for proactive solutions that prevent the customer from ever experiencing a problem.

Myth #4: A Great, Loyalty-Building Customer Experience Costs More to Deliver

When companies transition from merely offering excellent customer service to providing a comprehensive, seamless customer experience, the economic calculus changes considerably. This shift prompts the focus towards fixing upstream factors that prevent downstream customer interactions, such as unclear terms at the point of sale, complicated user guides, or confusing billing statements. By enhancing these upstream elements, telecom companies can reduce the need for downstream customer service interventions. This not only results in a superior customer experience that bolsters loyalty but also allows for cost-effective service delivery.

Closely aligned with myth #3, these are potentially the myths where OSS can play the most significant part. OSS can identify upstream issues that lead to downstream customer contact. Companies like Amazon have realised that the best customer service is no customer service. By resolving issues like product and system complexity (e.g. too many options), unclear product instructions, complicated processes, inflexible / unreliable client experiences that lead to repeat truck-rolls, etc, companies can reduce the need for downstream customer service. This not only enhances the customer experience but also reduces costs.

Myth #5: There’s Little Proof That Being Good to Customers is Good for Business

Companies that excel in customer experience significantly outdo their less-focused competitors, showing an average 3-to-1 advantage in shareholder returns according to Watermark Consulting's Customer Experience ROI Study. This serves as a tangible measure of the "loyalty lift," and highlights the substantial financial gains companies can achieve by impressing their customer base. There's not only a financial incentive for delighting customers but also a tangible penalty for failing to meet customer expectations.

OSS / BSS can play a pivotal role in enhancing customer loyalty and mitigating the risks associated with poor customer experience in the following ways:

 

• Loyalty Lift:

 

• Automated issue resolution (or even resolution on first call) 
• Well-informed customer service agents who can resolve issues immediately
• Personalised service offerings (proactively offering a better deal) and support
• Streamlined / easy-to-understand billing and flexible payment options
• Proactive customer communication (e.g. accurate outage notifications)

 

• Penalty Avoidance:

 

• Real-time monitoring and network outage minimisation
• Evidence of listening and responding well to customer feedback
• Cost management by lowering the cost to serve (not just lowering costs by lowering the level of service)

Operational Support Systems are not just back-end tools used by internal teams. They are indirect, but invaluable tools for improving customer loyalty too. By leveraging the data, automation and insight generation capabilities of OSS, telecommunications companies can go beyond merely satisfying their customer base to truly impressing them, thereby fostering positive word-of-mouth, which is essential for any thriving telco.