The communications experience reimagined

The communications industry has been suffering from stalled growth, lack of differentiation and risk of commoditization for years, but there are now signs that a new dawn has broken.

In 2020, just when we needed them most, CSPs delivered. Now, by reliably keeping us connected to the services, people and content we need and love most, they are renewing trust and building relevance every day.

Today, CSPs have the opportunity to build on this momentum and leverage their unique strengths to deliver even more for people, small- and medium-sized business owners (SMBs) and society at large.

Now is the time to step up and reimagine the communications experience. This means organizing the whole business around the delivery of exceptional experiences, which is what we call the Business of Experience. It means rewiring the customer-facing functions of the organization: marketing, commerce, sales and service. The Business of Experience is an approach that allows organizations to become customer-obsessed and reignite growth.

SMBs are overwhelmed by irrelevant offerings, providing an opportunity to redefine the CSP/SMB relationship. By leveraging trust and understanding to make their offerings simpler, more tailored and relevant, CSPs can shift from service provider to growth partner and build longer, more valuable relationships.

CSPs have worked hard to earn their unique levels of consumer (and business) trust. As they reimagine service and experience, they can maintain their reputation of protecting data privacy and security. Meanwhile, as they expand their service portfolio and footprint, they will be the critical enablers of closing the digital divide. CSPs’ services are critical for global economic prosperity and physical wellbeing.

Reduced mobility has fueled record demands for connectivity as our homes have become the center of people’s work, study and personal lives. There is a need for connectivity services to adapt to new multipurpose spaces and experiences at home. CSPs can respond by offering a more tailored approach that knows when to dial up or dial down our needs of comfort, safety and control.

More happening inside our homes has had a direct impact on SMB owners, too. In order to survive, they have to radically change their ways of doing business. But most SMBs aren’t experts in tech. For many, ecommerce, digital marketing, cloud or security solutions are overwhelming and confusing. There is a desperate need for simple, tailored services and advice they can trust.

Despite today’s unanimous recognition⁵ that connectivity is essential for economic prosperity and physical wellbeing, a digital divide still exists. There is a clear opportunity for CSPs to show the way by reimagining access and services in the connectivity domain at a time when customers and employees expect businesses to lead on sustainability and purpose.

Stalled growth and commoditization of connectivity, intensified competition from adjacent industries and evidence of partnership driven growth beyond connectivity are forcing CSPs to face the stark need for a more complete business model reinvention.

The search for value points CSPs towards growth-driving platform business models and the B2B market—the SMB market, especially where there’s plenty of untapped potential, particularly in providing digital and IT services.⁶

Activating new paths to growth in a disrupted communications landscape is driving CSPs to have a more outside-in perspective, embracing partnerships and looking at how to reinvent their own skills and talent.

Disruptive forces are at play in the industry, creating the opportunity for new sources of growth for connectivity providers. The potential is real and could be exponential, but can only be unlocked if CSPs make radical, systemic changes to how they think, operate, and engage with their customers.

We see three overarching mindset and operational shifts that need to be embraced for experience reimagination to happen, regardless of which business model or growth segment they choose to prioritize.

Growth is expected to stem from a more platform and digital services driven strategy. As CSPs continue their digital transformations, the key to winning is doing it while maintaining a human first mindset in place.

CSPs’ advantage versus the big tech players is their existing customer intimacy and access to first party customer data. They need to leverage this and keep fueling a culture that is customer obsessed. Kill the tech jargon and make every experience simple and intuitive. Use this human-first mindset and insight to inform every aspect of their go to market strategies.

The multi-purposing of our homes has impacted all of us, especially SMBs. As a result, services are needed that are more adaptable to our constantly shifting context and needs. People already expect and receive from other industries services and support tailored to their needs and delivered on their preferred channel in a seamless, intuitive way. This now must become CSPs’ new normal.

Ultimately, even greater opportunity lies in shifting the focus away from legacy connectivity services and products towards what connectivity can enable individuals and communities to achieve more broadly in life. By opening up to partnerships, ecosystems and bringing more of the outside in, CSPs can fulfill a more purposeful role in not only keeping us connected, but also helping us grow as a more connected society.

Organizations that set a high ambition level for human experience and embrace meaningful innovation will grow and sustain their mission while leading a positive shift in the communications industry.

We help reinvent the front office across products, marketing operations, sales and commerce, and customer service to unlock growth and drive new experiences that make lives easier, healthier, safer and rewarding.