Post-recession Telecoms Strategies: Loyalty Grows in Importance
Operators adapted their offerings to cater to changing consumer demands during the poorer economic conditions caused by the global financial crisis. In particular, many operators focused on maintaining and extracting more value from their existing subscribers, placing more emphasis on effective loyalty initiatives. This report analyzes how operators used loyalty initiatives to counter the negative effects of the recession, and also identifies some of the potential opportunities and weaknesses of operator loyalty strategies.
Executive summary
In a nutshell
Ovum view
Operators did well to counter churn
Operators increased their focus on existing subscribers
Operators should use loyalty programs to differentiate
Key messages
Operators countered recession effects
From new customers, to usage and loyalty
Recession had a muted impact on churn
Mature and emerging market loyalty divide remains
Operators are experienced in post-paid retention
Don’t forget about prepaid
Loyalty initiatives needed for all customers
Operators still need to do more
Big rewards for improving churn
Case study – O2 UK: room for improvement
O2 Priority List – post-paid loyalty program
ARPU rankings can cause problems
Blue and Silver rewards are not attractive
O2 Top-up Surprises and O2 Rewards – prepaid loyalty programs
O2 Bluebook
Perfecting loyalty
Getting the basics right sets up the right environment
Accuracy is the silver bullet
Target the popular subscribers – “connected value”
The potential of realtime data manipulation
Analytics can unearth the key subscribers to target
Don’t disturb everyone – only target the “persuadable”
“Sticky” offerings also play an important role
SIM-only targets low-end customers
Promoting on-net traffic encourages loyalty
Bundling fixed and mobile has a mixed impact
Operators should use loyalty initiatives to differentiate
In a nutshell
Ovum view
Operators did well to counter churn
Operators increased their focus on existing subscribers
Operators should use loyalty programs to differentiate
Key messages
Operators countered recession effects
From new customers, to usage and loyalty
Recession had a muted impact on churn
Mature and emerging market loyalty divide remains
Operators are experienced in post-paid retention
Don’t forget about prepaid
Loyalty initiatives needed for all customers
Operators still need to do more
Big rewards for improving churn
Case study – O2 UK: room for improvement
O2 Priority List – post-paid loyalty program
ARPU rankings can cause problems
Blue and Silver rewards are not attractive
O2 Top-up Surprises and O2 Rewards – prepaid loyalty programs
O2 Bluebook
Perfecting loyalty
Getting the basics right sets up the right environment
Accuracy is the silver bullet
Target the popular subscribers – “connected value”
The potential of realtime data manipulation
Analytics can unearth the key subscribers to target
Don’t disturb everyone – only target the “persuadable”
“Sticky” offerings also play an important role
SIM-only targets low-end customers
Promoting on-net traffic encourages loyalty
Bundling fixed and mobile has a mixed impact
Operators should use loyalty initiatives to differentiate
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Summary of benefits and rewards for O2 UK post-paid customers
Table 2: Snapshot of O2 UK’s Top-up Surprises rewards
Table 1: Summary of benefits and rewards for O2 UK post-paid customers
Table 2: Snapshot of O2 UK’s Top-up Surprises rewards
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Change in average blended churn rates in selected markets
Figure 2: Estimated losses from churn of selected operators in 2009
Figure 3: Aperio CI’s ARPU vs. connected value argument
Figure 4: Pontis’s system identifies dual SIM users
Figure 5: Portrait Software’s segmentation
Figure 1: Change in average blended churn rates in selected markets
Figure 2: Estimated losses from churn of selected operators in 2009
Figure 3: Aperio CI’s ARPU vs. connected value argument
Figure 4: Pontis’s system identifies dual SIM users
Figure 5: Portrait Software’s segmentation
