Digital marketing in telecom is a priority for many players in the industry today, with a special
emphasis on improving the customer experience. As the backbone of the digital age, the telecom
industry still lags behind in customer satisfaction. But digital marketing offers the solution that many telecom companies have been seeking. Recent data reveals consumer frustration with the telecom industry—and points to things getting worse for many industry players. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), ISPs and pay-TV providers’ customer satisfaction scores are trending downwards.

Customer complaints run the gamut, with some gripes involving after-purchase issues like ineffective customer service and frustration with understanding monthly bills. A digital marketing plan that accounts for the entire customer journey can positively impact these and
other customer experiences.

Let’s take a moment to consider why so much of the telecom industry suffers in the customer satisfaction department. One of the findings of the same report reveals that video-streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, unlike ISPs and pay-TV providers, scored relatively high in
customer satisfaction. Why might that be?

While there are plenty of streaming services for customers to choose from to ensure they’re getting the right product, many ISPs have a monopoly in certain areas, which takes the choice away from consumers. This isn’t a good starting point for companies that are facing younger generations of customers that demand options.

To make matters worse, many telecom companies predate the current digital marketing boom that began in the last fifteen years. Video-streaming services, on the other hand, are products of the digital revolution and have folded some of the best practices of digital marketing into the core of their customers’ experience.

What does it mean to build a core customer experience around digital marketing? Marketo, a SaaS marketing software company, recently shared 13 reasons digital marketing can transform a company of any size. Several of these reasons particularly impact the telecom industry’s customer satisfaction woes:

1. Digital marketing costs less overall and scales more easily.

2. Every element of digital marketing can undergo A/B testing.

3. The data captured in digital marketing helps improve every aspect of the customer
journey.

4. Digital marketing allows for hyper-personalized campaigns through smart segmentation
techniques.

In essence, digital marketing in telecom—and other industries—is cheaper, smarter, and more
personalized. Just like Netflix’s customers love their personalized recommendations (until they
become misleading, that is!), the majority of consumers (58%) are willing to give up personal
data for personalized offers.

Building an effective digital marketing operation to improve the customer experience means managing a multitude of projects and teams. Whether you’re introducing new product offerings or looking to upsell to existing customers, one of the best options for digital marketing in telecom is partnering with a fractional marketing manager. A marketing consultant brings a wealth of experience at a fraction of the cost of a full-time marketing manager.

Contact us to learn how JABR Marketing can help you navigate digital marketing for your telecom business.

In our next post we’ll give you a step-by-step plan to boost the customer experience through digital marketing in telecom companies like yours. Stay tuned!