It was not too long ago when mobile operators commanded the end-to-end product space for their customer, where the typical products consumed were mainly voice and SMS, and to some extent, data. With the advent of the smartphone, introduction of Over-The-Top (OTT) apps and platforms (e.g Skype, Whatsapp, Line, Viber) as well as improved infrastructure leading to much faster mobile connection speeds, the traditional telco products have rapidly become marginalised or essentially irrelevant to a large proportion of today’s highly discerning mobile users.
Furthermore, as consumers increasingly use their mobile devices for vertical specific apps (e.g Grabtaxi, Uber, Youtube, Instagram) the traditional way of segmenting customers based on standard metrics such as demographics, psychographics and ARPU are no longer as useful in attracting and retaining customers in an increasingly fragmented and diverse market. Mobile operators are therefore keen to re-establish their dominant position in the telecommunications service value chain through highly differentiated and vertical specific products, in a bid to open their lens wide enough to take advantage of the opportunities in the market.
So, how can telcos develop targeted products to truly differentiate themselves in a crowded market?
Telcos must develop value propositions which deliver highly sought-after end-to-end services to very specific customer segments by adopting a micro-segmentation approach based on customers’ online usage patterns within popular product and service categories.
For more insights on what are the steps required to develop these micro-segments, please do not hesitate to contact Pioneer Consulting Asia.