By Stacy Hamer, Chief Operating Officer, iQmetrix

In challenging market conditions, telecom retail businesses that want to remain competitive will need to retain the loyalty of the customers that they already have. This means keeping up with rapidly evolving consumer expectations for customer service. This has become increasingly true as demanding younger consumers—such as Gen Alpha, who were practically born with phones in their hands—start to come on stream over the next decade.

So, how can telecom retailers meet customer expectations and provide great purchasing experiences? Here are the trends to stay on top of—or get left behind.
1. Fully understanding the customer and personalizing their experience is more crucial than ever
With the typical buyer’s journey now spanning multiple channels, it’s no longer enough to have a partial view of your customers. You could be missing crucial information that might help you land a sale or keep that customer loyal. But how do you get on top of customer insights to create a fully personalized customer experience that today’s—and future—customers expect?

At a panel event at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Brian Higgins, Verizon’s Chief Customer Experience Officer, discussed the concept of the “segment of one” — meaning that each individual customer is their own consumer segment with very specific personal wants and needs. His perspective is that with new AI technology coming on stream, true customer personalization can finally be achieved.

“We’ve previously had offers that go out to hundreds of thousands of people, and that’s been fine, but where we are moving to is the segment of one,” Higgins said. “As a retailer, you know about this customer through data and purchasing behavior, and you’re going to offer them promotions that are relevant to them. That’s happening now, but customers don’t realize that’s all AI in the background.”

Retailers need technology and systems that offer a 360-degree view of their customers—and that includes processes that save time in other areas to create space for engaging with customers and listening to their needs, and creating their personalized package accordingly.

Businesses that truly understand their customers’ needs will have a major advantage — Gartner has projected that this year, these retailers will outperform competitors’ CX metrics by 20%.
2. Efficient processes are mandatory, and inefficiency will not be tolerated
Today’s consumers are loyal to experiences, not brands, and will jump ship if they think they can get a better experience somewhere else. The evidence is there in the research:

94% of consumers are frustrated by disjointed experiences across a brand
54% of consumers will stop using a brand after just one bad experience

The top indicator of a bad experience? Wasted time.

86% of consumers have left a store because of frustration about slow lines
74% of consumerswill go to a competitor’s store if they feel like the lines are shorter there
73% of customerswill leave without making a purchase if they have to wait more than five minutes

Optimizing store tools and processes is no longer optional. Retail operators need to do what it takes to implement systems that improve transaction times and reduce frustrations, such as needing to enter the same information multiple times.

The same applies to omnichannel retail experiences. If your customer is buying online and picking up in store, for example, you need technology and systems in place that create a seamless, frictionless journey with a consistent experience across all touchpoints. This will make the customer feel as nurtured as if they were in the store talking to an attentive sales associate—while giving them the now-expected convenience of shopping online or starting their purchasing journey on social media, or at a pop-up event, or anywhere else.
3. Employee experience is important, too, and affects the customer experience