Managing customer experience top priority for 68pc telcos

Manama: About 68 per cent of telecommunications C-suite respondents cite customer experience management as their top strategic priority over the next three years, according to EY’s latest telecommunications report. 

Regional players are even more emphatic in their focus on cost efficiencies and smart services. Three in four regional respondents cite cost control compared with one in two participants globally.

And 38pc cite developing new services as a top three strategic priority and see smart home services as a leading driver of digital revenues, compared to 17pc globally.

Additionally, 43pc of local operators see internal collaboration as a leading route towards operating model improvements, while one in four believe that talent attraction and retention is a strategic priority.

While external factors are on top of the minds of executives in the Middle East, transformation within the organisation is an area that operators are prioritising. 

While almost three-quarters of global C-Suite participants believe disruptive competition is a leading risk facing the sector, Middle East telco operators are more focused on the journey toward more intuitive, convenient and trusted relationships with customers.

Operators will continue to seek differentiation through network quality and breadth of service portfolio. 

Their strategies are expected to diverge on the basis of differences in geographic scale, level of digital ambition, and contrasting prioritisations of growth and efficiency within their strategic agenda. 

Yet higher levels of agility, more collaborative mindsets and a recasting of customer relationships will be vital to all.