Marketing and customer value management have become increasingly complex. Brands fight for customer attention, and consumers demand personalized, real-time engagement. Customer churn is at record levels. A single misstep can destroy years of carefully cultivated brand value. This dynamic has not spared telecom operators. Additionally, telecom operators face disruption from digital ecosystem players that threaten to capture customer value and remove telecom operators as owners of the customer relationship.
However, telecom operators have a data reservoir that they can use to thrive in this competitive environment. Indeed, their data sets, which include real-time location data, usage patterns, and customer service interactions, are broader and richer than those of many other industries.
Paradoxically, telecom marketers are thirsty for insight and opportunity because they typically utilize only 30 to 50 percent of their data. They cannot exploit these data, as their marketing technology (MarTech) stacks are fragmented, and they lack the requisite skills.
What telecom operators need is an artificial intelligence (AI)–powered, data-fueled engine that enables personalized marketing and customer value management at scale. Done right, such engines can be transformational. Our analysis shows that such an engine unlocks new revenue streams, deepens customer relationships, and creates competitive advantage, generating $5.90 in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for every $1.00 invested.
Telecom marketing can deliver more value with AI-powered, data-fueled engines
(Value increase potential per $1.00 of investment)
- Brand awareness
- Customer sentiment
- Return on ad spend
- Net Promoter Score
- Conversion rate
- Customer acquisition cost
- Trade spend effectiveness
- Conversion ratio
- Products per customer
- Customer lifetime value
- Base value mix
- Call deflection to AI
- Call prevention rate
- Cross-sell/upsell rate
- Customer satisfaction score
- Churn rate
- Dormancy revival
- Win-back rate
- Customer tenure
Source: Strategy&
The framework for this engine has four layers: a data foundation, a cognitive marketing core, value pools, and activation—which require proper orchestration. Middle East operators that act now to build such an AI-powered marketing engine can significantly accelerate the journey to customer value. Those that hesitate risk falling behind. Inaction is more than a missed opportunity—it is a path to irrelevance.
Telecom marketing is going through a capacity and capabilities transformation. The data and the tools needed to achieve this transformation are already available. The question is no longer whether Middle East telecom operators should embrace AI-powered, data-fueled marketing, but how fast they can bring it to bear. The laggards will pay a steep price as their competitors race ahead, using data, AI, and advanced analytics to boost revenue, reduce churn, and delight customers. Those who do not seize this opportunity will lose high-margin services to digital competitors, leaving them to become mere suppliers of commoditized connectivity. Telecom operators that seize the opportunity can provide sustainable returns to their shareholders by defending their core business and by expanding into new value pools in the broader digital ecosystem. The leaders in the race will shape the future of the telecom industry.
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