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How to crush complexity in billing: 5 steps guide for telcos

Written by Lifecycle Software | Aug 3, 2023 10:26:19 AM

Billing Solutions used to be a daunting headache for numerous telecom operators. Many companies struggle to navigate market regulations, meet increasing demands, and manage multiple billing systems while striving for cost-effective operations. At first glance, it may seem impossible to juggle everything and maintain a healthy company, doesn't it? However, what if we could show you that not only is this possible, but you might just need to shift your perspective on the so-called "problem"?

 

 

Lifecycle Software has been in the market for the last 28 years and is known for crushing the complexity in the telecom industry. Today we will help you release the billing headache so you can grow your potential and save costs at the same time. Let’s get agile and unleash the five steps to achieve success. 

1.

The first thing that you need to do is to find your product-market fit by detecting promising segments, standing out your unique differentiators, developing your message and positioning and stick to it. Don’t try to do the “one-size-fits-all” market approach, instead try to segment your market, and discover their pain points. Don't forget that the new customer is looking for a trustable company. Make sure that a comprehensive and flexible CRM and customer support platform are included in your stack. Build a value proposition based on being simple, straightforward and relevant to your niche. Be transparent. 

2.

After planning your market strategy, you need to consolidate your billing systems. Find a partner that can provide you with a platform that can embrace all your systems into a single platform so you can set up everything for success. To manage your subscriber base and enable the monetization of services you need a BSS responsible for billing, SIM provisioning, roaming and much more. You need to look for a scalable and modular platform with high levels of automation. In this way, you will have a solution that fits your needs and your customer expectations. 

3.

Another key factor is to automate processes. Manual processes are prone to errors and inefficiencies and may provoke revenue leaks. Start automating everything such as invoice generation, payment processing and customer management processes. Did you know that 99.95% of Lifecycle BSS transactions are fully automated? This allows our customers to focus their efforts on their own brand growth. As a consequence, their revenue and customer satisfaction grows. 

4.

Now that you have a cloud-native and automated BSS platform you can turn your efforts to CRM and Customer Relations. Telecom CRMs store all the information about customers, and they are a central piece for the activity of any communication service provider. It is best to go for a telecom-specific solution and avoid generalist platforms that intend to fit dozens of retail business models. Telco CRMs are designed to attend to the specific needs of operators, therefore easier to navigate and adapt to your MVNO needs. The customer service department is central to ensuring good NPS scores and happy, loyal customers. It’s encouraged to include as many channels as possible to contact your brand, like voice, video, e-mail, social media, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Bots. The contact centre solution must integrate all interactions in the same interface and integrate with the CRM directly. This way, customer care can be handled all in one window, improving call handling time. 

5.

With everything set, you are ready to unlock growth. CSPs move in a competitive scenario and need strategies to tackle and keep up the pace with innovation. At the same time, they need to cut through the noise and connect with the audience. The success of some MVNOs today is propelled by segmentation and engagement. The secret might be as simple as listening to the audience's needs and catering to them with targeted messaging. There are a lot of examples of customer-centric strategies to enlarge and delight your customer base while generating new revenue streams. For example, paying or “giving back” end users’ unused money, data or bundle allowances, refer a friend programme, or loyalty gifts that data or service usage gift or incentives, unique to the customer base. To create such strategies MNOs and MVNOs need a converged charging system, or CCS, able to equip brands with all they need to weave and deploy engaging strategies that generate revenue and drive loyalty. 

 

Embrace the future with a more robust digital path for your company. With a digital full-stack BSS you can converge all your services in the same system, reduce the financial risk, be cost-effective and have better information of your customer journey. Ready to be agile? Start today by clicking to book a quick free business consultation below.