Collinson Latitude Calls For Mobile Operators To Anticipate Customers’ Needs And Offer Real Value

London, January 12, 2012: Collinson Latitude, a global provider of incremental revenue, membership and loyalty products, is calling on mobile operators to capitalise on their customer data insights by delivering reward programmes that better anticipate customer needs.

Collinson Latitude director Janet Titterton says: “Mobile operators are aware of the opportunity to build stronger relationships with their customers by undertaking effective customer segmentation – as many conferences will inform us with topics focusing on the need to develop increasingly informative insights into customer lifestyles.

"But there is little evidence that they are actively pursuing relationship management strategies that make each of us feel that they know and value us. With initiatives like O2 Priority Moments, we are starting to see operators harness the huge loyalty potential of mobile platforms; providing offers and benefits when and where customers need them. However, to truly reap the rewards of customer loyalty and engagement, the opportunity for operators is to be relevant and provide their customers with tangible value.”

According to Titterton, the need to move beyond generic offers for all to more personalised benefits is particularly acute for operators: “Mobile operators are facing a watershed in their evolution. Although mobile handsets have become indispensable lifestyle accessories, customers not only value their handsets but also the content provided by third-party companies.

"There is a danger of the underlying mobile connectivity becoming a mere commodity. To minimise customer churn and to access fresh revenue streams from customers, mobile operators need to exploit their data insights to surprise and delight customers with loyalty rewards and offers that are timely, relevant and offer real value.

“The good news is that mobile operators are in a great position to deliver this type of next generation relationship programme,” says Titterton. “Mobile firms have access to many indicators of a customer’s lifestyle – such as where they live and their travel behaviour. With growing penetration of near-field communication (NFC) and contactless payment, the opportunity to track wider buying behavior will be available too. By developing a comprehensive and single customer view through data analysis and insight, operators can deliver targeted benefits that are relevant to the individual and reward loyalty in a unique way.

“But the real excitement comes at the next stage,” Titterton continues. “By analysing reward, offer and benefit redemption behaviour, operators can develop intelligent, personalised and dynamic programmes that anticipate customer needs and wants, based upon previous behaviour. It is this ability to foresee customers’ wishes that makes some online retailers so successful at driving customer profitability. Mobile operators must also follow this path.”