It can be difficult to predict and protect revenue in a market where change is the only constant. For communications service providers (CSPs), revenue assurance is critical to growth, especially as CSPs look to expand their networks to address the growing customer demand for mobile multimedia communications. One way to stabilize revenue streams is to identify and fix revenue leaks but, as we mentioned in a previous blog, it’s not the most effective method. A better path to prevention is to predict and avoid leaks before they occur.
One of the most important weapons that CSPs have in the battle against revenue volatility is their data. Analyzing business data can help CSPs predict customer behavior and proactively address potential revenue leaks before they happen.
Look Beyond Departmental Data Silos
It’s vital, however, that CSPs look beyond departmental data silos and instead collect data across their entire organization. A broader data view provides a single, reliable picture of customer behavior—a necessary condition, since decision makers must trust the answers they get from their data before they can act upon them.
By analyzing the data they collect through billing systems, customer relationship management tools and network devices, and aggregating the information with third-party market data, CSPs can sustain and increase their revenue flows through data-driven intelligence that allows them to:
- Create marketing campaigns that generate higher success rates;
- Optimize and personalize customer service through more cost-effective self-service capabilities;
- Track which customer behaviors are associated with higher adoption rates and higher ARPU;
- Better understand what triggers customer churn and how to avoid those triggers;
- Optimize and prioritize network traffic based on high-demand and high-value content; and
- Pinpoint their most and least profitable customers, and allocate network resources accordingly.
In order to find the right answers in your data, first you need to look for the right partner. CSPs need a partner that can see the big picture and understand how to turn data from disparate sources into meaningful insights. At Neustar, we provide CSPs with the expertise and assets they need to collect and analyze data, reduce risk and drive sustainable revenue growth through smarter marketing campaigns, better pricing models and superior customer service.
When you’re ready to get serious about revenue assurance, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Data integrity is important, but so is the quality of the analytics tool you use;
- Don’t be afraid to use a services partner to add skills you may not have in house; and
- Stop looking at your data like you did five years ago.
It is time to analyze new aspects of your data to get a fresh perspective on your revenue forecasts, or bring in third-party data to augment your own data. If you want to learn more, check out our eBook on revenue assurance.