What Sets DSPs Apart From Traditional Service Providers?
Acting like a DSP in these important ways can deliver near- term business results.
Behaving like a DSP means doing things that digital companies do well. In many cases, these are things that traditional service providers usually have not done well or have not been forced to focus on. It is difficult for any large, successful organization to suddenly change its ways of doing business that enabled it to become successful in the first place. But because digital disruption is real, service providers are urgently revaluating how they interact with customers, engage with partners and generate revenue.
Here are three things that service providers are measuring and evaluating in order to behave more like DSPs:
1. Engage Customers Primarily Through Digital Channels
In an industry where telesales and door-to-door promotions have been core competencies for years, going from belly-to-belly customer interactions to digital channels isn't always a natural shift. But digital providers are good at both anticipating customer needs at a personal level and offering customers efficient and useful online controls, especially via smartphone.
2. Make it Easy to Validate and Onboard Partners
Service creation by ecosystem is a core digital focus area. But an important concept underlying any partner ecosystem is that the partners are attracted to technology assets they can use to create new services easily, or enhance an existing one, in ways that can make money. Partners need to be onboarded simply so they can understand how they'll be paid and feel confident with their access to technologies throughout the ecosystem.
3. Earn an Increasing Portion of Revenue Higher up the Value Chain
Digital is all about efficiency; the same goes for how customers want to consume services. If there isn't a reason to stitch providers together, it's just simpler not to do so. Digital customers expect network- and application-based services to be offered together as complete products. Their focus is often on the experience, so activating and deactivating services easily and on demand through mobile, self-serve controls is required. The benefit, however, is the ability to increase both revenue and lifetime value per account.
Digital transformation is underway across the communications industry. Those that adopt key DSP behaviors quickly, while continuing to do most of the things they already do well, are bringing new services and customer engagement strategies to market and finding success.