For some time now, players in the telecommunications industry have been rather quiet on the subject of success. Although some nominal growth in revenues can still be achieved through extensions to the investment portfolio – i.e. acquisitions – the main challenges of the core business will not go away; growth seen in the use of data services has generally turned out lower than expected and can only just compensate for the reduced growth in penetration and falling prices. The shift from a supplier’s to a buyer’s market is progressing unabated on many regional and technological markets, and the consequences can be seen: it is no longer just important who the customer “belongs to,” but also how each provider takes advantage of this relationship. In simple terms, the “battle for the customer” is developing increasingly into a “battle with the customer” – the euphoric flirt and honeymoon are maturing into married life. So what rules must be observed if the relationship is to succeed in the long term? 

No two customers are the same – no two perfect offers will be either 

As each individual customer’s needs and his/her ability and propensity to pay vary substantially, the challenge for operators is to filter out the optimal offer or package for each of these ­customers. Using ongoing data analysis, indicators of what these offers could look like for each customer can be identified and – thanks to IT-based sales management at the points of sale – communicated to the customer. This method of customer-specific up-selling provides the technological and informational foundation for sustainable customer management. The addi­tional benefit expected or actually provided by the offer will be assessed by customers before and after purchase. If they find the cost-benefit assessment to be positive, they will continue to use the service and will be more open to further offers made in the future. Aggressive sales methods which do not take the individual requirements of customers into consideration can only be successful in the short term as they will have a damaging effect on customer trust and reduce the customers’ openness to further up-selling offers. The name of the game for sustainable up-selling is a balance in the cost/benefit relationship for each individual customer.