ShortCut: Boost ICT services to win to B2B market | Page 2

In order to serve the different customer
segments appropriately, GO-TO-
MARKET APPROACH & PRODUCT
PORTFOLIO have to be adapted.
Telcos need a clear product strategy in
which they define their specific go-tomarket
approach, e.g. pure reselling,
reselling white-label products, own
branding and product enhancements,
or proprietary solutions. Splitting
product management into a technical
and market-oriented part helps in two
ways: Firstly, continuous market
feedback strengthens the alignment of
product features and customer needs.
And secondly, the technical modular
basis of products ensures scalability
and avoids monolithic developments.
As a result, product portfolios can be
simplified and standardized to the
maximum possible extent with
additional customization according to
customer needs. This reduces time to
market and costs, enabling companies
to offermore competitive prices.
To improve the SALES APPROACH for
ICT products, sales resources need to
be efficiently allocated from a stagnant
connectivity business to the growing
ICT segment. However, to successfully
generate ICT revenues, a more in-depth
ICT knowledge is required, which most
sales personnel simply does not have.
The sales force needs to understand
customer requirements to be able to
comprehensively consult them
regarding their ICT needs, and to
mitigate sentiments about the
perceived product complexity. Dividing
sales personnel into ‘hunters’, which
aggressively acquire new ICT services
business, and ‘farmers’, who focus on
retaining as well as up-/cross-selling
existing customers will enable revenue
growth. While the hunter’s role is to win
new business, the farmer’s job aims at
increasing the customer’s share of
wallet which creates further exit
barriers. Furthermore, marketing
resources need to be allocated to
increase brand awareness and reputa-
tion of telcos as relevant providers of
ICT services. Lastly, the online sales
strategy must be improved as many
B2B customers increasingly use online
channels before contacting a sales
representative.
Another success factor is to
fundamentally re-think PARTNER
STRATEGIES. Telcos must evaluate
their need for different partnership
models and identify suitable partners
accordingly. In sales, for example,
partner selection is vital to successfully
serve customers' needs. A smart
partner selection can enable telcos to
offset inherent disadvantages (e.g. size
imbalance) of their business model,
especially when focusing on ICT
products. To facilitate forming these
partnerships, telcos should increase
their attractiveness for sales partners
via commissions, product offering, and
training. Once partnerships are
established, the performance of
partners must be continuously
monitored to deploy retention
measures and benefits for those
performing well. Thereby,
attractiveness measures increase
efficiency and effectiveness, which
decreases overall commission cost
while retaining high-performing
partners and weeding out lowperforming
ones. Beyond sales, telcos
also require strategic partnerships with
technology leaders, and other key
players in the ICT market to strengthen
the product portfolio.
INTERNAL ENABLERS lay the
foundation for a successful ICT service
offering in any telco. A clear roadmap
about the necessary skills and
capabilities required for the shift in
business focus needs to be established.
Telcos have to build up ICT capabilities
by e.g. hiring experienced ICT services
personnel and empower them to
implement the required mindset
change, away from connectivity
towards ICT services – not only on an
operational level but also on a manage-
ment level. Top management buy-in, as
well as training and enablement, will
help telcos to ensure ICT readiness, to
further drive the mindset change on all
levels and to facilitate the building of a
credible perception of expertise.
THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW
In conclusion, the presented success
factors allow telcos to capitalize on the
fast-growing SME ICT market.
However, the corresponding measures
need to be implemented quickly to cut
a clear path into the fragmented but
fast-growing market and claim a share
besides the large tech companies and
OTTs. Through leveraging their existing
customer base and access, telcos can
position themselves as a one-stop-shop
and trusted partner for SMEs.
Ultimately, telcos enjoy an
advantageous position for pushing into
the ICT market. However, most telcos
have moved too slowly to offset the
market share gains of mighty tech
companies. Given the fast pace at
which these companies spread
throughout the ICT market and cut out
telcos in the process, the time to gain a
strong foothold in the ICT market is
ticking away and the time for telcos to
act is now.
THE AUTHORS
DR. ALEXANDER HENSCHEL
Managing Director
MARVIN WÖLK
Manager
YANNICK EISENBEIS
Manager
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES
© goetzpartners, 2020