We’re on our phones all day, every day, so it’s no surprise that the global telecommunication services industry has a staggering market value ($1602.5 billion in 2021). It’s a competitive industry with innovative brands, many of which are household names, competing for a share of the market. Winning consumer attention in the digital world is harder than ever.
But is it?
Marketing as a whole has shifted and legacy brands need new ways to engage with customers and prospects. Winning market share in the changing landscape will require companies to understand their audiences and find new, creative ways to reach them.
The long-held framework of interruption marketing - like TV ads or sponsored posts on social media - is being replaced by a newer, more personable form of marketing: reception marketing. The main difference is this: reception marketing is driven by data that illuminates the honest interests, questions, and behaviors of prospects and customers so that brands can provide valuable interactions at the point of need.
Adding value to the customer experience beyond the point of sale through reception marketing is the best way for telecommunications brands to win market share amidst the changing competitive landscape.
The loudest voice in telecommunications marketing
Before you can capture market share and win consumer interest, it’s essential to understand the state of telecommunications marketing. You could look at stock prices or industry news, but in today’s digital world, one of the best ways to understand which brands have the most authority is to look at which brands are visible where consumers are looking for help - organic search.
It’s likely no surprise that Apple is the leader in telecommunications marketing and commands the highest market share over other competitors. Apple, after all, has long been known for the loyalty of its customers and for the prestige that comes with the brand.
Because of branded searches for products like iPhones, the brand dominates the cellular market. T-Mobile is also a leader in the cellular market (18%) and wins consumer interest far past its provider competitors.
But here’s a fascinating data point: depending on the search, online publishers are winning out over these long-established, legacy telecommunications brands. Publishers like The New York Times, Reviews.org, U.S. News, and Tom’s Guide are consistently publishing content that is relevant to consumers looking for insights about telecommunications products and services.
These publications are providing answers to popular informational consumer queries like: ”iPhone vs. Android,” “best camera phone,” and “what is data roaming.” And this is drawing attention away from global brands, reducing their market share, and distributing their brand story to other channels.
What’s the takeaway? Your ideal customers are looking for answers to their questions as they work their way through the buying journey. It’s up to you to provide value. This is true not just in organic search, but across channels, including social media, email, and web content. As industry experts, brands have an advantage over publishers because they can provide authoritative, valuable responses to customers’ needs.
By pairing multiple types of consumer data to inform strategies, brands are able to meet consumers where they are throughout their journeys, rather than focusing on bottom-of-funnel, transactional terms. This means brands can drastically increase online visibility, consumer trust, user experience, conversions, and market share.
And that’s the whole purpose of reception marketing.
What is reception marketing?
Reception marketing focuses on connecting consumers with the most valuable information based on their place in the customer journey. This approach differs from traditional marketing models by delivering relevant content to consumers at the precise time when and location where they’re seeking help.
Reception marketing aims to meet consumers where they are and offer them the support they require, sharing content that addresses their questions and guides them toward investing in a specific product or brand.
As customers progress through their journey with a brand, they continue to send signals that companies must identify and respond to with the most effective messaging. This approach moves away from interruptive strategies that may overwhelm consumers and negatively impact brand sentiment.
Reception marketing aligns a brand’s marketing assets directly with consumer needs, even if they only want to learn more about a concept in your industry. It’s about building trust and creating long-term relationships instead of piling on sales-driven content that drives customers away.
By comprehending consumer needs and providing valuable information at the right time and through the right channels, telecommunication providers can leverage reception marketing to establish stronger relationships, increase brand loyalty, and drive growth.
How to implement reception marketing
The short of it: you want to be visible to consumers wherever and whenever so that you can beat out longstanding market share dominators and win conversions for less. And this isn’t an unattainable goal. By building a steady library of valuable content that is driven by consumer data, you can win their trust and attention.
To get started with a reception marketing strategy, take these steps.
- Understand your consumer: Up to 66% of consumers expect companies to understand their needs. Dig into consumer data to better understand what your target audience is looking for in the telecommunications market and build more informed buyer personas, customer journeys, and marketing plans.
- Audit your assets: Review your existing brand assets to understand your degree of control over them and where content gaps may lie. This will put you in a stronger position to meet the needs of your consumer by knowing which owned assets to optimize and what new content to prioritize.
- Build content that fills gaps in the consumer journey: Create new and unique content assets that support your buyer throughout their journey. Identify questions that are going unaswered, like “What phone has the best battery life?” and “How do mobile providers compare?” to understand what content is needed and where it belongs. Let your content map guide your production and strategy to create a more personalized and effective approach. Then you can address each customer's unique needs and concerns, building stronger relationships and driving long-term business success.
- Track progress and measure impact: Don’t just release your new assets into the void. Immediately apply performance metrics to your owned assets and continually measure their impact on your marketing goals. What improvements could you make to them to improve conversions? What adjustments would further enhance your relationships with consumers? Allow data to guide the evolution of your owned assets to ensure they stay as valuable as possible to both your brand and consumers.
Reception marketing is the best next step for brands looking to win market share in telecommunications. For providers to distinguish themselves and build trust with consumers, the key will be to add value at every point of the consumer journey, meeting customers when and where they’re looking to connect.
