The Special Sauce

Cloud Communications

The Special Sauce

By Peter Radizeski, RAD-INFO Inc.  |  August 03, 2012

There is no special sauce in telecom. Everyone has the same technology. Last year, there were fewer companies pushing hosted PBX (News - Alert). Today, in my market, hosted PBX is like the new Integrated T1 – everyone is offering it.

What do you do if you everyone is selling cheeseburgers like you? You could invent the Big Mac. The problem there is that you think it is about the technology. It’s not. It is all about CX.

CX stands for Customer eXperience. In software development, if the websites and applications are user friendly, that’s due to UX – user experience. Very few companies take UX into account – just look at Facebook (News - Alert). It’s not just about design or aesthetics; it is about ease of use.

Telecom is more like cars. There are so many cars for sale – new, used, hybrid, and crossovers. All cars will provide basic transportation. Three big factors are budget, worldview and luxury.

When all else fails, the buyer just goes with his budget. He “saves some money,” the telecom mantra since the 1990’s. The buyer can’t tell the difference, so relies on price to decide.

The buyer has a worldview of the car he should be driving. The vehicle is part of the image he has about himself. In telecom, that worldview could be what prevents a buyer from going into the cloud. His worldview is based on blinking lights on-premise.

The other factor is luxury. Luxury is a concierge at a hotel; a suite, not just a room; black tie optional; white glove; and exclusive. Luxury is about the user experience. Luxury isn’t about price, although it usually costs more, because the value demands it.

In today’s world of “me-too” telecom (and overall awful customer service), the customer experience will be the differentiator. In a world of social media, word-of-mouth and online user reviews (like yelp and Angie’s List), a luxury customer experience will go a long way. CX is the special sauce.




Edited by Brooke Neuman
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