In a previous blog post, we covered the 4Ps of Marketing in Unified Communications. As we mentioned, technology and best practices for marketing have advanced since the original Ps were established. Therefore, Booms and Bitner discovered three more factors that could extend the marketing mix.  

• People
• Process
• Physical Evidence

And with that, the 7P’s of Marketing were born. Let’s explore them!

People👫

Many corporations want to come across as customer-centric but as a UC industry reseller, you generally sell B2B. Even though those businesses are still your customers, your people are extremely important.

In the marketing mix, people refer to anyone involved directly or indirectly with your company. Think of your employees, customers, and AI chatbots on your website. The success of your brand and the overall satisfaction of your customers come down to who represents your company. Ensure your people are polite, professional, and fully trained on your product suites. Your company’s people must uphold their reputation in their office or on a trade show floor.

Process↔️

The process represents the in-between time from the sale of the solution to when your customer is fully up and running using it. Think of your current strategy and consider the following questions.

When you onboard a new customer from another platform:

• Do they experience any downtime? 
• Is it a quick switch? 
• Do you offer in-depth training?
  

The more seamless and personalized your process is, the happier your customers will be! For example, hosted solutions are designed to save time, and therefore, you can virtually install a solution in a few quick and secure steps. With no customer-premise-equipment and no need for staff to visit your customer’s location, things will move along swiftly. If switching is not seamless, it may be time to reconsider who your provider is. 

Physical Evidence🕵️

As we explore the final P, physical evidence, it is important to note we are not talking about evidence found at a crime scene. Ha! Yes, physical evidence provides a reference of proof of purchase, but it also covers your brand’s existence.  

Physical evidence includes your:

• Website
• Social Media
• Logo & Branding
• Trade Show Booth 
• Office Building
• Packaging 
• Post-Purchase Initiatives 

Each element is extremely important because it helps your customers identify your business. Together, current and future customers can trust that your company is reliable, trustworthy, and legit. Stay consistent with your messaging, colors, and overall brand. 

We covered all seven P’s in the marketing mix; what do you think of yours? Have you considered the additional benefits of exploring the three listed? Navigate through all seven points and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly. 

Learn why you should be a UCaaS Reseller and be a part of this ever-growing, million-dollar industry by becoming a Bicom Systems partner today. 

Let’s Connect.
📞 +1 (647) 313 1515
📧 sales@bicomsystems.com
💻 www.bicomsystems.com/contact-us  

Global digital operator Veon Ltd has announced that Banglalink, its operating company in Bangladesh, is rolling out next generation 4G networks nationwide across Bangladesh, with a launch reportedly now taking place in a major city.

The new mobile network is being rolled out over the next few months. Veon says it will typically double internet speeds once available.

With 92.8% of internet users in Bangladesh relying on 4G to access digital services, the availability of high-speed, high-quality digital connectivity through Banglalink will benefit the economic development of Bangladesh, the company adds.

The new Banglalink 4G network uses the 2.3GHz spectrum it procured when it doubled its spectrum allocation in April 2022, employs the latest time division duplex (TDD) technology, and has involved the deployment of 3,000 new base stations to provide a total of 14,000 sites across the country.

Banglalink says it is the first mobile operator in Bangladesh to deploy the next-generation TDD technology. The TDD network will, it says, improve the speed and availability of digital communications across Bangladesh while providing higher connection quality for users of Banglalink’s health, education and entertainment digital services.

The network is being systematically rolled out across the country and is reportedly now being launched in Khulna, Bangladesh’s third largest city. The launch was supported by vendor partner ZTE and will provide an upgraded 4G service to Banglalink customers in the city.

According to the Data Centre Dynamics website, the operator’s existing 4G LTE network first went live in February 2018, in the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands.

NEWS

At this year’s Connected Britain conference, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, announced a new digital inclusion pilot programme, pairing five ISPs with five social housing providers to help thousands of residents

With the cost-of-living crisis only growing more severe in the UK, the question of digital exclusion was a major theme of discussion at this year’s Connected Britain conference in London. While the coronavirus pandemic has shed light on the now essential nature of connectivity for daily life, as inflation soars many people could soon be forced to choose between heating their homes or their broadband access.

This is why, earlier this week, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, took to the Connected Britain stage to unveil a new pilot programme that will see five ISPs matched with five social housing providers, aiming to better understand and mitigate digital exclusion throughout the region.

Greater Manchester has around 260,000 residents living in social housing – around 20% of the region’s population – with estimates suggesting that around 60% of these residents face the risk of digital exclusion.

The pilot scheme will see BT, Hyperoptic, TalkTalk, Virgin Media O2, and Vodafone each join forces with one of five social housing providers – Bolton at Home, Southway Homes, Stockport Homes, Wigan and Leigh Housing, and Wythenshawe Housing – to provide digital support to residents and work to gain a deeper understanding of the digital issues facing these communities.

This support provided will vary depending on the ISP in question but will likely take the form of digital skills training and discounted broadband packages and devices. Particular focus will be given to supporting some of the most vulnerable demographics in society, including those ages over 75, those with disabilities, and vulnerable young people.

Each of the five partnerships will explore digital inclusion issues and interventions for up to 1,000 residents via each of these five partnerships, with the pilot aiming to reach a total of 5,000 households. The project is thus the largest digital inclusion social housing intervention in the UK.

“We estimate up to 60% of social housing residents in Greater Manchester face levels of digital exclusion. I firmly believe that digital connectivity should be recognised as a basic human right – and treated as a utility like water, gas, and electricity. By bringing together five of the UK’s biggest internet service providers with five social housing providers from across the region, we’ll be able to understand better the challenges behind that belief, as we attempt to tackle digital exclusion within social housing setting,” said Burnham.

Vodafone, the only solely mobile operator of the ISP group, has already announced that it will provide free SIM cards to up to 1,000 residents, in conjunction with its everyone.connected scheme.

Further details from the rest of the ISPs are expected to be announced soon.

If the pilot programme proves successful, it is hoped the scheme will be expanded to other parts of the UK, with more ISPs and social housing providers joining forces to help close the digital divide.

For now, Burnham hopes that Great Manchester can be transformed into a UK-leading digital city, where no one is left excluded from the digital world.

“To get that crown of the UK’s leading digital city, what actually should that mean? It’s more than just the number of digital and tech jobs or the number of blue-chip players you have within the city region, it’s more than the infrastructure,” said Burnham. “We aspire to be a city region where everyone has got day-to-day connectivity so that they can take care of their finances, do their homework, find work, find opportunity, and book appointments from public services.”

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International telecommunications services and investment company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), and Zenlayer, a massively distributed edge cloud service provider, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint development of a digital connectivity platform that will provide on-demand subsea cable services.

The partners say that the joint development will combine the strong capabilities of both companies. As Telin continues to invest heavily in global subsea cable services, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, Zenlayer’s platform will further digitize service delivery for carriers, hyperscalers and global enterprises.

This isn’t the first time these companies have worked together. In fact since 2017, Telin and Zenlayer have had collaborations involving edge data centre and cloud networking services. In addition, earlier this year, MDI Ventures, the investment arm of Telin owner Telkom Indonesia, led the C+ round of investment in Zenlayer, further solidifying the latter’s position as the leading edge cloud service provider in the region.

Zenlayer says it has the most robust infrastructure presence in the world’s fastest-growing economic regions. The company adds that it has a strong commitment to Southeast Asia, with 62 edge nodes and extensive partnerships built in the region.

Noting that Telin is looking forward to helping more businesses connect into Southeast Asia and helping local companies to expand globally, Budi Satria Dharma Purba, CEO of Telin, says: “The fast-growing internet economy in the Indo-Pacific area has made the need for connectivity stronger than ever before,” and adds: “Zenlayer’s massive global scale and advanced technology to build on-demand, easy-to-use edge cloud platform makes them a perfect partner for our digital transformation.”

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) expressed bullishness post-merger with ambitions to aid the southeast Asian nation in transforming into a “digital powerhouse”, but admitted the operator has work to do in tackling “toxic” practices to support nationwide digital transformation.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison president director and CEO Vikram Sinha said in a media briefing that IOH’s strategy will not focus on price but on improving customer experience, stating Indonesians demand quality services particularly after the global health crisis spotlighted the urgent need for connectivity in society.

Sinha said the operator has two key challenges since completing its merger in January, they are to improve business practices and in turn build up customer trust.

“We want to be a purpose-driven organisation by empowering and connecting communities, this really helped us galvanise the organisation. Secondly, we have to tackle the experience beast. I’ve been in the industry for 20 years, I have to acknowledge that we have not been good at building customer trust,” said Sinha.

Sinha said the company will work on being more “transparent” to gain customer loyalty, as well as shedding practices such as “unnecessary roaming charges” and contract auto-renewals.

“It took us a long time to realise it was very toxic. I think we are very focused on ensuring that we build trust and that we give our customers a marvellous experience. This has been our driving force in the last eight months and we had we are still on that journey,” said Sinha.

Indonesia’s potential

IOH has a vital role in the development of Indonesia said the CEO, the nation has the fourth largest population in the world with 275 million people. It is expected to be the 10^th largest economy globally by GDP in the coming years.

Indonesia is predicted to grow to be the fourth largest economy by 2045, according to the International Monetary Fund. Its gross merchandise value, a measure of the digital economy, was US$70 billion in 2021 a 49% surge year-on-year and is forecast to grow 20% to US$146 million by 2025, according to Google’s e-Conomy 2021 report.

“There is no doubt that Indonesia will be the digital powerhouse of Southeast Asia. With the government policy changes, especially the omnibus law coming in, there is a forward-looking approach from the government, I feel Indonesia’s digital economy will be one of the best in the world,” said Sinha.

The omnibus law was passed by the Indonesian parliament in October 2020 which aims to create jobs in the country. The law also enabled operators to share infrastructure and spectrum, a move that made the merger between Indosat Ooredoo and Hutchison Tri possible, said Sinha.

IOH has a subscriber base of around 100 million making it the second largest player in the market. The company now has “real-scale” with 50,000 base stations at its disposal to take on market rivals. IOH has completed 50% of its integration process since merging in January, noted Sinha.

Connecting the unconnected

Sinha also noted there is still a challenge in connecting all Indonesians due to it being an archipelagic state consisting of more than17,000 islands. Sinha said the company is exploring the use of low-earth orbit satellites to connect underserved locations. The chief executive also noted around 70% of Indonesians are currently using connectivity services, but more “collaborative work” is needed to tap into the rest of the population.

To attract unconnected people education is imperative, Sinha said there is still a need for an “offline approach” to attract consumers by opening dialogue through its 200,000-retail presence.

“Connecting the next 15% of the unconnected requires a lot of collaborative work, where you have to first make sure there is a 4G network available, then you have to work in terms of making people feel comfortable [with new technology]. That’s the journey which we are going through, it’s not easy,” said Sinha.

The company has a scholarship programme called IDCamp which educates young Indonesians to develop skillsets to become developers/programmers. The scheme has produced around 180,000 certified coders to date.   

To learn more about Indosat Ooredoo Huchison, please click here.