Key: TECHNOLOGY (T) / MARKETING / MANAGEMENT (M)

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS (A) / ENHANCED CASE STUDY / EXERCISE (Ex)

Day 1

Setting the scene and marketing case study

This initial session sets the tone of the week, including the overall programme objectives, timing and administration, the speakers, and what is expected during the exercises. Delegates find out about each other and meet their team members.

The aims and requirements of the Island Telco Marketing Case Study are explained at this stage to ensure each delegate can effectively relate the week's sessions to both the team marketing exercise, and their individual requirements.

Industry and Technology grounding

Provides an introduction to the world of communications, including the telecoms market, the technology, and the fundamental principles behind fixed and cellular networks. This module sets the scene for the remaining telecoms and industry-based sessions, establishing the overall aims of a telecommunications operator, and its key requirements. Cellular principles and the radio on which it is based is the key to understanding the world of mobile communications - and this is also presented.

The requirements of a telecoms network Components of a network Fixed and mobile communications How it all works - the basics Fixed networks Broadband The global mobile standard The evolution to 3rd Generation The telecoms market place A global view Competition Regulation and standards Spectrum - a scarce resource Use of Radio Systems

The user experience (services, applications and handsets)
One of the very key success factors for any network operator or vendor is the user experience. This module explores terminals and handsets; services and applications; ease of use; access to content from the user perspective; role of the operating system; compatibility issues; market segmentation; and the overall look and feel of the product.

• What are services?
• Who provides them?
• What is their value? - To the operator; to the user
• How do we pay?
• Example services
• Messaging
• Content - WAP, XHTML, I-Mode
• Multimedia
• TV
• Accessing the services
• A virtual home environment?
• The requirements for user devices
• Design considerations - Size, functionality, display and batteries
• The user interface
• Bluetooth
• Wireless LAN
• Current handsets and capabilities

The telecoms industry - present and future

Many challenges and opportunities face the ever-changing telecommunications industry over the next few years, and this module provides a comprehensive analysis of the current situation, as well as predicting future trends, growth markets and technologies, and the strategies that are likely to be employed. The aim is to provide a clearer picture of the way ahead - enabling more informed decisions and choices. The information is drawn from Informa's vast market intelligence resources.

Industry analysis Major industry players Operator strategies Technology forecasts Regional implications Industry initiatives User trends Higher speed networks - The choices Status of Broadband GPRS and EDGE 3G and beyond Market predictions Projected timelines Media and content IPTV and Mobile TV Convergence The role of media companies.

Day 2

Marketing Goals and Metrics

Defining the overall goals of marketing within the telecommunications industry, and measuring the success (or otherwise) of that marketing are fundamental to effective marketing within the telecoms industry. This session sets the overall requirements, providing the foundations on which the remaining marketing sessions are built.

• The Elements of Telecoms Marketing
• Marketing and Service Revenues
• Players in the Value Chain - The past…
• Players in the Value Chain - The present and future…
• General Marketing Channels
• Industry-specific Marketing Channels
• The Different Objectives of Marketing Strategy
• Short-term vs. Long-term Marketing
• Marketing and Market Development
• Key Metrics with which to Measure Marketing Results
• What is a Customer?
• Active Customers
• ARPU
• AMPU
• Churn
• Life Time Value
• Metrics in the context of Marketing Strategy
  

Market Segments and Brands

Segmenting the market is a technique that both handset manufacturers and operators employ to direct the appropriate message to their target customers. It allows key benefits of different services, tariff structures, handsets, and usage scenarios to be defined and directed toward very different customer groups. This session looks at the use of segmentation within the industry, its benefits, and implementation.

Branding requirements are also explored - effectively defining the message that operators, vendors and service providers send out to their customers, in line with their segmented market, and at various stages of their evolution. Operators brand evolution from new-entrant requirements to mature markets are explored, as well as multi-branding.

Market Segmentation

• An introduction to Market Segmentation
• The Youth Market
• Business Users
• Retailing Business Services
• Marketing and Selling to Large Corporate Customers
• Terminals targeted at the Business Segment
• Using MVNOs to address Market Segments
• Market Positioning of MVNOs
• Market Segments and Types of MVNO
• MVNOs and their Mobile Operator Hosts
• Branding
• An Introduction to Branding
• Fixed Brands
• Mobile Brands
• Brand promotion
• Brand Marketing Strategy for a New Entrant
• Trends in Market Segmentation and Multi-Brands
• Whose Brand Dominance in the Future?

Pricing and Bundling Services

Offering the right service at the right price, and making the service / product as attractive as possible will help drive sales and overall growth in customer numbers and revenue. This session looks at both traditional and advanced pricing and bundling of services - including different usage / tariff models, the use of discount pricing, mobile handset subsidies, and bundling of services.

Pricing

• The Importance and Influencers of Price
• Price Elasticity
• Price from a Consumer's Perspective
• Basic Billing and Pricing Models
• Bundling
• Service Bundling as a Marketing Tool to Increase Usage
• The Relationship between Pricing and Capacity
• The Role of Handsets in Pricing
• Handsets and the Marketing of Services
• Handset Subsidy and Customer Acquisition
• Handset Subsidy Trends 1 - Removing It
• Handset Subsidy Trends 2 - Keeping It
• The Evolution of Pricing Strategies
• Pricing Strategies and the "Penetration S-curve"
• No-frills brands and Discount Pricing

Promoting and Launching Services

Launching services offers unique challenges to the marketer - not least because of the unpredictable nature of the offering and customer take-up. This session takes the participant through the different stages of service / product launch, from evaluation and trials, through advertising and soft launch, to full-scale launch. It includes a look at launching more advanced 3G-type services.

• Evaluating user needsFrom Trials to Launches
• Unpredictability
• Advertising
• Advertising and offers
• National vs. Local advertising
• Marketing and Advertising Content-based Services
• Examples of Content-focused Co-promotions
• Launching and Promoting 3G Services
• Lessons from Past, Failed Mobile Data Launches
• 3G Pricing - Two Contrasting Launches
• The Importance of Content in 3G
• The Internet as a Sales Channel
• Examples of Portals and "Channels" in 3G Strategy

Creative Thinking

This is an interactive session exploring different aspects of marketing, positioning and branding within the Telecoms industry. Analysis of both successful and unsuccessful campaigns / brands and the possible reasons for each are analysed by the participants.

Participants are also asked to think creatively as they tackle various positioning and branding exercises, designed to provide a range of ideas and thoughts that will be useful later in the Island Telco exercise, and once back within their own organisation.

Day 3

Trends and New Challenges in Telecoms Marketing

Evolving systems and services, convergence, access to media, as well as market saturation in different markets throughout the world are presenting new challenging for marketers within the Telecoms Industry. This session identifies some of the trends that will impact most on the way we do business, and what they mean in terms of marketing our products and services in the future.

• Marketing to Keep Existing Customers
• Loyalty Programmes
• Customer Service
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
• Services with Privacy and Consumer Protection Concerns
• The Increasing Role of Regulators
• Adult Content
• Industry Approaches to Content Classification
• Content Providers' Reactions to Content Controls
• Location Services
• Europe
• Japan
• The US
• Handset Marketing Challenges
• Mass Customisation
• Mobile Handset Customisation for Marketing Differentiation
• Launching a New Handset: Example of the Motorola's i-Tunes Phone
• Handset Retailing: The Example of Nokia
• Service Convergence Strategies
• "Home Zone" Services
• The Convergence of Mobile and WLAN

Creating the Brand

Conducted within the island Telco exercise groups, this session is focused specifically on the brand, and provides an early opportunity to assess the relative merits or otherwise of various telecommunication brand options.

It allows participants to discuss their own group's overall position and target sectors, to set the requirements for their products and brand, and to develop ideas for the brand itself.

Fixed and Mobile Telecoms and the Next Generation

Telecommunication technology basics are explored in this session - providing an excellent grounding in how services are provided to the end user, as well as the capabilities and limitations of both existing and emerging technology. The relative merits of different technology choices are examined and explained to ensure each delegate is aware of the benefits and capabilities.

• Fixed network technologies
• Mobile network technologies
• Voice
• Messaging
• Data
• Speeds of connection
• Fixed Broadband
• Mobile Broadband
• Core network
• IP in the network
• Convergence
• Triple Play and Quad Play

Emerging Services, Applications, and Content

This module provides a more detailed analysis of services, applications and content, and the way the industry is changing to meet the challenges ahead. It concentrates on the factors that are driving the telecoms operators to look towards the media market, and the media companies to look towards the telecoms market - both intent on building a business model that will see significant revenue from the new services as voice revenues decline.  

• IPTV - providing broadcast-quality TV and Video on Demand
• Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T, DVB-S, DVB-C and DVB-H)
• Triple play services - a threat to incumbents or an opportunity for them?
• Case study - Video Networks Limited (Homechoice)
• Location Based Services - come of age
• Gambling - a sure bet?
• Multimedia
• Adult content
• Case study: Cherry Media
• Games Download Forecasts
• Music - market overview, trends, and key issues
• Delivering the services - the challenges

Day 4

The CRM system

Looking after the needs of our customers is a key element in retention and increasing their lifetime value. Customer relationship management (CRM) as a concept is an integral part of all telecommunication operations, but is implemented with very different results.

This session sets out the key requirements for effective CRM, looking at the benefits, challenges, nature of the customer interface and channels, people issues, data control and security, and the system itself.

• The benefits of CRM to the Telecoms customer and to the business
• History of CRM within the Telecoms industry
• Outline of the CRM system
• Characteristics of the customer interface and communication channels
• Challenges to successful CRM implementation and providing top-class customer service
• Benchmarking your CRM system
• Current regulatory trends and restrictions
• People-issues in the CRM system
• Data reliability issues and maintaining the customer database
• Understanding data security issues and managing customer confidence and comfort

CRM at the heart of the marketing campaign

CRM can be used very effectively at the heart of the marketing campaign, including as a means of communicating the message; to profile high-value customers; anticipate trends and changing customer expectations; refine our segmentation strategy; minimise churn; and to identify new opportunities to serve the customer. This session looks at each point in relation to the overall marketing campaign.

• Interpreting customer data and predicting future value
• Profiling and targeting the most valuable customers
• Using CRM to tailor the value proposition
• Identifying opportunities to serve the customer and earn their loyalty
• Managing and minimising customer churn through CRM
• Learning from complaints and anticipating trends in customer satisfaction
• Educating the customer to use the most appropriate contact method and get the most out of their service
• Anticipating and meeting customers' changing expectations for service

Group Thinks-Tanks - Marketing Case Study

A chance for the teams to work on their case study in preparation for their formal presentations. The main objectives and goals should already be in place by now, and this session allows the finer details of the marketing plan to be set out evaluated. Effective CRM should be integrated into the wider picture at this stage.

Managing Island Telco

A short module providing an insight into the functions and processes required to manage a modern Telecommunications company. This module includes a brief analysis of a standard management model and its meaning for different organisations.

• Functional splits
• Processes and flows
• Support requirements
• The overall structure
• Management models
• Supporting Systems
• Billing systems

Telecom law and regulation

This module provides a quick guided-tour of the purpose and implication of regulation and also the legal requirements of providing telecommunication services. Short, but informative, this module provides an insight for further study.

• The requirement for regulation
• Benefits and implications
• Legal aspects of telecom services
• Opening up the market
• Protecting the Consumer

EVENING SESSION: Case Study Preparation

Time is set aside for each team to develop their plans and presentation for their marketing campaign for the simulated telco operation. Although exercises will have led the teams to this point, they can now be more creative and innovative, allowing them to put their new skills and knowledge to the test.

Day 5

Island Telco - Bringing it all together

Throughout the week, participants (grouped into small teams) plan to establish the marketing plan for a simulated new telecommunications operation on a fictitious island. On day 5, time is set aside to allow each team to finalise their presentation. Each team is then asked to present its plans to the other teams.

DELEGATE TEAM PRESENTATIONS

The highlight of the week, this session requires that each team present their marketing plans to both the speakers and other participants. We ask that each presentation demonstrates a sound understanding of the industry, the customers and their requirements, products and services, and what it takes to market an effective telecommunications operation. Limited to just 20 minutes and 5 minutes for questioning, each team must provide a comprehensive yet concise overview of their plans.

Overall telco strategy

• Customers and regional market factors
• The product, services and relative priorities
• Other major market considerations
• Use of market intelligence
• The marketing strategy
• Segmentation
• Positioning and Branding
• Pricing
• Acquiring the customer
• Setting up the team
• CRM aspects
• Measuring marketing effectiveness
• Dealing with competition
• MVNO strategy
• The plan for delivering media and content
• Partnering
• Branding
• Pricing
• Evolving the marketing plan

Summary and Assessments

This section is used to review the presentations and give valuable Feedback - highlighting the positive and negative points of each plan, and likely success. Each group is given verbal and written feedback on their plans and presentation by the speakers, and serves as a useful recap of the major learning points of the programme.

This session provides the culmination of the week's course, and each delegate should be much better placed to manage ongoing marketing projects within their own organisation.