November 12, 2024 • 9 min read

New Trends in the Telecom Industry: Hyperlocal Targeting & More

The telecom industry is at its apparent zenith, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. With $1.6 trillion projected to be spent in 2024 alone, the most successful telecom companies are competing to capture a growing customer base that could remain strong for years to come.

That competition is heating up with each day, driving innovation in marketing trends and inspiring brands to look for novel solutions to challenges. Today, we’ll take a look at three of the most recent telecom industry trends and explore why they’re prevalent and what makes them effective. Let’s begin.

Telecom Industry Trend 1: Hyperlocal targeting with new technologies and tactics

Hyperlocal targeting has been a necessity for telecom marketing success for years. These days, it’s even more critical – more competition, after all, means it’s all the more vital to target with as much specificity and accuracy as possible. New technologies and tactics enable telecom brands to target and analyze with greater clarity and precision than ever.

There are two primary reasons why hyperlocal targeting is required for telecom messaging:

First, brand is the sole remaining differentiating factor for most telecom companies, and some brands will resonate with certain consumers more than others. Hyperlocal targeting that’s very dialed into what a customer wants will be more impactful than marketing that’s more generalized or “generic.” We discuss this in more detail below.
Second, telecom brands must take service availability into account when reaching out to prospects. In a market where a house on one side of the street might be connected to a new fiber network, but a house on the other side of the street may not qualify for service, marketers need to be careful who they speak to (and when).

That second reason is relatively unique to telecom marketing. Many other industries, especially industries like healthcare or retail, don’t have the same limitations.

If you can sell a service or product to one person in a neighborhood, there’s a good chance you can sell it to the others on the same block (or, at the very least, their location isn’t the make-or-break factor determining whether they convert). That’s not true for all telecom offerings, particularly the newest, best services, like gig-speed fiber!

Targeting street-by-street, house-by-house with new tactics and tech

With this in mind, successful telecom marketers are increasingly “zooming in” on their prospects, marketing “house-by-house” to connect with those who might use their services. Of course, that kind of extremely local targeting is only effective if you combine it with the right media tactics and digital marketing tools.

Tactics like connected digital out-of-home media, which provide a continuous customer journey and can be deployed in highly specific geographic zones, such as apartment buildings, gas stations, or grocery stores. Telecom brands might also leverage tactics like exposed mobile retargeting (EMR), which empowers brands to specifically retarget prospects who have already been exposed to programmatic digital OOH media within the last 30 days.

Altogether, hyperlocal targeting allows telecom brands to execute a comprehensive, omnichannel approach at the household level.

Emphasizing geography minimizes waste

Reduced marketing waste is a side benefit of the increased specificity and flexibility in modern hyperlocal targeting. In effect, making extra sure that your tactics or media marketing materials are served to prospects who are not only capable of benefiting from your telecom services but are also likely to do so maximizes the efficacy of every deployed ad or material.

To really picture this in action, let’s imagine two similar scenarios:

You produce a series of pamphlets or direct mail ads for fiber service and send them to every household in a given neighborhood, combined with a billboard OOH advertisement on the nearby major street. Only 1/3 of the households in that neighborhood even have the ability to sign up for your fiber network service, and you can expect that only some of that small group will eventually convert.

In this version, you spent extra time and money creating materials that were essentially wasted. On top of that, those homeowners who want service but don’t qualify for it may come away from the experience annoyed with your brand. Now let’s imagine an alternative scenario that fully leans into hyperlocal targeting:

You produce a more limited series of direct mail ads and send them directly to the households your targeting analysis indicates will qualify for fiber service. You also use digital media to target and connect with those homeowners. All of the households that might possibly sign up for your fiber service are exposed to your brand and learn the great things you have to offer.

The difference should be clear – utilizing modern tech and tactics for hyperlocal approaches is vital for telecom brands looking to succeed.

Telecom Industry Trend 2: Greater focus on brand differentiation

The telecom market competition isn’t so intense because there are only a few companies around – the opposite is true. You can expect a competitive battle for every single customer because most telecom companies offer very similar products and services.

To win those battles, many telecom industry companies are pivoting to focus on brand rather than price or service specifics. But why?

Everyone needs the same Internet

Let’s consider fiber Internet, which is becoming more popular and prevalent around the country. Capable of providing households with lightning-fast speeds and symmetrical uploads and downloads, fiber Internet providers are positioning their core service as the best overall choice for household Internet.

Unlike many other in-demand services and products, everyone needs high-speed Internet for the same handful of purposes. They might need a fast connection to stream their favorite shows, work from home, complete school projects, or make video calls to their family members. All of those needs demand a consistent, quality connection.

The ubiquity of these needs has gradually transformed the Internet into a quasi-utility, similar to water or electricity. Telecom brands must realize that their competitors also provide relatively close experiences (it’s unlikely a customer can tell a difference between, for example, 2 Gbps and 5 Gbps download speeds).

Since the need for high-speed Internet won’t go away, and since the way people use the Internet won’t drastically change for some time, telecom companies must craft, iterate on, and grow their brands to capture new customers.

Why does brand differentiation matter?

Brand differentiation starts to matter once customers realize that:

Most fiber Internet companies offer similar speeds
Most fiber Internet brands come with the same perks
Most fiber Internet prices are similar, too

When a prospect considers all this, they’re left with a big question: How can they choose between one fiber Internet provider and another?

The answer is brand. We talk about this more in our blog on web design in the telecom industry. But to put it simply, brand identity – which includes aspects like brand voice, reputation, and community involvement – is a key way telecom companies can distinguish themselves and stand out from the pack.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that many of the most successful telecom brands are trending toward greater diversity in voice, appearance, and social proof to draw customers to them. This trend may only increase as time goes on due to the fact that it may be difficult, if not impossible, for brands to differentiate themselves based on the kind of Internet they offer, even if they offer superior service or special bells and whistles.

Telecom Industry Trend 3: Pre-journey customer engagement

The third recent telecom industry trend is a renewed focus on a particular part of the average customer’s journey. Depending on where you define the start of the customer journey, it may actually be “before” the journey starts.

In a nutshell, strong telecom service messaging may begin well before a prospect decides to sign up and become a customer for one of your services. That “pre-journey” messaging might be significantly different from what you might use or say elsewhere in your marketing, such as:

Notifications to customers that your telecom service is coming to their area and what to expect as you build your telecom infrastructure
Messages to make customers aware of your company and what you specifically offer
Special offers you have for customers who sign up soon (e.g., one month of free service)

Why prioritize pre-journey engagement?

For many brands, early-stage messaging isn’t especially new. Brand awareness and lead nurturing have always been key aspects of strong marketing strategies, and these projects are often tailored to prospects who aren’t yet committed to your brand in any real sense.

Even so, pre-journey engagement is more critical than ever for telecom brands. Focusing on how you connect with customers in this earliest stage of interaction – say, 90 days before launching a new product or service line – is crucial. It’s a chance to educate, excite, and entice well before your services are ready for launch.

And, in certain cases, it’s a good way to “lock in” customers before a competitor can. If you can convince a prospect to sign up for your telecom services three months in advance, they might hold off on upgrading their current services or trying out a competing company until they’ve signed up for your brand’s offering.

Wrap up

Ultimately, these three telecom industry trends – hyperlocal targeting, brand differentiation, and pre-journey customer engagement – could collectively be key to your telecom brand’s success. With the right partner to help you plan and execute a new strategy, you could position yourself for not just a strong quarter, but a strong year and beyond.

Infinity can help. Our fully integrated agency can contribute to your strategy, data analysis, and much more – and we have extensive experience in effective telecom marketing, to boot. Let’s have a conversation and discover what we can bring to your brand.