Transformation direction and suggestions for my country's operator channel system

At present, my country's communications market has gradually entered a mature stage, and the focus of market competition has shifted from incremental markets to stock markets. Channels will assume more functions related to maintaining stock customers and enhancing their value. After the cancellation of traffic roaming fees, operators' "new retail" will further extend from offline to online. In the future, channels will undergo greater changes in their existence, sales content, and organizational form.

[[244753]]

1. The three major operators are actively exploring ways to upgrade and transform into omni-channel

Currently, telecom operators are in a critical period of transformation from multiple scattered channels to channel integration, and the three major operators are actively promoting channel transformation.

China Mobile mainly promotes the establishment of an integrated online and offline channel marketing system. It strives to diversify electronic channels and has established the China Mobile Electronic Channel Center. Currently, it mainly focuses on its own platform, but the overall Internet electronic channel capacity is still insufficient. Social channels are still the main touchpoints, and self-operated business halls dominate. Compared with competitors, they are larger in scale. At present, the physical channel is undergoing centralized reform, and some provinces and cities are trying to regionalize. The next step is to promote the centralized reform of physical channels, build an efficient channel operation framework of "chain + e-commerce + collaboration", and create a four-in-one operation system of "terminals, content, traffic, and channels".

China Telecom adopts the channel development strategy of "efficient expansion, professional operation, and improved efficiency". In terms of electronic channels, it has established an electronic channel operation center and set up a Huango online store. In terms of social channels, on the one hand, it has promoted small-scale business contracting and inverted triangle service support, increased remuneration subsidies, and on the other hand, it has continued to promote the construction of the "60,000 stores + 60,000 direct sales managers" channel, and launched the Tianyi Rural Partner Program to cooperate with JD.com to expand rural channels. The next plan is to increase the mutual investment of channel resources with manufacturers, achieve channel upgrades, reshape the positioning of electronic channels, and promote the Internetization of channels.

China Unicom continues to accelerate the process of channel internetization. On the one hand, it cooperates with JD.com, Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba to launch various Internet card products. On the other hand, it opens the Woyigou online business hall and opens online stores on e-commerce platforms. In terms of social channels, it not only maintains cooperation with the top home appliance chain and mobile phone chain, but also actively expands cooperation with Internet companies to reuse channels, and cooperates with Alibaba, JD.com, Suning and other companies to carry out comprehensive transformation of business halls, such as the "China Unicom Smart Life Experience Store" jointly created with Alibaba. In addition, some companies are also promoting the training of small CEOs, and will continue to promote omni-channel Internet operations in the future and strengthen the management of intensive business operations.

2. Operators still have problems in building online and offline channels

For a long time, operators' online and offline channels have been operated relatively independently, with duplicate operation systems, a lack of unified planning for product design and marketing strategies, and competition among them. This has not only increased the company's channel operation costs, but has also made it increasingly difficult to meet users' seamless omni-channel shopping needs.

First, online and offline collaboration is insufficient. There are differences in the collaboration between provinces and cities, between provincial companies and professional companies, and between physical and electronic channels in terms of systems, models, platforms, and operating methods. The positioning and division of labor between physical channels and electronic channels overlap in terms of functions, and the supporting mechanisms are still insufficient.

In terms of physical channels, there are disadvantages of "high operating costs, few scenario coverage, and single functional services". Labor costs are high, time-consuming, and rapid cycle bombing cannot be achieved. The cost of acquiring customers is high, and the scale effect and results effect are greatly reduced. Expansion is difficult, the contact points are single, and they are not adapted to or cannot meet the requirements of information popularization.

In terms of electronic channels, the main problems are weak capabilities and scattered and inconsistent entrances. The insufficient marketing capabilities of electronic channels have low business carrying rates, and they have failed to reduce offline burdens and improve the overall efficiency of channels. They have not formed an online marketing atmosphere and interface that is ubiquitous and within reach.

In addition, social channels and electronic channels generally have problems such as insufficient insight into customer needs and insufficient ability to obtain marketing touchpoints. There is a lack of big data support capabilities, localized and decentralized marketing operations are common, the conversion rate of marketing activities is low, and there is a lack of ability to attract audiences.

3. Foreign operators focus on channel integration

Verizon focuses on improving the construction of omni-channels, strengthening the functions of the online hall, improving the back-end support capabilities, and increasing investment in optimizing the user's online experience. The business diversion capabilities of the online hall have been significantly improved. AT&T has established an e-commerce center to provide customers with AT&T One Platform, which is one of the top 10 e-commerce websites in the United States. In addition to providing sales services such as terminals, tariff packages, and value-added services, it also provides self-service functions including account management and support services. In addition, core business halls are selected to create a combination of electronic channels and traditional channels. NTT DOCOMO promotes the chain operation of physical channels to develop integrated channels and transform to "experience + service + sales". Build a unified platform for electronic channels and establish a channel operation system with e-commerce as the core. Deutsche Telekom has established a professional sales company and set up an independent terminal bundling direct sales company to be responsible for the operation and management of the business hall, and the channel has transformed from a cost center to a profit center. Vodafone has gradually evolved channel access from product/service orientation to customer demand-driven. Electronic channels provide a complete product/service introduction, including service tariffs, promotions, etc., as well as rich self-service functions, focusing on user experience and operational efficiency to achieve cross-channel services. It can be seen that international operators use electronic channels to complete those low-value but highly repetitive activities, and in this way achieve the goal of "high-cost channels provide services for high-value products." As for physical channels, the main focus is to strengthen customer-centric functions and further highlight the sales, experience, and service functions of electronic channels.

4. Seamless switching of omni-channel integration is the preferred choice for channel transformation

At present, under the influence of new retail, channel integration, data integration and logistics integration have become the general trend. Omni-channel integration with seamless switching between different types of channels has become the common choice for current operators' channel transformation. Operators must first change their channel positioning, make the role of social channels auxiliary, and transform from main channels to auxiliary channels. Electronic channels must transform from "business diversion" to "mainstream channels", assuming the functions of active marketing and business handling.

Physical channels can be positioned as the main channels for new expansion and experience marketing. Direct sales channels mainly undertake the functions of experience, training, and sales. Social channels mainly undertake the functions of sales and services, realizing functional diversification and promoting the transformation of physical channels from traditional sales and service channels to the four major marketing functions of sales, experience, service, and localization. Promote centralized and diversified operations, try mixed operations, cooperate with small formats stores, large chain supermarkets, and online companies to provide users with new marketing services.

Electronic channels can be positioned as the core channels for value management of existing users, accelerating the Internetization and e-commerce, cooperating with external mainstream Internet channels, adopting the network alliance model, and entering the e-commerce platform. Enriching touch points, through product system construction and intensive operation, give play to the potential for enhancing the touch point value of own core channels including online halls, mobile halls, and micro halls. In addition, it is necessary to promote the Internetization of operations, accelerate the transformation of traditional operation models to Internetization, combine big data, create intelligent and scenario-based marketing models, and make full use of interaction, VR, business integration and packaging models to promote mechanism innovation and transformation.

Strengthen O2O collaboration to promote centralized and unified operation management. Strengthen the collaboration between online alliances, platform models, agency distribution and offline entity channel models, strengthen the collaboration between logistics, information flow and capital flow, establish a closed-loop mechanism for sharing and communicating resources and data online and offline, and design services and products covering online and offline to promote online and offline diversion of channels.

Strengthen the improvement of supporting management capabilities such as organizational structure and personnel quality. In terms of organizational structure, continue to deepen organizational changes from the group to the local level, set up an organization dedicated to omni-channel construction and operation, sort out personnel from provincial companies to front-line sales, make corresponding adjustments around integrated channels in terms of business processes, system support, assessment incentives, etc., and realize the reserve and improvement of channel big data capabilities, precision marketing, and e-commerce capabilities through core capability strengthening and industrial chain cooperation.