Telecom Loyalty: How to Lift Customer Retention with Mobile Games 

Connecting with and keeping customers is no easy feat for telecom operators.

Many companies in the telecom space are investing time and energy in fighting off high customer churn, low retention, and high market saturation. 

Customers are meanwhile happy to invest their time and energy in finding the telecom operator with the best deals, network performance, and personalized features/solutions. Price is unsurprisingly the number-one factor behind customers switching to another telecom operator.

Telecom entrepreneurs are turning to their own digital loyalty programs to look for how they can better retain their customers and outcompete the market. They approach it most of the time with the right intentions but the wrong strategy. Here’s why.

Customers Are Serious about Savings

Consumers are more value-conscious than before. 

Data has more specifically revealed that younger consumers under the age of 35 in Europe are more likely to switch operators. The rate of those willing to churn or switch is almost six in ten. 

And across all age groups, intentional churners tend to switch telco operators because of price. So, what does this mean for operators – especially, those who aren’t in the low-cost-tariff segment?

Telecom customer loyalty programs, such as T-Mobile’s T-mobile Tuesdays and Vodafone’s VeryMe Rewards program are a good starting point for customers who want free stuff and exclusive perks on food, gas, entertainment, and more. But they’re not enough.

What if entrepreneurs identified telecom loyalty programs that helped their consumers save money on their phone bill or helped them earn data packages and megabytes? 

All in exchange for greater in-app revenue and user engagement.

Looking at the Right Customer Retention Strategies

The only way to speak to these value-conscious consumers is to add unquestionable value to the telecom app. 

Users aren’t typically drawn to use telecom operator apps outside activities such as paying their phone bill or managing their account – whether it’s adding data or upgrading their deal.

Telco operators therefore need to naturally expand their core business by adopting more than the traditional teleco loyalty solutions. Driving consumers to be in constant interaction with the platform gives them another reason to engage with the app. 

Value-added services or app engagement solutions can be highly personalized – like a superapp – and can function as a recurring touchpoint for consumers. 

Take, Play2Pay, for example. The alternative telecom payment platform harnesses the power of mobile games through Playtime. The US-based telecom company has been helping its users lower their bills while engaging with the world’s top mobile games. 

TBy integrating adjoe’s white-label loyalty solution, Play2Pay witnessed a surge in user engagement and its ARPU metrics. Its winning strategy was to embed the solution as an intuitive addition to its app:

• customers choose to play compelling games
• customers earn points through engaging with games
• customers enjoy lower bills

The Play2Pay team reports that Playtime users are not only more engaged but also three times more likely to redeem rewards to reduce their mobile bills. That’s how this publisher has addressed churn and increased customer LTV. 

But it’s not just about earning rewards to save on phone bills – a telecom operator’s in-app currency can just as easily enable users to receive free services or collect free data packs through treasure hunts. Users redeem in-app currency to also benefit from discounted services, or upgraded services.

What’s in It for Telecom Operators?

Playtime is a premium gamified telco loyalty solution that transforms commodities into experiences. Playtime gives telcos the value-added edge over their competitors.

Part of this edge refers to the incremental revenue telecom operators are able to generate with Playtime’s lightweight SDK integrated into their platform. One large LATAM telecom operator doubled its eCPMs in the space of one month when adjoe’s team helped introduce more premium mobile gaming partners to its portfolio. 

Customers could, as a result, engage with a superior range of games relevant to them in order to earn in-app rewards.

So, where does this incremental revenue come from? 

Gaming studios advertised in the Playtime experience pay the publisher for every install generated – which in turn helps fund the rewards paid out to customers. 

Even when working with a wider range of gaming advertisers, telco entrepreneurs can be reassured that their brand and consumers always remain safe when they integrate Playtime. 

This is how.

• The games shown in the UI are filtered to keep brands safe from any content that could be damaging to telco customers. 
• Playtime prioritizes data security and compliance with global regulations to protect partners and customers. Examples of measures include rigorous KPMG security audits, encryption, multi-factor authentication, and continuous monitoring.

Retention Is about Giving Rewards That Matter

Telecom entrepreneurs must activate their users and find a way to connect with them outside the conventional functionality of their app. Without this strategy, their businesses will struggle to outperform their competitors. 

Rewarded and nonintrusive telco loyalty solutions such as Playtime deliver proven performance and profitability in a way that other solutions fail to – these other solutions are instead criticized as inconsistent. 

Value propositions that diversify and add meaning to the app experience are non-negotiable. Brands in the telco space must diversify their rewards programs and enrich them with new ideas – such as mobile games – to remain competitive and connect better with consumers.