The TV marketplace has never been more dynamic with cable service providers working harder than ever to offer viewers a vast array of rich entertainment in competitively priced packages. With each one vying to accommodate both individuals and households simultaneously, consumers get the upper hand when choosing the service that best meets their needs. In fact, 65% of adults are excited about having more choices among paying TV services, but the excitement shouldn’t end there.
Maintaining and growing customer relationships is a top priority for many brands with an emphasis on engaging customers digitally. When a customer subscribes to a new service, it’s critical for providers to deploy the right strategy in make-or-break moments across the customer journey. Customer-obsessed brands use video-powered experiences as a proven strategy to reduce churn and customer care costs while fostering customer relationships.
Brands use video-powered experiences as a proven strategy to reduce churn and customer care costs
We’ve identified four high-stakes moments for cable customers tied to key points across their journey that can enhance or hinder a brand’s relationship with the customer. Moments of customer consideration (is this service right for me?) and moments of frustration (why is my cable bill higher this month?) are just two moments that create an opportunity for cable service providers to activate a video-powered experience to proactively solve known pain points. Let’s dive deeper…
1. Moment of Consideration: Acquisition
Customers should feel empowered when shopping for a new service or product, but there’s a lot to think about before committing and options can feel overwhelming. The next-best-action in the consideration stage can become a back-burner priority or forgotten about altogether, potentially resulting in customers choosing a competitor without the right guidance. By implementing individualized video messaging, next-best-actions and recommendations can speak to each customer at scale based on their web browsing history and/or current cable usage, like that of a family of five who uses multiple viewing devices.
2. Moments of Unfamiliarity: New Service & Self-Install Kit Education
When new customers receive their self-install kit and/or they’re ready to start using their brand new service, there’s an opportunity to proactively alleviate uncertainty and confusion by delivering an individualized onboarding video that provides step-by-step walk-throughs and service guidance. For complex topics like self-installation, long-form content organized into snackable topics allows viewers to navigate to and from sections of need or interest. Once installed, provide each customer with an individualized overview of their service & features with actionable recommendations like auto-pay enrollment and mobile-app download for convenience. Not only does this strategy benefit customers, it also drives business outcomes for providers like reduction in service calls and churn rate.
Not only does this strategy benefit customers, it also drives business outcomes for providers like reduction in service calls and churn rate.
3. Moments of Frustration: Promo Roll-off & Billing
There’s a growing frustration for cable customers when it comes to billing. Whether it’s their first statement, a bill following movie rentals or after a promotion period ends, customers expect upfront billing transparency to dissipate the surprise of ‘hidden fees.’ A video-powered experience can prepare customers on what’s to come and why; remind first-year customers that their 12-month discount expires in 60 days and recommend new packages that suit their needs based on usage — or provide an individualized video message with specific balance details and break down the monthly usage including the movie they rented and ask if they enjoyed the show. Check out the video below to see how Verizon prepares Fios customers for their new bill:
By eliminating the element of surprise, the customer experience is elevated and customer service calls can be deflected. In fact, SundaySky partners have seen a reduction in service calls by about 20% after implementing a video-powered experience for billing.
4. Moments of Choice: Upgrading & Contract Renewal
As customers enter into the renewal or upgrade phases of their service, cable providers can leverage an individualized video strategy to reduce customer churn upwards of 23% during key moments of choice. Engage existing customers with messaging that conveys the full value of service they’ve been receiving and use account-level data to recommend an upgrade based on personal habits and viewing preferences. For example, convey the benefits of a higher service tier because the customer has repeatedly paid full-price to rent movies from a premium channel. This type of experience can leave customers feeling individually consulted and encourage the next-best-action favorable to both parties.
Video-powered experiences allow cable providers to transform the customer experience and win in moments of customer consideration, confusion, frustration and choice across customer journeys. In times like onboarding new customers, billing, self-installation, upgrades and promo roll-offs, providers can both build customer relationships and drive breakthrough outcomes.
