Commitment to the Future

That phrase — “Commitment to the future” — has been used frequently by politicians and analysts discussing the proposed bailout of the U.S. auto manufacturers and what the government is expecting from them in exchange to agreeing to financial assistance. I’m not implying that the telecom industry is headed for a similar plight as that of the automakers — I’m confident that it would never get that bad. Still, there are some simple yet important lessons to be learned from those companies in terms of business preparedness, how to deal with and be ready for an economic downturn, and how to better anticipate consumer behavior — lessons that, if heeded, will help ensure there never could be a comparison.

Focus on innovation. This is a critical lesson regardless of economic conditions (and seems like it should be a no-brainer for any industry). Communications companies — both service providers and technology developers — are driven by innovation, and they would never be able to ignore it or eschew it in the ways the automakers are being accused of doing in their industry. Perhaps their experiences will serve as an important eye opener for telecom companies (and companies in any other sector, for that matter): Always look forward at the next wave of innovation, and be able to interpret how it will affect your business, how you can leverage it and what your customers will expect from it.

Go green. Both sectors are facing a new and very public focus on more environmentally acceptable practices to stay as innovative and as “green” as possible. For telecom, that means more environmentally responsible operational practices and energy consumption, particularly in the area of manufacturing. But some analysts have pointed out recently that a focus on the “connected home,” including consumer energy management, also should be part of telecom’s green strategy.

Listen to the customer. For the automakers, the current wave of complaint and anti-bailout sentiment among consumers should be evidence enough that there is a significant level of customer dissatisfaction with product quality and performance (dissatisfaction that certainly should have been addressed sooner). Telecom has an inherent advantage here in that telecom technology and service performance and quality constantly are progressing and advancing, which means consumers regularly see and experience tangible evidence of improvement. The trick is to survey and listen to those customers constantly (both mass consumer and business customers) to discover what else can be done to enhance their experience and increase their spend. It’s finding the value-add, and striving for impeccable customer care, that will best leverage that inherent technological advantage.

Technology and service innovation, green initiatives and ways to improve the customer experience are all areas that will be covered in-depth at SUPERCOMM 2009. Thankfully for all involved, telecom is no auto industry — and if the telecom sector stays smart, innovative, customer-focused and forward-looking, it never will be.

Jason Meyers is director of conferences for SUPERCOMM. He has 15 years of business-to-business media experience, most recently as managing director of Penton Custom Media, where he was responsible for overseeing content development, research operations and global content licensing for Penton Media brands across a wide range of industry sectors. Prior to joining Penton’s custom media group, he was director of content development for Penton's Telephony magazine. Meyers was editor-in-chief of Telephony and Wireless Review from 1999 to 2006. He joined the staff of Telephony in 1993 as an assistant editor and covered all aspects of the telecom industry in a variety of editorial positions.