DSPs Can Proactively Improve Broadband Performance 67% of customers who contact their Digital Service Provider’s (DSP’s) customer service report broadband issues. Around 26% of customers report inconsistent internet speed causing work from home issues during the pandemic. A recent E&Y report on ‘exceeding customer expectations’, clearly shows that good customer service is a critical element […]
67% of customers who contact their Digital Service Provider’s (DSP’s) customer service report broadband issues. Around 26% of customers report inconsistent internet speed causing work from home issues during the pandemic. A recent E&Y report on ‘exceeding customer expectations’, clearly shows that good customer service is a critical element for value creation and customer loyalty. Almost 32% of customers are willing to pay more for stable internet speed in return for good customer service.
Building a 360 degree zero-touch service assurance framework is key to value creation and customer loyalty. It enables continuous remote monitoring to proactively detect connectivity issues and provide automated resolution resulting in a higher Net Promoter Score.
Fig: Zero-touch service assurance framework
This service assurance framework helps Digital Service Providers (DSPs) to proactively solve broadband performance issues and provide improved customer experience. The three-step process that enables DSPs in achieving improved serviceability is detailed below:
In the process of data transformation, it is suggested to monitor the customers’ current speed to analyze the event patterns in real-time and compare those to expected behavior. Build a correlation engine that decides target customers for performing the diagnostic procedure, thereby generating a genuine and actionable targeted customer list.
Following are the detailed steps to convert customer data into actionable insights:
Smart monitoring of speed
Smart correlation
Filtered output
Recommendations for adding intelligence
In the process of data issues classification, it is suggested to use python scripts to perform loopback tests and classify resolution steps such as port bounce and modem reboot. The test also identifies issues that cannot be auto-resolved remotely. Following is the major resolution classification:
Fig: Issue identification using Loopback Testing
Recommendations for adding intelligence
Identify linear usage time using tools like M-curve report
Proactively check the service operation for high profile customers
For the identified issues, it is suggested to use auto-resolution to fix them even before the customers are aware of it. This can resolve 45-50% of connectivity performance issues, when implemented correctly.
Fig: Scenario of a day in a leading DSP in North America
Recommendations
Analytics and interactive visualization platform can help DSPs to query, visualize, alert, and understand key metrics to proactively resolve connectivity issues. Use analytics and interactive visualization applications like Grafana, Dynatrace, AppDynamics, etc., which help to visualize data, seamlessly define alerts and thresholds, and generate meaningful insights. The custom dashboards can provide operational and business insights that matter most.
In Conclusion
Digital service providers (DSPs) need to move from reactive to proactive service assurance methodologies to drive significant improvements in customer experience. Below are the benefits that we have seen DSPs achieve, by implementing the three-step process explained in this article:
I thank Murugan Chidhambaram – Senior Technical Architect, Archana SR – Lead Engineer, Lalithkiran K – Lead Engineer, and Neha Sehgal – Manager, Strategic Insights for their valuable inputs for this article.
By Muthukumaravel Sakthivel