By Damien Hansen
I look forward to this time of year in Australia - there's an underlying energy and air of optimism as we launch into 2025. We're witnessing more innovation and fresh thinking particularly as telecommunications and loyalty strategies continue to intersect - disruption is ramping up and you could say telco is entering beast mode!
Boardroom chatter about customer centricity is getting louder, stubborn cost of living pressures are showing no signs of abating and consumers are leaning in, keen to cash in on a better value mobile offering from brands they already know and trust.
Telco gets untangled
It's a time too to crystal ball and stay ahead of emerging trends and at Fastter we reckon there's a lot to look forward to. Across retail, travel, finance, insurance - branded mobile is about to make serious inroads with businesses across these sectors launching mobile networks tailored to their customer bases.
It’s a considered shift in how brands engage with their audiences. With customers demanding more value from every interaction these branded networks will redefine loyalty and increase customer touchpoints. Expect the biggest transformations in sectors like insurance and superannuation where the current engagement model of an annual touchpoint will be disrupted. Member's focussed telco offerings will help those businesses in particular move to monthly interactions, creating ongoing customer connections that drive value and trust.
Gigabytes are the new gold
Data will emerge as a loyalty currency and it’s not just about giving away a few or discounting roaming packs for travel insurance customers (although, yes, that’s coming too, especially from niche insurance brands targeting digital nomads).
In 2025, customers will earn gigabytes through purchases or redeem loyalty points for data rewards. This transformation will see connectivity shift from a commodity to a meaningful benefit. Mobile data will become another lever fostering deeper engagement and encouraging customers to stick with their preferred brands for the long haul.
One-size-fits-all is so 2024
Hyper-personalisation will come to the forefront, with branded MVNOs using advanced analytics to offer deeply tailored plans and extras unique to each customer. This shift will allow brands to stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Collaboration will be key, imagine partnerships between a supermarket and a petrol station offering personalised discounts to mobile customers based on their location or habits. For businesses, the aim is to keep customers in their ecosystem longer, delivering bespoke value that makes switching far less attractive.
Australians vs the “big telco hustle”
The big three network carriers’ data allowance strategies will come under scrutiny as more Australians realise they’re paying for inflated data allowances they’ll never use.
These “data dump” plans are designed to justify higher price points while driving down the cost per gigabyte but the average Aussie isn’t fooled.
Enter branded mobile networks with right-sized plans: they’ll emphasise fairness, transparency, and value at price points comfortably below the incumbents.
By addressing this growing consumer awareness, branded mobile providers will carve out a space as a more suitable and cost-conscious alternative.
Loyalty-first, not SKU-first
In 2025, branded MVNOs will move beyond being just another product line. Instead, businesses will fully integrate mobile offerings into their loyalty strategies, using them to drive up ARPU (average revenue per user) and increase the number of products per customer.
Banks, insurers, and utility companies will bundle mobile plans with their core services, creating packages that enhance customer lifetime value. It’s a loyalty game-changer: connectivity becomes the glue that binds customers to their brand.
Gym-telco tag teams
Subscription bundling will reach new heights in 2025. While combining mobile plans with streaming subscriptions is old news, expect to see gyms stepping into the ring.
Gyms will take serious steps towards bundling mobile plans with memberships creating compelling offerings that encourage members to stay signed up longer. It’s a clever play: combining health and connectivity gives members cost-saving benefits and another reason not to cancel their membership.
Gamification: the telco twist
Why just “use” your mobile plan when you can play with it? Gamification will shake up customer engagement, allowing users to earn data or rewards by completing challenges, participating in campaigns or even spinning a prize wheel.
Call it the “Temufication” of telco but we’re not talking bargain-basement prices here. Instead, gamified experiences will encourage frequent interactions, rewarding customers with perks that deepen loyalty.
And when AI flags a customer at risk of churning? Enter gamification: think spin-to-win incentives offering free upgrades, bonus gigabytes, or prizes designed to keep you loyal. It’s a smart, interactive way to turn churn into cheer.
Fastter creates, enables and grows branded mobile experiences for some of Australia’s most recognised brands. Our full service, creative telecommunications enablement and management studio is powered by proprietary technology that can be seamlessly integrated into existing customer touchpoints using the Optus 5G Network.
The Fastter pathway is:
• A revenue share model that is profitable for your brand;
• In market within 90 days of signing a contract with Fastter;
• Full-service customer care and contact centre;
• No liability for legal, regulatory and compliance risk;
• No need to employ a telco product and operations team;
• A scalable model that maximises your brand’s strengths, enhances customer loyalty and provides growing financial returns.
For more information about how Fastter can help your brand achieve greater customer loyalty and engagement, visit their website at www.fastter.au.
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