Given the nature of competition today, legacy billing systems are simply not enough. Most telecom operators that are still using older software solutions for their billing tasks are perplexed about making an investment in top telecom billing systems of today.
Why Telecom Operators Are Confused?
It is a known fact that older real-time charging systems like the ones offered by Nokia and Ericsson are quite popular for prepaid charging; however, not many are sure whether they can handle the complexity of postpaid billing. The same way charging solutions like Amdocs are famous for their efficacy in postpaid billing, but, they are not proven in prepaid scenarios. This is the major reason why companies are stuck with older billing methodology and are too scared to make a transition to newer and more flexible convergent billing solutions.
Convergent Billing: The Future of Billing
Just a glance at the number of services offered by telecom vendors of today will let you know how complex telecom billing has become. To manage separate invoicing for services like IPTV, calls, mobile data, broadband etc. is not only difficult but also confusing and misses the target when it comes to fostering trust in customers. A customer would rather have all his services invoiced in a single bill over multiple copies. This is why the modern approach to billing, better known as convergent billing, is the need of the hour.
Apart from facilitating customers’ experience, convergent billing comes with the following advantages for a telecom operator:
- Ability to offer cross-product discounts: With convergent billing, it becomes possible to promote your brand with innovative schemes. For example, you can give a discount for IPTV if a customer makes 100 calls or provide broadband discounts if he starts using any of your value-added services. Gestures like these can help you increase your revenue from underutilized services and keep the customers happy at the same time.
- Centralized customer support: No need to deploy different departments handling different customers. With top telecom billing systems, you can use a common team as a single point of contact for all customers. This will save both customers’ time and yours, while at the same time; it will cut down on the resources required for imparting services.
Need for IVR Services for Better Call Management
When you use convergent billing and manage to create a centralized customer support department, you will require IVR services to route the customers to the right department. Be it prepaid or postpaid IVR services, you should employ an IVR vendor to carry out this task.
Conclusion
The present state of competition in the telecom industry needs you to be on your toes at all times. The time for thinking has long passed by, it is time to take action through investing in top telecom billing systems. For most telecom operators (who offer different types of telecom services), convergent billing comes across as the most logical and effective solution. It can be used for improving customers’ experience, fostering trust and at the same time enables you to centralize your customer service department.