How research and AI are set to transform planning for telecoms businesses next year
Strategic planning for the year ahead is no small feat, as businesses scramble to align their goals, finalise budgets, and refine strategies. With the pressure of only two months to go and analysing ever-growing mountains of data… Where is the best place to start?
Often, the foundational step of market orientation and thorough research is either overlooked or not given enough attention when it comes to strategising. But it’s essential for aligning your business efforts with real market needs.
In this post, we’ll explore how embracing market orientation, using the latest research techniques, and leveraging AI can help telecoms businesses operating in a channel-driven environment thrive in 2025.
The changing market in a channel-driven world
In the telecoms and IoT space, understanding your customers’ needs can be challenging. Channel partners act as intermediaries, making it hard to gain direct insights into end customers’ preferences. But putting customer insights at the heart of your strategy remains essential for achieving sustainable growth, as it means you’ll understand exactly what they’re looking for — and be able to respond to those needs.
Recognising the importance of both partners and end customers
The complex customer landscape in telecoms requires a deep understanding of your channel partners’ needs and the end customers’ preferences. Effective planning is about moving away from making assumptions to developing solutions that align with market demands.
For example, consider the approach taken by TSB.
TSB’s advertising campaign featuring David Schwimmer
The experience of TSB offers valuable lessons in the power of market orientation. Following a significant IT crisis, TSB leveraged market research to revitalise its brand and strategy. By engaging over 10,000 customers in in-depth research, the bank uncovered key insights into the stress and emotional challenges associated with managing finances. The research revealed that customers often viewed banks as disconnected from providing real financial help.
Armed with these insights, TSB redefined its purpose around “money confidence for everyone, every day,” leading to a brand platform called “Life Made More.” This transformation wasn’t limited to marketing; it extended to centralising data strategy and investing in technology to improve customer experience. The bank’s advertising campaign, featuring David Schwimmer, used relatable everyday moments to strengthen its connection with customers. This case demonstrates how deep customer understanding can drive meaningful change, guiding strategy, communication, and even operational improvements.
Overcoming barriers to market orientation in the telecoms industry
Barriers like time constraints, cost, and a product-focused mindset often overshadow the need for a customer-first approach in telecoms. And relying on partners to accurately relay customer feedback adds further complexity.
But by pursuing market orientation and placing the needs of both partners and end users at the core of your strategy, you can better align your efforts to drive demand across the channel. It’s about shifting from gut-feeling decisions to data-driven, customer-informed actions that focus on delivering value.
Effective planning is about moving away from making assumptions to developing solutions that align with market demands.
Modern market research techniques for telecoms and IoT businesses
To truly understand the needs of both partners and end customers, it’s essential to leverage modern market research techniques. While traditional methods like surveys and focus groups still have value, in such a dynamic market they don’t capture everything. That’s why newer research methodologies, enhanced by AI, can deliver far more nuanced and actionable insights.
Combining qualitative and quantitative research for deeper insights
In the channel-driven telecoms environment, a mix of research techniques ensures you get a comprehensive view. Qualitative methods, like ethnography, can reveal how end customers interact with IoT devices in their daily lives for example, while quantitative surveys can measure broader partner and customer preferences. Combining both approaches ensures your strategies are not only customer-informed but also data-driven, allowing you to adapt quickly to changing conditions.
Backward market research for strategic planning
Backward market research is particularly valuable in aligning channel strategies with market realities. Backward research involves starting with the desired outcome or conclusion and tracing steps back to identify the evidence, methods, and resources needed to reach that result.
For telecoms businesses this means starting by identifying the key strategic questions for 2025, such as which customer segments are most likely to adopt new telecom solutions, or what factors are influencing partner engagement. By defining these questions upfront, you can design research initiatives that deliver actionable insights aligned with your business objectives.
Effective planning is about moving away from making assumptions to developing solutions that align with market demands.
The role of AI and synthetic data in transforming telecoms market research
The emergence of AI and synthetic data provides telecom companies with tools that accelerate and enhance market research. These innovations are particularly valuable in a channel-driven model, where real-time insights are crucial for swift strategy adjustments.
Accelerated insights with synthetic data
AI-generated synthetic data – artificial data created by algorithms to mimic real-world data – allows telecoms businesses to simulate customer behaviour and preferences at scale, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with traditional data collection. For instance, by creating synthetic data that mimics end-user feedback, you can quickly test new solutions or service models, gaining immediate insights to refine offerings before they launch.
Real-time strategy adjustments through AI-enhanced research
Keeping strategies aligned with rapidly evolving market conditions is challenging in the telecoms industry. AI-driven market research can help to analyse data, uncover trends, and provide insights into consumer behaviour and market dynamics.
It allows you to continuously update your strategies based on the latest data, including shifts in customer sentiment, competitor actions, and partner needs. This capability ensures your strategies remain relevant and effective throughout 2025.
Understanding customer heterogeneity at scale
We know you don’t want to offer a one-size-fits-all approach to your customer relationships. But you’re often dealing with diverse customer segments with unique needs. Enter AI. It helps you develop a deeper understanding of this diversity by simulating various customer scenarios based on factors like industry, company size, or region. Using synthetic data to explore different segments enables you to tailor your go-to-market strategies more precisely.
Get ready for 2025
Strategising for 2025 goes beyond setting goals; it requires building on market orientation, research, and AI-driven insights. Adopting AI and modern research techniques positions you for growth by ensuring a customer-first mindset guides every decision.
Start planning now to make market orientation the cornerstone of your strategy. Not sure where to begin? Let’s talk about ways you can integrate advanced insights that’ll elevate your channel partnerships.
We can help you kickstart your strategic planning today
Our MD and founder, Candice blends strategic marketing and business development support to help owners and marketing managers grow their business. From IoT start-ups and telecoms scale-ups to major network operators, her clients know they’ll see tangible returns.
