Telecom Marketing Strategy: Bought Expensive Nikes, Still No Six-Pack? CVMs Can Relate!
Learn how Telecom Marketing Strategy often fails like buying expensive Nikes without training. Discover real CVM lessons from telco leaders.
Welcome to CVM News. This isn’t just a newsletter; it’s a mission to make Customer Value Managers (CVMs) famous! Every month, I’ll share news, updates, wins, and challenges about our journey in CVM. Join me!
You know that moment when you walk into a Nike store and suddenly envision yourself as the athlete you’ve always wanted to be—the marathon runner, the proud owner of a six-pack. It feels so close; all you need is to “just do it.” Just purchase those pricey Nikes.
And then, a few hundred bucks later, reality hits: “Just do it” literally means you have to do it. The shoes won’t run the marathon or sculpt your abs—you have to put in the work. Funny how our wallets loose weight, while we don’t!
I know you’re thinking, “Egidijus, why are you sharing your New Year’s resolutions in a CVM newsletter?” Well, the answer is simple. Customer Value Managers experience the same thing with technology and solutions purchases.
CVM teams invest in wildly expensive tools, captivated by the vision of a single customer view, omnichannel experiences, reduced churn, and increased revenue.
But after spending all those millions, CVM teams often find themselves saying, “Nice, now I have a very fancy tool to send newsletters, but churn is still there, and how do I grow that revenue?”
Why am I so confident in saying this? Because we’ve conducted deep research on CVM trends, which we’ve published at cvmtrends.com.
Here’s what we found in CVM Trends
Over 66% of telco companies have state-of-the-art Data Lakes and Data Warehouses, but only 26% have achieved a single customer view. Remember what the vendors pitched when they sold you that Data Lake?
Two out of three telcos can fully personalize all communication channels, yet nearly 70% of CVM teams report they haven’t implemented a full omnichannel experience. What did those campaign management system providers tell you during their pitch?
They said a lot. But I bet they didn’t mention that you’d need to roll up your sleeves and do the heavy lifting. You’ll have to pour in your blood, sweat, and tears, and even that will not be enough if you don’t have the C Level support.
According to the CVM Trends research, 67% of CVM leaders feel their revenue-driving contributions go largely unrecognised within their organisations. Meanwhile, half of CVM teams report their actual contribution to company revenue is minimal. You are running that marathon, while nobody cares and supports you.
When you ask CVM teams what’s stopping them from making impact, they often point to technical issues: poor data quality, lack of a unified customer view, limited omnichannel capabilities, and long development times for new channels, ML models, or offers.
While these challenges are genuine, they’re often not the main reason for limited impact—just like how owning a treadmill doesn’t get you in shape if it’s only serving as a decorative piece in the corner.
The truth is that in many organisations, maximizing CVM impact simply isn’t a priority. A striking 66% of telco organisations have their CVM teams reporting to department heads rather than executive leadership. This structure sidelines CVM voices from strategic discussions, confining CVM impact to operational levels.
And you know what happens with the things that does not make it into the list of priorities. Yes, you are right – no Six-Pack.
So, here’s my wish for all CVMs in the coming year: become that priority. Just do it.
“Don’t let your success become a mystery,” says Alberto Arimana Celis, Head of B2B CVM at Entel Perú. Starting his CVM career with enthusiasm but little methodology, Alberto learned a critical lesson early on.
He launched two promising campaigns — a renewal and an upsell — and achieved excellent results. Conversion rates were high, and success seemed certain. But there was a catch: he hadn’t used a control group to measure their real impact.
Without clear data, everyone wanted credit, and Alberto had no way to prove the results were his. “Always have your numbers clear,” he advises. “That’s the only way to show CVM’s value.”
This story is based on Alberto’s experience shared in the CVM Stories podcast episode: Cutting Churn by 50% – A Strategy of Customer Focus and Team Alignment in B2B CVM.
What’s your CVM horror story? Share it with us and help others learn from your journey.
The latest news and insights on Customer Value Management within the telecommunications industry for this month.
- 🎙️ [Podcast] Tune into the latest episodes covering CVM Trends 2025 in Telecom
- 📍 [Live meet-up] Join us at MWC in Barcelona this March for an exciting CVM meet-up, where you can grab a physical copy of the CVMBoK Book – register here
- 📅 [Events] Stay updated on upcoming 2025 industry events — check out the full list here
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bought-expensive-nikes-still-six-pack-cvms-can-relate-pilypas-lpbjf – Find out more
