The Rise of Digital-First Customers: How Telcos Can Adapt and Thrive

According to McKinsey, the global telco industry has also significantly underperformed both on the global markets as well as other sectors. The telecommunications sector achieved a total shareholder return of just 28% growth over the last seven years.

While the telecommunications industry increasingly recognizes the need to prioritize digital channels and experiences, they still struggle to make digital-first a reality in their organizations: more than 7 in 10 digital transformations fall short of their objectives, with only 22% of telcos successfully embracing a digital transformation initiative, finds Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

“Many telecom companies are stuck with legacy systems that limit their ability to integrate with new technology efficiently,” says Helena Cimber, product director at e-Boks.

This inability to pivot with agility delays digital adoption, explains Cimber, who has seen telcos in Europe in particular struggle to consolidate fragmented billing systems into one unified platform. Inconvenient billing systems are one culprit of the industry’s high churn rate – which industry figures estimate at between 10% to 67% annually. Other factors include poor customer experience and communications.

With extremely high churn rates, telcos on average spend up to 20% of their revenue on attracting and retaining customers. Yet BCE, Canada’s largest communications company, revealed it costs almost 50 times less to keep an existing wireless customer than acquiring a new one, reported The Financial Post.

Read also: How the Telecommunication Industry is Reinventing Their Business Model.

Building Customer Trust with Secure Digital Communications

The growth of 5G and the cloud puts additional pressure on telcos to modernize their infrastructure, with digitization being a key strategy to help them keep pace with consumers and other customers’ growing demand for new capabilities.

An important part of digitization is ensuring that customer data is secure. Telecommunications firms are trusted with significant amounts of private data, which makes them prone to being targeted by cyber criminals.  In October 2024, the worst telecom hack in U.S. history occurred when China attacked U.S. telco networks. In addition, IBM estimates that attacks against critical infrastructure like technology averages $4.88 million per incident.

Digital trust is the foundation of today’s digital economy and serves as a compelling competitive advantage. A McKinsey survey of 1,300 business leaders and 3,000 consumers globally found that organizations best positioned to build trust are more likely to see growth rates of at least 10% on their top and bottom lines. Specifically, companies that lead with digital trust are 1.6 times more likely than the global average to see revenue and EBIT growth rates of at least 10 percent.  

A cornerstone for telcos’ digital strategy includes transitioning to digital correspondence – moving away from traditional postal services to the convenience of digital communication. Digital correspondence reduces overhead costs associated with paper, printing and delivery, while enhancing security through encryption. Users also enjoy the convenience of anytime, anywhere document access.

Leapfrog Digital Adoption with e-Boks

e-Boks’ digital correspondence platform offers a secure and compliant system for telcos to serve their customers that is both customizable and easy to access. According to customer data from e-Boks, the platform can reduce customers’ distribution costs by up to 80%, freeing up resources by eliminating the costly and manual process of handling physical letters and documents.  

With 24 years of experience in digital infrastructure rollouts, e-Boks supports 24.5 million users on its platform globally, including serving as the national digital correspondence solution for the governments of Denmark, Greenland, Norway and Ireland.  

Trust is a Core Value

As an organization, e-Boks embraces the four pillars of consumer trust – transparency, data privacy, data ownership and security. According to Cimber, clear communication with customers is essential for preserving or restoring trust. With e-Boks’ digital correspondence solution, users own their documents in their inbox and determine who has access and for how long.  

“They’re in full control of their own data,” says Cimber.  

e-Boks allows telcos to communicate with customers seamlessly, while protecting their privacy and preserving trust. The platform uses two-factor authentications out of the box and the latest encryption techniques. e-Boks delivers documents using a stable, user-specific identifier—such as a social security number, company registration ID, or other personal ID—to ensure accurate recipient identification. This approach also supports multi-identity management. e-Boks’ security approach helps keep data safe while reducing the risk of breaches. 

Fast Deployment with Seamless Integration 

e-Boks’ solution can be up and running within months, depending on the customer’s requirements and the level of customization needed, Cimber says.

By integrating e-Boks’ digital correspondence platform, telcos can provide GDPR-compliant, secure and validated communication solutions that enhance customer satisfaction. According to Cimber, flexible API integrations within the platform help telcos connect their system seamlessly.  

“With our out-of-the-box system, telecom providers can leapfrog their digital adoption without investing heavily in their [telecom provisioning and service web] site,” Cimber concludes. 

How Can e-Boks Help? 

For businesses seeking to engage younger, digital-first audiences, e-Boks provides an ideal solution to ensure that critical messages are not only received but acted upon. Users receive important communications instantly, anytime, and anywhere - perfectly aligned with the requirement for speed and convenience. 

"Unlike traditional email, where important messages can get lost in spam, the digital postbox is free from marketing and unsolicited content. This keeps the inbox uncluttered, ensuring that every message is relevant and worth opening," Cimber clarifies.

One key advantage of e-Boks is that it’s solely dedicated to official, must-read communications. Whether it’s invoices, contracts, or personal documents, senders use e-Boks only for critical messages, resulting in zero distractions from sales promotions or irrelevant content. 

Finally, e-Boks allows users to act directly on the messages they receive - whether it's paying bills, signing contracts, or booking appointments - all within the app itself.  

"This seamless, efficient process is a major plus for younger generations who demand quick and easy ways to manage their tasks," Cimber concludes.