As brands fight for customer attention, marketing and customer value management has become increasingly complex. A single misstep can erode years of brand value – an especially critical challenge for GCC telecom operators.
Operators have a unique opportunity to deliver higher value to their customers and in turn generate breakthrough business growth through AI-powered marketing.
The telecom operators could generate up to $5.9 in ebitda (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for every $1 invested in an AI-powered, data-fueled marketing personalization engine, over five years, stated Strategy& Middle East, a part of the PwC network, in its new report.
Such an engine would produce deeper customer insights, drive more informed decisions, and create precision targeting strategies to enhance returns, it stated.
The report emphasizes that personalization is no longer just an advantage, but is critical to maintaining relevance, as well as driving differentiation and revenue growth.
GCC telecoms operators must act now
Despite having access to vast and valuable datasets - including real-time location data, usage patterns, and customer interactions –telecom operators typically use only 30 to 50% of their data, according to the report, limiting their ability to drive customer engagement and revenue growth.
Mahmoud Makki, Partner and leader of the firm's Telecommunications, Media, Technology, and Digital practice in the Middle East at Strategy& Middle East, said: "Facing multiple challenges to growth, GCC telecom operators must harness AI to unlock the full potential of their data."
"Consumers expect real-time and personalized engagement, yet most operators underperform on delivering this due to underutilized data sets, gaps in precision marketing capabilities and operating models that hinder collaboration. An AI-powered customer value management engine can transform telco data into a competitive advantage, delivering personalized experiences and real business impact," he added.
Exemplars from within and outside the industry are demonstrating results
According to the report, one regional telecom operator developed an AI-powered prospecting and dynamic pricing tool and integrated it into their sales app, which increased conversion rates by up to 15% and lowered acquisition costs.
Another operator used AI to deliver proactive and personalized resolution offers after a network outage, reinforcing customer trust and reducing expected churn due to the event by 40 to 60%.
Other exemplars have moved campaign cohort sizes to 100’s or smaller vs. millions usually targeted for campaigns by telcos and improved campaign conversion rates by 2-3x while maintaining high Net Promoter Scores.
A four-layer framework
"GCC telecom operators are well positioned to meet the personalisation imperative, but success depends on their ability to harness and align their full range of capabilities," said GP Singh, Partner at Strategy& Middle East.
"To fully capitalise on AI-powered marketing, operators must establish an integrated capabilities engine - one that integrates their data, analytics, technology, marketing, and customer experience into a cohesive framework and operating model. Only then can they deliver personalized engagement at scale and unlock meaningful value growth," stated Singh.
The report outlines four key layers of this AI-powered engine. These are:
*Data Foundation: A unified, broad and high-quality data pool that provides a 360-degree view of the customer must be established.
*Cognitive Marketing Core: AI and analytics must be leveraged to generate real-time, actionable insights and predict customer behavior, from the complete customer view.
*Value Pools: Use cases and AI-powered campaigns that focus on precision marketing, hyper-targeted sales, customer-centric up/cross-selling, cognitive care, and personalized retention strategies along the customer life cycle must be developed.
*Activation: Seamless customer engagement across digital and physical touchpoints, ensuring that the right message reaches the right customer at the right time, must be delivered.
The path forward: AI as an imperative
For GCC telcos, adopting AI-driven marketing is no longer optional; but a strategic necessity to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry, stated Strategy& Middle East.
The report recommends that operators integrate their marketing technology stacks, invest in AI capabilities, and adopt an agile operating model to accelerate the transition toward data-driven decision-making.
"For GCC telcos, adopting AI-driven marketing is no longer optional – it’s a strategic imperative to remain relevant, competitive, and connected to what customers truly want," stated Ankit Kushwaha, Principal at Strategy& Middle East.
"Operators are already shifting toward hyper-personalized engagement – targeting micro-cohorts or even a segment-of-one – and unlocking value lifts once thought unattainable. But this is just the beginning," he noted.
"Those who move boldly and at scale will redefine how value is created. Operators that fail to act risk ceding value to digital disruptors and becoming commoditized providers of basic connectivity," he added.
