Establishing a Culture of High Performance as an MVNO

Whether you’ve been an MVNO for ten years or for ten days, if it’s long-term success you’re after, complacency should be your number one enemy. What does complacency look like for an MVNO? It looks like retail plans that haven’t changed in a few years, the use of legacy technology that’s “working” but not pushing the envelope, manual processes that could be automated for greater efficiency, little to no quality engagement with existing customers, unexceptional customer care, and a lack of visibility to key metrics driving the business, among others.

In a competitive wireless market with three household name brands to choose from, in addition to a plethora of other companies vying for market share, no one with the financial means in the United States is left wondering what options they have for wireless connectivity. The reality is that the market is crowded. The competition is changing, and they’re changing fast. To win the race, you need to be willing to fight for your customers, fight to retain them, and establish a culture of high performance that champions both.

If you’re a new MVNO, hopefully I haven’t scared you away! I work with companies in this ecosystem because I love that it’s fast-paced and attracts leaders who are willing to think differently and challenge the status quo. The ability to offer customers connectivity without having to manage the network yourself is a jackpot for creative and tech savvy entrepreneurs. That said, complacency as an MVNO is a surefire way to a stagnating business. As they say, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. Here are a few ways to establish a culture of high performance as an MVNO, which will drive your business to greater success no matter how long you’ve been operating.

MINDSET

Your culture is born from the people within it. That includes everyone, from leadership to IT to customer care and beyond. Do you have an organization full of people willing to identify roadblocks and put in the effort to solve them? Is your team willing to go above and beyond? The healthiest and highest performing organizations I’ve seen are ones where most people have what Carol Dweck terms a “growth mindset.” This means that they embrace challenges, welcome feedback, view setbacks as opportunities, and understand that companies are held back only by self-imposed limits.

TAKE ACTION: Perform an audit of those in key leadership roles in your MVNO. Do they have the mindset it takes to fight for customers, fight to retain them, and fight to constantly make the company better? If not, it could be time to make some changes.

CURIOSITY

Curiosity lies at the heart of innovation. You know the offers and promotions that have been successful in the past, but what if you thought about them differently this year? You know what technology has supported your business so far, but what if there were tools that could help take you to the next level? You know your target audience, but what if you could find them using a different marketing channel?
You often hear business coaches talk about how easy it is for leadership to lose touch with the pulse of the organization as a company grows, and I’ve certainly seen it happen. If you are a leader of an MVNO, when was the last time you spoke with one of your customers? As in, you had them on the phone and asked about their experience? This is a simple strategy to help you get curious, reconnect to the heartbeat of your business, and generate new ideas.

TAKE ACTION: Call 2-3 of your customers and ask them about their experience and their perception of your company. You just might see your business in a way you haven’t before.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Let’s imagine that you’re walking up to your daughter’s soccer game, and you’re a few minutes late. The first question you would ask upon arrival would inevitably be, “What’s the score?” The reason is that the score creates stakes. It gives you a sense of the dynamic of the game, describes how the team measures up, and gives the girls a reason to fight for the next goal. If no one was keeping score, the ball in the back of the net would feel a lot less rewarding.
Similarly, for your MVNO, keeping score creates stakes and drives performance because it holds you and your team accountable to the result. You should be tracking key metrics on a weekly basis, which might include lead generation, landing page conversion rates, social media engagement, customer acquisition by channel, customer churn, product breakdown, upgrades and downgrades, and customer care performance.

TAKE ACTION: Identify 5-7 key metrics that you should track on a weekly basis that would drive you to reach your subscriber goals for your MVNO this year. Make sure you have visibility to these in a dashboard or report.

Of course, there are many other ways that you could promote a culture of high performance for your MVNO. I chose these three because based on my experience, if you can lean into them, you’ll be well on your way towards standing out in a competitive marketplace.