In this edition of Telco Talk, we’ll examine the signals that your core operations, change management and continuous improvement functions may be stuck in “crisis mode” - and why a partner model is the key to reclaiming your team's strategic focus.
In this edition of Telco Talk, we’ll dive into the implications of MCP, what AI Retail Operations look like, and how telco leaders must prepare for this transformational change.
Maplewave's Grant Carstensen explains why a customer experience layer approach can solve critical telco pain points - without the cost and risk of a full digital transformation program.
If you’ve missed NLP totally - it is the study of how people think, communicate, and make decisions. In business, it helps salespeople build rapport, ask better questions, and influence outcomes. By understanding behaviour and language patterns, NLP enables more effective conversations, stronger trust, and higher conversion in complex, customer-led sales environments.
In this edition, our resident futurist, Will Gibson, sets his sights on the trends he predicts will come to pass this year.
I love making predictions. As a telco consultant, it’s important I know where the industry is going, and how to keep my clients at the fore. One year ago, I released my annual predictions for the future of our industry in 10 Big Ideas That Will Shape the Telco Industry in 2025. Now twelve months later, it’s time to evaluate if I can retain my moniker of ‘The Great ‘Will-dini’. In this edition of Telco Talk, I score my predictions – what came true, what didn’t, and what this all means for 2026 going forward. Let’s dive in!
In this edition of Telco Talk, we break down the most common inventory challenges facing telco retailers in 2025 and highlight practical ways to regain control, maximize sales, and keep customers coming back.
In this edition of Telco Talk, we’ll look at some lessons from other industries, and how they can help telcos finally close the sales experience gap.
In this edition of Telco Talk, we’ve outlined 10 priorities you should consider for next year. We’ve broken these into three buckets: Revenue Accelerators, Margin Protectors, and Strategic Bets. Think of it as a framework to balance your short-term wins with your long-term positioning. Let’s dive in!
In this edition of Telco Talk, we’ll explore how generative AI is supercharging selling and customer support and examine which carriers are successfully using these strategies today.
Telecom operators are rapidly shifting how they use dealer networks. Whether it’s franchise-heavy Italy, the corporate-dominated UK, or mixed-model markets like the U.S., getting your dealer channel right is critical. Screw this up, and you’ll hemorrhage customers, cash, and credibility. Get it right, and you're laughing all the way to the bank.
In this edition of Telco Talk, we will present some actionable strategies telcos can use to weather these economic headwinds while maintaining a strong customer experience.
In this edition of Telco Talk, we explore how Etisalat and Verizon are reimagining the telco store with bold, AI-first innovations that are truly transforming the customer experience.
Every year, telcos leave millions in untapped revenue on the table. The reason? They’re overlooking one of their most powerful sales tools: direct sales.
Ask anyone in the telecoms industry and they’ll agree - spending has never been under as much scrutiny as it has in the last year. Our clients have told us even small daily expenses that nobody would have given a second thought to a few years ago, now require multiple levels of approvals. The key to thriving in this environment lies in choosing projects that deliver tangible results quickly. In this edition of Telco Talk, we’re exploring the top ROI-driven initiatives to prioritize in the year ahead.
In our last blog of 2024, Maplewave’s resident futurist, Will Gibson, shares 10 industry-changing predictions that telcos should be prepared for next year.
NLP consists of effective techniques that provide you with choices that you didn’t know you had. Even better, it triggers a curious attitude, and the desire to learn and explore new possibilities. But for NLP to be successfully applied, there are five basic principles you need to respect.
In speaking with telcos around the world, fraud prevention is one of the most talked about issues in the industry today. In our digital-first society, fraud has never been easier, or more prevalent – with huge financial consequences.
Your future customers insist that the heart of humanity must remain front and centre in all business activities. You have a unique opportunity to captivate the discerning hearts of Gen Z and Alpha through initiatives steeped in meaningful social responsibility!
In this newsletter, I’ll share a few of my musings on how AI could change telco in 3, 5 or 10-years’ time. Things are moving FAST! This could be next year!
You may have gathered from the title that this time, I’m actually keeping my evaluation close to home – The United Kingdom! I was a big part of the telco industry in the UK some time ago. It feels like it’s been a lifetime, but I certainly have walked the walk in this market. In this edition of Telco Talk, I evaluate how EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three stack up, and where I think they have improvements to make.
In this edition of Telco Talk, I’ll explore how high-value retail businesses can benefit from such investments and provide examples from various industries that have successfully adopted this strategy.
In this article, Will Gibson reflects on how the indirect channel has evolved beyond its manual roots in favour of a fully digital sales and channel management process.
Telcos are under enormous pressure to remain competitive while being cost-efficient, innovative, and sustainable. Digital contract management is smart, customer-friendly, fast, and secure - and we can't recommend it enough. In this article, we will explore four key digital contract trends in the telco industry that you must leverage in 2024 and what they mean for your business.
Digital is now meshed tightly into our lives, but the landscape is constantly shifting. Businesses in every industry are vying for innovative ways to captivate their audience, enhance customer loyalty, and drive sales.
Those of us with backgrounds in retail and store design know how important immersive experiences are to attracting customers and getting them to spend time in a store. And while video games are fun (who doesn't love a bit of digital escapism, right?), they’re also a clever way to advertise those complementary high-value services, like fibre and virtual gaming services.
In this edition of Telco Talk, I will continue the e-commerce conversation and examine the 7 capabilities that your e-commerce site must have in order to be the right fit for the telco industry.
Can you believe 2023 is almost over? If you’re someone who’s in a hurry, here is a quick summary of our Telco Talk editions from the past year.
“Digital Transformation” has long been a buzz word and is a journey that most telcos are currently on. However, implementing the right digital tools is just the first part of the puzzle. The real dilemma is getting customers to actually use them.
The reseller network is an invaluable asset in the telecom industry, particularly in markets dominated by prepaid services. Resellers play a pivotal role by distributing SIM cards, top-ups, and more, effectively extending the reach of telecom companies to thousands of additional touchpoints.
For years, telecoms companies have divided their client base into “Consumers” and “Business” users, each with different product sets, pricing, and needs. But in this post-pandemic, work-from-home world that we now live in, a third type of customer has entered the chat – say hello to the “Prosumer”.
Telecoms companies are facing different challenges right now depending on where they are in the world. In countries like the UK, US, and Japan, telcos are downsizing their physical operations, cutting costs, and trying to move customer interactions from physical stores to (allegedly) cheaper digital channels.
In this edition of Telco Talk, Maplewave’s CEO, Adam Baggs, shares his thoughts on how telcos can quickly capitalize on fibre as a revenue source while 5G takes time to ramp up.
Often, the hardest part of sustainability is knowing where to start. This is especially true when it comes to supply chains. Maplewave’s Logistics expert, Bradley Lapin, shares some strategies that will help you deliver environmental benefits in this edition of Telco Talk.
Once 3G arrived, telcos started to get more complex in their offerings, with texts, picture messages and all sorts of other “science fiction” possibilities. In response, store designs portrayed everything as “the future”, with sleek attributes resembling spaceships and featuring stark white surfaces.
From personalized add-ons to freebies that enhance your everyday life, we've got you covered. Let us know if our list inspired you to take your telco VAS game to the next level!
Don't settle for a one-size-fits-all software solution! Discover four reasons why a configurable telco platform is the way to go in our latest newsletter.
eSIM is a game-changer for the telco industry, and those changes are coming fast. So it's time to get ready! Check out our latest newsletter to learn more about the nine hidden impacts of eSIMs.
We sat down with Maplewave’s thought leaders, Adam Baggs, Will Gibson, Grant Carstensen, and Bradley Lapin to get their thoughts on how the telco industry fared in 2022 and what’s in store for 2023.
Planning your budget for next year? When you're looking to cut costs, be careful of flashy long-term projects and invest in those that will give you a high ROI within months!
What’s the future of telco retail? Ask the food delivery companies. With their new customer-first strategy that blurs the line between the digital and physical, telcos have a lot to learn from their success. Maplewave’s VP of Sales & Marketing, Will Gibson, shares his thoughts in this edition of Telco Talk.
E-Commerce is the lifeblood of modern retail. So why can't most telecom customers buy a device online? In our second edition of Telco Talk, we examine the eight barriers to telco e-commerce and how to overcome them.
In our first edition, you'll find the much anticipated follow-up interview with Will Gibson on his disappointing experience at a Vodafone UK flagship store. Don't forget to subscribe!
