• 28.11.23

Beyond connectivity: How telcos can win SMB loyalty with productivity tools

VAS core offering

For small businesses, fast and secure connectivity is no longer a differentiator from telco providers – it’s the baseline. Owners now expect reliable connections in the same way they expect electricity or running water. What really matters is what comes on top.

Today, 73% of small businesses have a website, and for most, operations are run at least partially online. Whether it’s taking e-commerce orders, managing customer relationships or logging payments in accounting software, connectivity is only the starting point. The real opportunity lies in helping small businesses work smarter.

Data as the new currency: A 5G revolution

From New York to Buenos Aires, Cape Town to Sydney, cellular networks have seen rapid upgrades in recent years. Global penetration of 5G is forecast to reach 64% by 2030, making gigabytes of data the de facto selling point of most phone tariffs.

Alongside speed, security has emerged as a key selling point – with features like spam blocking, identity monitoring and phishing protection now standard. But as connectivity and security have become commoditised, telcos are left competing on price. Tariff discounting, identical handset offers and rising churn are the inevitable result.

VAS: The next differentiator for SMB customers

To break free from the race to the bottom, telcos are turning to value-added services (VAS) as a way to stand out. For small business customers in particular, the highest-value VAS are not entertainment perks or consumer-style bundles, but digital products that boost productivity.

Think:

  • Web presence and e-commerce tools
  • Cloud storage and project management software
  • CRM and customer engagement platforms
  • Email marketing and booking systems

For telcos, pairing these productivity-boosting VAS with core connectivity creates a more compelling proposition. Done well, it reduces churn, drives new acquisition and increases ARPU across the board.

The SMB challenge: Right-sized digital products

Not all digital tools are created equal. Small businesses don’t want enterprise-grade software awkwardly rebranded for their needs – they need solutions designed with their realities in mind. Tools that are simple, intuitive and built to save time rather than add complexity.

This is where telcos can create real impact: by offering SMB-specific VAS that help business owners get online faster, sell smarter and run more efficiently. The result? Stickier customer relationships and new revenue streams in a segment that is often underserved.

A BaseKit perspective: Designed for SMB success

At BaseKit, we’ve seen first-hand how small design decisions can unlock big productivity gains for SMBs. Every product in our portfolio – from our site builder to e-commerce platform, booking software and CRM – is built to be easy to use by time-poor business owners.

Take BaseKit Store. This year we overhauled onboarding so that a small business owner can set up an online shop in just five distraction-free steps. For telcos, this means higher activation rates, faster time-to-value and stronger retention across their SMB base.

And because our products are white-labelled, telco partners retain full control over pricing, positioning and messaging. This allows them to create a localised “productivity VAS + connectivity” story that resonates with their own markets.

From commodity to growth engine

Telcos have a unique opportunity to evolve their role with SMB customers – from commodity provider to indispensable business partner. Connectivity may be the foundation, but productivity is the differentiator.

At BaseKit, our mission is to democratise technology for small businesses by making world-class tools accessible through trusted telco partners. Get in touch to see what a partnership could look like for your business.
 
 
 

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