In research reports on what Malaysian consumers value most from their Telcos – it’s coverage and pricing, followed by customer service. Maybe that’s how the industry got so uniform and bland. Yes, offer reliable service at great pricing and resolve customer issues, but beyond that – what else?

If every player has the same pitch and basically offer comparable experiences, why choose or stay with one compared to another. Just why in the world would consumers love Malaysian Telco brands in this current landscape?

I will be open about it. When we launch new P1, we want to be a well-loved brand. I wonder if the other Telcos have the same goal because brand love is not about widest coverage and cheapest rates while they certainly play a role.

You don’t hear people saying: “Wow! I LOVE P1 because I can use the Internet in my house.” Or I LOVE P1 because of their zero upfront!” You definitely get a lot of HATE if you can’t provide service, or make a mess of billing.

Delivering to expectations is ‘hygiene’, and as we already found out – Malaysians have rather low expectations of Telco brands. What does it take to ignite that lovin’ feeling? The experts say there are 5 reason why people love their brands.

You see yourself, if not your better self in the brand and feel proud to associate with it.
You share the brand’s philosophy and values.
The brand is dependably consistent.
The brand listens to you and tries its best to reciprocate.
You feel like you have a personal relationship with the brand.
I take these pointers to heart because the new P1 brand (all inclusive with product and service offerings) need to be different because honestly, Malaysia doesn’t need Telco No. 5 doing the same thing while spending a gazillion marketing ringgit to strongly persuade that our coverage is a few percentage points higher. It’s a surprise that Malaysians continue to tolerate our one-upping child’s play. Sorry, been guilty of this.

This is where I think the new P1 can make a difference. We’ve had our faults, for sure. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll see that we’ve taken a hard look at ourselves and is executing a major transformation because we cannot bare to screw up a second time.

Our ambition is to be a brand that Malaysian’s love. You’ll see our plans unfolding in the coming months. But I’d love to hear from you in the comments: