Telecommunications (Retail Telco & ISPs) marketing benchmarks

Telecommunications composite sits below the national average of 63.7, ranking 53rd of 70 industries. For an industry that collectively spends billions on advertising, this is a poor return. The explanation is structural: telco marketing is overwhelmingly focused on acquisition and price promotion, leaving retention, brand and measurement under-invested.

Telstra at 78 composite is a significant outlier. The 17-point gap between Telstra and the industry average is one of the largest single-company premiums in any vertical. Telstra's brand investment, network differentiation narrative and enterprise marketing capability separate it from the pack. The rest of the industry is fighting a price war.

Retention and Loyalty is the critical weakness. Compare this to Superannuation or Health Insurance. All three are subscription products with annual or multi-year cycles. But super funds and health insurers have built genuine retention strategies. Telcos rely on contracts and inertia.

Brand and Positioning exposes the commoditisation trap. When every carrier offers unlimited data on the same network (most MVNOs run on Telstra or Optus infrastructure), the product is identical. The only way to de-commoditise is through brand or service experience. Most carriers have invested in neither.

Data and Tracking is below average for an industry awash in subscriber data. Telcos have more first-party behavioural data than almost any other industry, but marketing teams often can't access it. The internal politics of data access between network operations, customer service and marketing is one of the most common complaints in telco marketing teams.

Acquisition Performance gets 30% because telco is a churn-and-replace market. Customers switch providers more often than in almost any other subscription category. The provider that acquires cheaply and converts quickly wins. Digital Maturity at 20% reflects that the product is increasingly digital: apps, self-service portals, online plan management.

Retention at 20% matters but the industry has a structural problem. Telco retention is often driven by contract lock-in rather than genuine loyalty. When contracts expire, customers shop. Brand and Positioning at just 7% reflects the commoditised nature of the product. Most consumers can't tell the difference between carriers on network quality. They choose on price and coverage.

Retention is below the national average and 15 points below banking. Both are subscription products. But banking has invested in digital retention mechanics while telco still relies on contract terms. If your retention strategy is a 24-month lock-in, you're not building loyalty. You're delaying churn.

Brand and Positioning is weak. In a commoditised market, brand is the only differentiator that isn't price. The telcos that build brand around service quality, community investment or niche positioning (business-only, regional coverage, ethical sourcing) create switching costs that aren't contractual.

Telstra at 78 shows what's possible with sustained investment. The 17-point gap to the industry average isn't just about budget. It's about treating marketing as a strategic function rather than a customer acquisition cost line.