Positioning KPN, the right course or a smokescreen?

Do you know the core values of KPN? Even if people know the core values, it remains questionable whether they truly associate them with the former state-owned company. The company is going through tough times – when isn’t it? – but according to CEO Blok, it has a course that “shows how our products and services enrich life and add value to society.” The need for change has been clear at KPN for years, but why have all efforts still not yielded results? We reflect on KPN’s positioning and answer from that perspective whether this is the right course.

KPN Core Values

KPN has been committed for years to the core values ‘personal, simplicity, and trust,’ and its marketing and communication always seamlessly align with this theme. But the key question is whether KPN’s target groups, after all these years, associate terms like personal and trust with the organization. KPN itself uses the Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a tool and has been focusing on it for years; the 2011 annual report even set the goal to achieve a positive score by 2013. This was not achieved; in 2013 the company still had an overall score of -10, but they managed to reduce this to an average of -3 in 2014. The company celebrates an ‘all-time high,’ but in the business segment, for example, they score -13—how proud can you be of that? The average is moving in the right direction, but one swallow does not make a summer.

KPN Strategy and Positioning

In strategy and positioning, the customer relationship is also central to KPN. The strengthen, simplify, grow strategy is actually very clear. KPN wants to grow by strengthening the customer relationship—through ‘operational excellence’ and rewarding loyalty—while improving its networks and thus its competitive position, but must simplify products and services to do so. Not a complex story but based on the premise that KPN can truly embed its core values with its customers, and we have our doubts about that. The company cites operational excellence as a core tool, but we believe that a focus on efficiency will not have the desired effect on customer satisfaction.

Competition with Vodafone

Merkelijkheid is a customer of Vodafone. Not because we think they are better than KPN, but more of a ‘in the land of the blind’ story. However, Vodafone uses a completely different tone, even in its annual report. The CEO poses in a red Vodafone polo and talks about how essential attracting good personnel is to making or breaking their success. A world of difference compared to KPN’s very strategic story. Additionally, Vodafone seems clearer about both results and ambitions, while KPN tends to ‘hide’ things.

In all other respects, the companies are similar. Roughly the same message, strategic direction, and goals; even the positioning and core values correspond. The two telecom giants are fighting for exactly the same spot in the market.

KPN Positioning, Right Course or Facade?

Drastic rounds of layoffs and a fundamentally steadfast strategic course give us a good feeling about the company’s future. But in terms of positioning and communication, the company still misses many opportunities. We also seriously question KPN’s chances in the positioning battle with Vodafone, simply because Vodafone is able to communicate personally and clearly.

The answer to the question: does KPN have the right course with this positioning? is no. The social and societal texts the company uses contradict the actual behavior of the organization. We see the company better grounded in a more conservative and less socially oriented position in the market. In short, KPN’s positioning is a facade. How can the company monetize its focus on network and operational excellence in a positioning? How about a slogan like: ‘Simply better’?

The data used in this article comes from the KPN Annual Reports 2011 to 2014.

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