Most marketing teams track conversions. Fewer track the signals that drive them, the moments of hesitation before a purchase, the reasons a customer stays or quietly leaves, the review that tips the decision one way or the other.
That was exactly the conversation at the heart of this Keyrus session. And it resonated with far more people than we expected.
Maissa Larbi, Digital Analytics and CDP Team Lead at Keyrus, sat down with Marjorie Audibert, E-Commerce Lead at BASE (Telenet Group), to explore how one of Belgium's leading telecoms operators uses trust signals, affiliate data, and app engagement to retain customers and build a more intelligent marketing engine.
The session was called Telco Wins: From Trust Signals to Retention Engines. The title turned out to be an understatement.
What the session covered
Three themes ran throughout:
Trust signals as a retention engine. Where reviews and ratings appear, how they are framed, and when they show up in the customer journey can have a measurable impact on whether someone converts or churns. BASE has been deliberate about this placement, and the results are tangible.
Affiliate channel auditing. One of the most discussed moments in the session was the affiliate data point Marjorie raised. If you run affiliate partnerships without closely interrogating the quality of the leads they generate, you may be paying for volume that does not convert. Several marketing managers came back to us specifically about this after watching the replay.
App retention beyond telco. The strategies BASE applies to keep users engaged inside its app translate well outside the telecoms sector. Founders and operations leads from very different industries told us the logic applied directly to their own retention challenges.
Why this matters beyond telecoms
Retention is a data problem before it is a marketing problem.
Understanding which signals build trust, which channels deliver customers worth keeping, and which moments in a digital experience determine whether someone stays — all of that requires the right data architecture underneath.
That is the kind of work Keyrus does with customer-facing businesses across industries. Not just implementing technology, but helping teams understand what their data is actually telling them and building the systems to act on it consistently.
This session was part of Keyrus & Friends 8th edition
Want to see a new session programm for the Keyrus and Friends 9th edition click here!
The session, titled "Telco Wins: From Trust Signals to Retention Engines," is a practical conversation between Maissa Larbi, Digital Analytics and CDP Team Lead at Keyrus, and Marjorie Audibert, E-Commerce Lead at BASE (Telenet Group). They discuss how BASE uses trust signals, Trustpilot reviews, affiliate data, and app engagement strategies to retain customers and improve marketing performance.
The session is relevant for marketing managers, e-commerce leads, operations managers, and business owners who want practical strategies for improving customer retention and getting more value from their marketing channels. The insights apply across industries, not just telecoms.
Trust signals are elements in a digital experience, such as customer reviews, ratings, and certifications, that reassure a visitor before they take action. Placing them at the right moment in a customer journey can directly influence whether someone converts or churns. The BASE case study illustrates how a deliberate approach to trust signals can become a measurable retention lever.
Affiliate channels generate leads, but not all leads are equal. Auditing affiliate data closely, looking at conversion rates, lead quality, and downstream behaviour, helps identify which partnerships are genuinely driving value and which are inflating volume without return. This was one of the most discussed topics in the session.