Telecom network operators acknowledged they are out of touch with customers’ wants and are struggling to keep up with user expectations, according to a survey of industry executives, Reuters reported.

In a global online study published today, 68 percent of the telecom professionals said their “traditional corporate mindset was out of sync with new forms of service” and 81 percent said their companies struggle to launch new services quickly and efficiently, leaving the field wide open for smaller, more nimble new competitors.

The study — conducted by the California-based Chief Marketing Officer Council and sponsored by telecom software company Openet — surveyed 212 senior professionals representing marketing and technology functions at global operators and communications providers.

Telecom operators have been successful in adjusting prices and offers for voice calls and text messages but have been slow to tap into customer data to tailor their offers to new habits and demands driven by smartphones and tablet computers.

Operators’ unparalleled access to people’s data usage is a potential gold mine as operators can delve into the intimacies of customers’ lives: which websites they view, where they shop, their social and political views.

Fourteen percent of those questioned in the study reported they have a good handle on real-time usage and activity of their customers, whereas the rest rely on historical data more heavily, the study found.

However, should operators and service providers manage to fulfill customer demands, 94 percent said they expect to see potentially higher revenue and more than half of those surveyed anticipate a more than 10 percent increase in sales.