Brief

Loyalty in the telecommunication market: What customers really expect

By Dr. Imeyen Ebong, Dominik Thielmann and Dr. Jens Engelhardt

First published on mayo 18, 2015
min read


Germany's landline and mobile phone providers have made much progress in recent years in the area of customer loyalty. This is revealed in the latest Bain study for which a total of 2,125 users were surveyed. Among most major communications service providers, the survey revealed that enthusiastic customers meanwhile actually outweigh critical customers. In the mobile phone segment, network quality and tariffs are the key drivers of customer loyalty, with service following in second place. In the landline business the reverse is the case, with customer service attached greater significance. All in all, the survey assessment of customer service - previously a frequent source of annoyance among users - turned out to be comparatively positive. In contrast, the main dissatisfaction expressed was over the service providers' online presence. Almost one in two mobile phone customers ended up having to contact a call center or a branch, because they were unable to resolve their issues on the provider's internet portal. But telecommunication suppliers could upgrade customer loyalty and at the same time achieve greater efficiency precisely by broadening their online services and enhancing user friendliness. This is a pre-condition for fulfilling the user's desire for ever more services at ever cheaper tariffs. But this study does not merely reveal the potential offered by an improved online presence. A significant difference can be seen in NPS scores between the individual providers. Furthermore, only a minority actually achieve positive interaction with their customers. Although loyalty can be immensely boosted if providers were, for example, to enquire about the efficiency of a connection or provide information on the availability of cheaper tariffs, very few of the users surveyed actually reported interactions of this kind. In a customer-centered organization, continuous dialogue with customers and constant improvements that build towards this are crucial. This study names three success factors for an evolutionary process of this kind and allows you to score your own company’s potential for success with a check list.

Germany's landline and mobile phone providers have made much progress in recent years in the area of customer loyalty. This is revealed in the latest Bain study for which a total of 2,125 users were surveyed. Among most major communications service providers, the survey revealed that enthusiastic customers meanwhile actually outweigh critical customers.

In the mobile phone segment, network quality and tariffs are the key drivers of customer loyalty, with service following in second place. In the landline business the reverse is the case, with customer service attached greater significance. All in all, the survey assessment of customer service - previously a frequent source of annoyance among users - turned out to be comparatively positive. In contrast, the main dissatisfaction expressed was over the service providers' online presence. Almost one in two mobile phone customers ended up having to contact a call center or a branch, because they were unable to resolve their issues on the provider's internet portal. But telecommunication suppliers could upgrade customer loyalty and at the same time achieve greater efficiency precisely by broadening their online services and enhancing user friendliness. This is a pre-condition for fulfilling the user's desire for ever more services at ever cheaper tariffs.

But this study does not merely reveal the potential offered by an improved online presence. A significant difference can be seen in NPS scores between the individual providers. Furthermore, only a minority actually achieve positive interaction with their customers. Although loyalty can be immensely boosted if providers were, for example, to enquire about the efficiency of a connection or provide information on the availability of cheaper tariffs, very few of the users surveyed actually reported interactions of this kind.

In a customer-centered organization, continuous dialogue with customers and constant improvements that build towards this are crucial. This study names three success factors for an evolutionary process of this kind and allows you to score your own company’s potential for success with a check list.