CONNECTING
WITH THE
CONSUMER
THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATING
MARKETING PROMISE WITH SERVICE
DELIVERY
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
1
TELECOM –
WHERE CHANGE
I S A C O N S TA N T
Of all industries, telecom is one of the fastest changing. Product and
service plan dynamics are always in a state of flux with new offerings
appearing on the market daily and redefining what is important to
consumers. By the look of things, these changes will keep on coming!
To stay ahead of competition, telecom companies expend considerable
time, energy and effort in understanding the emerging consumer
needs, desires and usage trends. This is done in an effort to improve
their customer experience strategy and delivery of that strategy, in
tune with customer expectations.
This paper minutely explores the relationship of mobile service
providers with their consumers, and discusses the typical challenges
of defining, measuring, and improving customer experience.
The paper aims to give directional feedback to mobile service
providers and enable them to create competitive differentiation and
simultaneously maintain and even gain market share.
C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
FOR SURVEY
DESIGN
With the above purpose in mind, we designed a quantitative survey
that captured feedback on mobile users’ experience with their telecom
service provider. The survey was conducted online using SSI Panels,
which offer several advantages (detailed in infographic below). The
surveys extended across eleven countries and over 9000 respondents.
Respondents above 18 years, who owned a mobile phone and used
the services of one or more mobile service providers were considered.
As many as 49 mobile service providers were covered with adequate
representation of both pre-paid and post-paid consumers.
2
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
ADVANTAGES OF USING SSI ONLINE PANELS
IT’S FASTER
SMARTER
ALTERNATIVE
SCREENED
RESPONDENTS
RESEARCH-READY
RESPONDENTS
Data collection can be completed quickly
Conventional methods, such as face-to-face and telephonic
conversation, are becoming less productive and more costly
Panel research allows you to screen respondents based on the
information profiles given during sign up
The effort is more fruitful because the respondents have
already opted-in to participate in research studies.
W H AT C L I C K S W I T H
THE MOBILE
SERVICES
CONSUMER?
Telecom service providers need to constantly keep a finger on the
pulse of their market, their competition, and especially their customers. Customers of today are more demanding, expect higher levels of
service, and crave new products. One of the intentions of this study
was to delve into what clicks with the mobile consumer at the time
of brand selection and thereafter, what he values most in the post
purchase period. Before we look at the some of the findings from the
global study, we must mention two interesting insights:
1. The expectations of customers from their service providers are
very similar across countries where the study was conducted. This
was seen from US in the extreme west, to Japan in the extreme
east and similarly across developing and developed countries
2. We found that the rating on all the key attributes (Loyalty, Overall
Satisfaction, RSI, NPS), was the highest across brands in China
and India and lowest across brands in countries like Japan,
Germany and Hong Kong. However, when customers were asked
if they had a problem with their service provider in the past 3
months, it was China and India that had the maximum problems!
One important learning is that comparison of scores across
countries must be done with a lot of caution
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
3
W H AT A R E
CUSTOMERS
LOOKING FOR
WHEN SELECTING
A MOBILE SERVICE
PROVIDER?
So what were the factors that played a signif icant role in consumers’
selection of their mobile service provider at the time of purchasing a
connection? (See Table below)
REASONS FOR CHOOSING MOBILE SERVICE BRAND
ALL FIGS ARE IN %
TOTAL
SOLUS
USER
MULTIPLE
USER
Network Coverage
52
52
50
Network Quality
43
43
43
Low cell rates
32
28
44
Data services
20
19
21
Services bundle offer
18
19
15
Reputation of the company
18
18
15
Connection given by family member
16
16
17
Low SMS rates
15
14
17
Good Brand image
14
15
11
Handset bundle offer
11
12
9
Customer Services
10
10
10
Variety of Value Added Services
6
6
6
Corporate connection
4
4
3
When asked to list the criteria for choosing their mobile services
brand, consumers primarily cited eff iciency in operation or use, and
dependability of service (in the form of Network Coverage &Network
Quality). Amongst other things, consumer choice of mobile services
was also significantly influenced by economy of usage (in the form of
Low Call Rates and Services Bundle Offer).
4
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
Economy of usage was an even bigger factor for dual users while
choosing multiple service providers.
Other factors that were deal makers in influencing brand choice were
cited to be ‘Good Brand Image’ / ‘Reputation of Company’, combined
with ‘Customer Service’ and ‘Variety of VAS’
W H AT
CUSTOMERS
R E A L LY WA N T
FROM THEIR
MOBILE
EXPERIENCE:
I.E. WHAT KEEPS THEM FROM
CHURNING OUT?
With mobile phone penetration reaching a saturation point in many
countries, ‘retention’ has become more of a focal point than even
‘acquisition’. In the pursuit of market share, it is natural for Telecom
Companies to be keen to understand customer satisfaction in order to
cultivate strong relationships with them. Now, as the logical next step,
to help mobile service companies compete in this fast-paced Telecom
market, it is essential to identify the crucial drivers of satisfaction that
truly impact customer engagement post-purchase and keep them from
churning out.
Our study measured seven key factors that affect consumer experience
of mobile phone users. These seven key factors were regressed
onto Key Performance Indicators as Independent variables, and the
calculated impact was used to rank these seven key factors in order of
influence (See Table below).
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
5
(REGRESSION
SCORES)
DRIVERS
FACTORS
(TOP 2 BOX%)
PERFORMANCE
19.3
RATE PLANS / PRICE
41
14.9
VALUE ADDED SERVICES
39
14.5
DATA QUALITY
48
13.8
BILLING EXPERIENCE/
RECHARGE EXPERIENCE
48
13.0
CALL CENTRE
42
12.7
VOICE QUALITY
56
11.7
IN STORE/OUTLET
EXPERIENCE
41
‘Rate Plans/ Price’ emerged as the top driver of customer satisfaction
This expectation also existed as a pre purchase criteria. This indicates
that the consumer’s inclination for cost savings is here to stay
Mobile service providers have graduated from providing basic voice
and telephony services to offering a host of entertainment and other
‘Value Added Services’ (VAS), and this emerged as the second most
inf luential driver for mobile service usage experience. Somehow, VAS
was not considered as the most important criteria while purchasing.
With the convergence of technologies, data services are growing
exponentially and ‘Data traffic quality’ has emerged as the third most
important influencer. This too has been indicated by consumers in
their pre purchase criteria.
Payment experience’ in terms of variety of payment options and their
seamless execution emerged as the fourth most important dimension,
while ‘Customer Support’ came in fifth
Voice Quality (Network Quality) which was the numero uno criteria
while purchasing a connection, slipped down to sixth place. Perhaps
once a selection had been made on Network Coverage and Quality,
Voice Quality was assumed to be a given with little disruption.
Globally, Voice Quality has the best performance relative to all other
variables.
6
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
POINTS TO
PONDER:
Top of the mind reasons for selection of a brand (i.e. Brand Attraction)
and reasons for staying with a brand (i.e. Brand Retention) overlap,
but with some noteworthy differences. They are similar but not the
same, now let us explore why.
At the beginning of wireless telecom history, service providers
competed on network coverage and/or price. Then the industry
evolved and Value Added Services entered the equation. Today, with
the rapid growth in the demand for Data Services; coverage, speed
and price come into play once again with an even greater force while
choosing a service provider. Our data also confirms the growing
penetration and importance of ‘Data Services’ on the mobile phone. It
has emerged amongst the Top four consumer Attraction and Retention
criteria for a brand, and which in turn requires the foundation of
strong infrastructure and competitive pricing.
However, for the mobile operators whose margins are already
squeezed and who are reeling under pressures of the price war, there
is no scope for prices to go down further. But there are two avenues
where they can still compete
a. The deployment of new technology
b. The improvement of service performance.
This is where VAS and Service delivery factors come in. Therefore
operators can use products and services as differentiators on the
customer experience front.
The findings imply that it is imperative that mobile services providers
pay special attention to the basics, notably, the three essentials: a)
constantly build and upgrade their network and bandwidth, b) offer
more innovative subscription packages, and c) invest to ensure better
quality of service and positive brand experiences.
These may seem like basic hygiene factors but balancing Financials
and Network quality at the sell side, with Innovation and Service
Delivery on the experience side, could be the ‘success mantra’ in the
mobile/ wireless telecom space.
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
7
R E L AT I O N S H I P
STRENGTH INDEX:
A STRONG PERFORMANCE INDICATOR
As discussed earlier, improving customer experience and satisfaction
is a top priority for mobile service providers. Focusing on customer
experience can enable mobile service providers to respond more
effectively to customer requirements, build customer loyalty, and
create a stronger value perception in the minds of customers.
Additionally, improved customer experience can generate sustainable
competitive differentiation, improving prospects for long term
profitability.
While most Mobile Service providers measure ‘satisfaction’ or ‘loyalty’
as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), Nielsen measures the deeper
‘cause’ of Loyalty rather than Loyalty itself. Nielsen defines the
“cause” of Loyalty as Strength of the Relationship between the service
provider and the customer.
This Relationship Strength Index (RSI), is a composite of six
statements, which reflect both the tangible as well as the intangible
aspects of the relationship.
WHAT IS THE RSI ADVANTAGE?
8
•
RSI Statements are specific and easy to understand
•
The first two questions included in the RSI define the ‘brick and
mortar’ of Customer Engagement/Experience. These are: ‘Overall
satisfaction’ and ‘Performance relative to competition’.
•
As is common knowledge, Customer Engagement is also the
result of a customer’s perception of the value received in a
transaction or relationship; where value equals perceived service
quality relative to price. Thus, Value for Money (VFM) is the third
parameter that we measure under RSI.
•
Experience tells us that rational elements account for only
half the typical customer experience; the rest is emotional.
An organization’s strong reputation and recognized expertise,
translates into Trust. And it is this element of ‘Trust’ along with
the constituent of ‘Responsiveness’ which creates emotional
bonds and is therefore also included in the RSI
•
The RSI also includes an element of Price Premiumness / Price
Sensitivity
•
The RSI follows the hierarchy of customer expectations – from
Needs Fulfilment to Trust
•
The value of this RSI ranges from a minimum of 0 (signifying
a weak relationship),to a maximum of 10 (Signifying a strong
relationship).
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
THE REL ATIONSHIP STRENGTH INDEX (CORE QUESTIONS)
NEED
FULFILMENT
SATISFACTION
“ABC offers
products
and services
that are
“To what extent
would you
say you are
responsive
or dissatisfied
with the
products and
services of
ABC?”
to your
needs and
requirements”
satisf ied
OVERALL
OPINION VS
OTHERS
VALUE FOR
MONEY
“Based on the
benefits you
get from ABC,
you feel It is
well worth
the money
you paid for it”
“Compared
to other product
and services
in the market,
what is your
overall opinion
about ABC?”
PRICE
PREMIUM
TRUST
“If another
“ABC is a
product/service
brand that
provider were to
you can truly
offer you a similar
trust”
product/service
at a marginally
lower price, how
likely are you
to shift from
ABC to the new
service provider?”
RSI AND ITS LINK
T O I N-M A R K E T
PERFORMANCE
We also observed a strong contrast in the experience (in terms of
% satisfied) across the seven factors amongst High RSI and Low
RSI customers, thus providing a compelling reason to believe that
experience across these 7 factors drove strength of engagement/
strength of relationship (With a R2=0.6)
FACTORS
(TOP 2 BOX %)
TOTAL
LOW RSI
(BOTTOM DECILE)
HIGH RSI
(TOP DECILE)
Rate Plans / Price
41
8
89
Value Added services
39
5
88
Data Quality
49
12
91
Billing Experience/Recharge experience
48
13
90
Call Centre
42
8
87
Voice Quality
56
19
93
In store/Outlet experience
41
10
88
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
9
We discovered that two statements included in the RSI, which define
the ‘brick and mortar’ of Customer Engagement/Experience (i.e.
‘Overall Satisfaction’ and ‘Performance Relative to Competition’), are
even by themselves able to explain the impact of these 7 factors quite
well (With a healthy R2=0.54). We have in our analysis, also created
another KPI by combining these two statements into what we are now
calling the Experience Index (EI)
T H E L O YA LT Y
FA C T O R
While we have a good idea of what drives high customer satisfaction,
increased competition in the telecommunication industry has
necessitated that companies pay attention towards retaining
customers.
Retention of customers is key to corporate survival and can only be
achieved through building strong customer relationships. When built
right, customer relationships can have a cascading effect, leading
to Loyalty, positively impacting revenue, and ultimately resulting in
sustainable growth.
The loyalty behaviors that we incorporated in our survey were both
behavioural and attitudinal, as listed below1. relationship continuance
2. recommendation (word of mouth advertising)
3. ‘I rarely think about leaving’
4. ‘It would take a lot for me to leave’
These four parameters together made up our loyalty Index called
Claimed Behavior Index (CBI). The value of this index also ranges from
a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 10.
We also observed a strong contrast in loyalty behaviour (in terms
of % agree) across the four parameters amongst High RSI and Low
RSI customers. Our data shows that higher strength of customer
relationship (RSI) leads to greater customer loyalty (CBI), which
in turn has a positive rub off on profitability. There exists a strong
link between RSI and future behaviour of the customer (See Table
below). Thus, strong RSI does lead to better loyalty in its various
manifestations.
10
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
LOYALTY BEHAVIOURS
(TOP 2 BOX %)
TOTAL
LOW RSI
(BOTTOM DECILE)
HIGH RSI
(TOP DECILE)
Continue with Brand
70
14
99
Recommend Brand
32
2
82
Rarely thinking of leaving
54
12
86
It would take a lot to leave
55
10
93
7.29
3.64
9.35
CBI (0-10 Scale)
DOES THE
BRAND’S
C O M M U N I C AT I O N
P L AY A R O L E I N
THE DEPTH OF THE
CUSTOMERS’
R E L AT I O N S H I P
WITH THE BRAND?
We move on from the link between RSI and positive customer
behaviour to delve further into the customer engagement experience.
We have come to realize that Customer Engagement is a function of
the ‘gap’ between perceptions or expectations and actual experience.
Mapping Experiences with Expectations is very important as a chief
mediator for customer retention.
We aimed to bring in a measure that represented the consumer
‘expectation’ aspect that underlines consumer experience.
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
11
WHY MEASURE BRAND EQUIT Y IN A
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STUDY?
Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is a key set of fundamental
metrics — which can be actively managed — linking the health of a
brand to revenue and consumer commitment.
Brand Equity is an intelligent way of estimating the extent to which
‘expectations’ that existed before consumption of product / service,
have been validated through ’experience’ with the product/ service.
Brand Equity literature tells us that customers’ positive feelings
towards a product or service brand, creates purchase intention in
their mind. This intention may lead to the act of purchase, and will be
strengthened if actual experience is in line with the Expectations.
With the objective of providing this perspective, we included Nielsen’s
proprietary Brand Health KPI called Brand Equity Index (BEI) into the
measurement.
Thus, our analysis now worked at two levels:
A. Experience (measured via RSI) will feed in (positively/ negatively)
to BEI. So we attempted to explore the relationship between RSI
and BEI.
Traditional approach towards building customer relationships and
ultimately loyalty and market share can be represented thus:
CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
CUSTOMER
LOYALTY
PROFITABILITY
THE CAUSALIT Y OF THIS REL ATIONSHIP
HAS BEEN LONG ESTABLISHED.
However, behavioural intentions are not adequate. We also need
to know how much customers ‘like’ the brand and whether this
‘affability’ will translate into positive outcomes
B. Hence, we also went a step ahead to explore the relationship
between the Brand Equity Index (BEI) and future Claimed Behavior
Index (CBI)
The aim is to develop a customer metric that is better able to predict
subsequent behaviours and economic performance, so we ran a
correlation analysis between the key Input – Output variables.
12
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
The correlation analysis was used to measure the magnitude and the
direction of the relationship between the role of EI, RSI, BEI and CBI
of Current users of the brand. We found that, as hypothesized, there
exist meaningful linear relationships between the variables: RSI, EI,
BEI and CBI.
STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELATIONSHIP
STRENGTH INDEX (RSI), ENGAGEMENT INDEX (EI), BRAND
EQUITY INDEX (BEI) AND FUTURE LOYALTY
INTENTIONS – CLAIMED BEHAVIOUR INDEX (CBI)
CBI
RSI
0.8
EI
0.74
BEI
0.55
RSI+BEI
0.76
EI +BEI
0.73
(Note: Relationship Strength Index (RSI), Engagement Index (EI), Claimed Behavior
Index (CBI) and Brand Equity Index (BEI) are proprietary measures of The Nielsen
Company)
CAN THIS HELP BRANDS ‘WALK THE
TALK’?
While rational measures (Overall Satisfaction and Opinion w.r.t.
competition) i.e. EI, is a good predictor of Future behavioural
intentions (EI correlation with CBI is 0.74), adding other Rational
measures like VFM and the Emotional undertones like Trust and
Responsiveness (i.e. RSI) enhance the strength of the correlation (RSI
correlation with CBI is 0.80).
The correlation of BEI with CBI was also positive (at 0.55).
The variation in RSI across 11 countries is far less than that of BEI. We
asked ourselves why. The answer lies in the fact that RSI comes from
actual experience of the service, while BEI comes from awareness
and understanding of the brand gathered from multiple sources.
Moreover, telecom brands are similar in service. Over the past decade,
the focus has been on operational efficiencies and mimicking each
other’s ‘best practices’. Telecom as an industry has been trying to plug
inefficiencies. They have been under pressure because of declining
voice and data margins. Thus service levels and processes are not
very distinguishable. On the other hand, brand communication is
quite differentiated. This is apparent from the variance in RSI and BEI
scores.
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
13
STANDARD DEVIATION
RSI
BEI FOR TOTAL
SAMPLE
BEI FOR
CUSTOMERS
1.88
2.62
2.71
Since most brands are similar in terms of service delivery (as
represented by RSI), It is no wonder that price is the top consideration
for customers, There is a need for service differentiation. And this
promise of service differentiation needs to be tied back to the brand
communication.
So, as a whole, using the above analysis we have successfully been
able to link Customer Engagement (RSI) to Brand Equity (BEI ) and
both of them to Loyalty (CBI) which should result in profitability and
growth. In our work across sectors, we see companies often failing
to “walk the talk’, and this could be a reminder to promise the right
things on their brand communication and then deliver on those
promises
Our motivation was not simply to establish these relationships, but
also to demonstrate how they work in the context of multiple brands
across multiple countries in the telecommunications industry. We
observed that market leaders were usually high on RSI as well as BEI.
Hence it made sense to align improvement initiatives with those
exhibited by the highest performers (i.e. work on both Customer
Experience STRATEGY & Communication and also on Customer
Experience DELIVERY)
14
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
ABOVE AVERAGE BEI
BELOW AVERAGE RSI
ABOVE AVERAGE BEI
EE(UK)
ORANGE (FRANCE)
SFR (FRANCE)
TELSTRA MOBILE (AUSTRALIA)
OPTUS MOBILE (AUSTRALIA)
HUTCHISON 3G (HONG KONG)
MTS (RUSSIA)
BEI
SPRINT (USA)
T-MOBILE (USA)
VODAFONE (UK) (26%)
BOUYGUES TELECOM (FRANCE)
E-PLUS (GERMANY)
O2 (GERMANY)
VODAFONE (AUSTRALIA)
M1 (SINGAPORE)
CHINE TELECOM (CHINA)
SOFTBANK MOBILE (JAPAN)
IDEA (INDIA)
BEELINE (RUSSIA)
AT&T (USA)
ABOVE AVERAGE RSI
VERIZON (USA)
O2 (UK)
FREE MOBILE (FRANCE)
T-MOBILE (GERMANY)
VODAFONE (GERMANY)
SINGTEL (SINGAPORE)
CHINA MOBILE (CHINA)
NTT DOCOMO (JAPAN)
KDDI MOBILE (JAPAN)
AIRTEL (INDIA)
VODAFONE (INDIA)
CHINA MOBILE HONG KONG CO LTD
(HONG KONG)
3 MOBILE (UK)
VIRGIN (AUSTRALIA)
STARHUB (SINGAPORE)
CHINA UNICOM (CHINA)
CSL NEW WORLD MOBILITY GROUP
(HONG KONG)
HONG KONG CSL LIMITED
(HONG KONG)
MEGAPHONE (RUSSIA)
BELOW AVERAGE BEI
BELOW AVERAGE RSI
BELOW AVERAGE BEI
ABOVE AVERAGE RSI
RSI
We further ‘connected the dots’ by combining Engagement Index (EI)
with Brand Equity Index (BEI) to unlock new value from our data.
The analysis proved that to be truly successful – a brand needs to be
delivering on both Brand Strategy (BEI) and tangible Delivery of that
Strategy (EI)
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
15
HIGH
OPPORTUNITY
ASSET
LOW
ENGAGEMENT INDEX
Using EI and BEI, we created a 2X2 Matrix and segmented the
respondents into Asset Base, Threat Base, Opportunity Base and Weak
Underbelly Base (See graphic below)
THREAT
WEAK
UNDERBELLY
LOW
HIGH
BRAND EQUITY INDEX
Our analysis of the Loyalty Behaviours pertaining to each of these
segments revealed that the strongest Loyalty emanated from the Asset
Base, where both EI and BEI were high
LOYALTY BEHAVIOURS
Likelihood to Continue to Use
16
SCALE
ASSET
BASE
OPPORTUNITY
BASE
HIGH EI
HIGH BEI
HIGH EI LOW
BEI
WEAK
UNDERBELLY
BASE
THREAT
BASE
LOW EI HIGH BEI
LOW EI
LOW BEI
Unlikely
0.20%
4.10%
2.70%
15.50%
Likely
94%
82%
61%
35%
Likelihood to Recommend
NPS
50%
11%
-9%
-58%
Rarely think about leaving
current service provider
Disagree
9%
12%
20%
37%
Agree
80%
67%
42%
25%
Take a lot to leave current
service provider
Disagree
4%
10%
15%
40%
Agree
82%
67%
44%
21%
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
BEI is a reflection of what people have understood of the brand
through brand visibility and brand awareness. BEI results are an affirmation of the fact that brands should be careful about communicating
brand values.
CUSTOMER
L O YA LT Y M A K E S
WAY F O R
‘M O M E N T S O F
TRUTH’ IN A
BRAND’S BUCKET
LIST
Even the best designed, customer centric systems and processes
will face the occasional drop in service. However, it is the manner in
which customer complaints are handled in such a scenario that deeply
impact Customer Engagement. High RSI is not just about a better
service experience (and lesser incidence of complaints) but also a lot
about a better Service Recovery experience i.e. if complaints did happen, they were handled well for a larger proportion of the time.
In the telecom sample, while nature of problems remained similar
across RSI Top Decile and RSI Bottom Decile, the handling of
problems was better for Top Decile customers with 94% reporting
resolution as against only 31% reporting resolution for Bottom Decile
customers.
PROBLEMS FACED IN P3M (AREA OF PROBLEM)
ALL FIGS ARE IN %
BOTTOM
DECILE
TOP
DECILE
Network Coverage
26
27
Network Quality
29
17
Billing related
19
18
Payment related
7
5
Activation of Services
5
8
RESOLUTION OF PROBLEM
BOTTOM DECILE
TOP DECILE
Yes
31
94
No
69
6
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
17
This brings home the point that recent actual behaviour may be a
stronger reflection of how customers feel as compared to future intentions
CUSTOMER
CALLING SERVICE
RECOVERY IS THE
HALLMARK OF
QUALIT Y TOO!
Our study showed that the RSI, EI and CBI scores were better than the
global average for consumers who had NOT faced any problems in the
past three months (See Table below)
GLOBAL
AVERAGE
PEOPLE
WHO
DID NOT
FACE A
PROBLEM
PEOPLE
WHO FACED
A PROBLEM
BUT DID
NOT
COMPLAIN
PEOPLE WHO
FACED A
PROBLEM
AND
COMPLAINED
SATISFIED
WITH PROBLEM
RESOLUTION
(TOP 2 BOX)
DISSATISFIED
WITH PROBLEM
RESOLUTION
(BOTTOM 2 BOX)
RSI
6.68
6.92
5.6
5.97
7.87
4.63
EI
6.56
6.78
5.5
5.93
7.9
4.64
CBI
7.29
7.55
6.27
6.43
8.15
5.01
And, there was a dip in RSI, EI and CBI of consumers who had faced a
problem in the past three months. This dip was steeper for consumers
who had faced a problem but had not complained to the Mobile
Service provider about it.
From amongst the consumers who did complain (and hence
provided the Mobile service provider with an opportunity for Service
recovery), when the resolution of the problem was to the consumer’s
satisfaction, there was a discernible improvement in the RSI, EI and
CBI scores to levels that were even higher than the global average.
Alternatively, if the resolution was not to the satisfaction of the
consumer, then, understandably, there was a discernible dip in the
RSI, EI and CBI scores, to levels lower than global average.
18
CONNECTING WITH THE CONSUMER
The good news is that the positive ripple effect of good service
recovery does not end here, it goes on to rub off positively on current
behaviors. (See Table below)
So consumers who have complained and have had a satisfactory
resolution of their problem are more likely to engage in positive,
revenue impacting behaviour like:
•
Speaking positively about the brand
•
Recommending the brand
•
Increase spending
•
Report ‘delightful’ experiences with the brand
SPOKEN
POSITIVELY
ABOUT THE
BRAND
HAVE
RECOMMENDED
THE BRAND
EXPERIENCED
INCIDENTS THAT
HAVE DELIGHTED
OR UPSET
YES
NO
YES
NO
DELIGHTED
UPSET
INCREASED
Satisfied
with
problem
resolution
(Top 2
Box%)
46
10
49
11
58
8
Dissatisfied
with
problem
resolution
(Bottom 2
Box%)
4
11
3
11
2
13
Copyright © 2014 The Nielsen Company
CHANGE IN SPENDING
DECREASED
REMAINED
SAME
37
9
18
7
11
9
19
CALL TO ACTION:
HOW CAN MOBILE SERVICE
PROVIDERS DIFFERENTIATE
THEMSELVES AND MINIMISE
CUSTOMER ATTRITION IN AN
INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE
MARKETPL ACE?
20
•
Mobile service providers need to master the art of retaining
customers and reducing churn
•
Globally the telecom industry is in the midst of a transformational
shift, driven by a huge surge in data traffic on telecom networks.
Hence, now more than ever, for mobile service providers, the
‘mantra’ for driving engagement: would be about continuously
upgrading infrastructure, reach and quality of network; while at
the same time maintaining a stronger focus on maximizing cost
efficiency and maintain high service standards.
•
Since mobile consumption habits are changing, Innovation in
content is a global need along with informative VAS
•
However, Technology is only one of the drivers of this business
model. Most telecom providers want to hold onto their customers
by providing value added customer service. It would make sense
to therefore define the same ‘value added customer service’
properly. Customers must be provided with the information on
what they can expect right upstream in their experience. This
is where brand communication needs to be taken care of by
promising the ‘right’ things/ benefits to the consumers. For great
service differentiation, a very clear promise needs to be made
(BEI), and then those promises need to be well delivered at every
touch point.
•
The findings suggest that companies must balance and manage
different aspects of customer expectations and customer
experiences simultaneously if they are to optimize the desired
loyalty behaviours.
•
If a mobile service provider wants to decrease disloyalty, they
need to maximize efforts on Service Recovery. The first step is
to eliminate the factors that would make a customer walk away.
Good service recovery creates goodwill and may even trigger a
“wow” effect with customers. Then, the same customers are likely
to become stronger loyalists and spread positive WOM for the
brand.
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ABOUT NIELSEN
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and consumer information, television and other media measurement,
online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence
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and Diemen, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.
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