If you’re a telecommunications provider, a top priority is gaining customer satisfaction. The obvious way to do that would be to “provide good services,” but it begs the question of what should gain the most focus, and what customers like the most.

According to J.D. Power’s 2013 U.S. Business Wireline Satisfaction Study, service providers who offer bundled voice and data services tend to have the most satisfied customers.

“Well, that’s simple, then,” you might be saying. “My company already offers bundles, so we’re good to go!” But there’s a bit more to it than just that.

The study looked at three different segments of businesses, depending on their size, ranging from very small to enterprises. Satisfaction was then measured according to performance and reliability, costs, sales and account representatives, billing, communications, and customer service. In order to have a truly satisfied customer, all of those are required.

Still, in order to improve overall satisfaction and customer loyalty, bundling voice and data services certainly helps. Satisfaction for those who do bundle theirs tends to be higher across the board than those that do not. At the same time, customers are looking for bundled services more, so the increased satisfaction is certainly not coincidental.

"Bundling offers businesses the convenience of having a single contact and bill for multiple services, which streamlines and simplifies the company's day-to-day telecom management," said Kirk Parsons (News - Alert), J.D. Power’s senior director of telecommunications services. "In many cases, businesses experience a cost savings, as most wireline providers will offer incentives to customers who bundle services. Combined, these factors contribute to a more satisfied and loyal customer."

Naturally, performance and reliability is one of the most important features for a service; it doesn’t matter how much is bundled together if it doesn’t work, and lengthy outages are likely to send customers away. But in order to get and keep customers, one must offer a combination of bundled services, affordable pricing, and a reliable performance that keeps them satisfied.