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Customers Yearn for the Personal Touch from Their Mobile Operators, According to New Comptel Survey; New research, commissioned by Comptel
[February 12, 2013]

Customers Yearn for the Personal Touch from Their Mobile Operators, According to New Comptel Survey; New research, commissioned by Comptel


(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Corporation (NASDAQ OMX Helsinki: CTL1V), has revealed that nine out of ten customers desire personalised interaction with their mobile operators, and that they yearn for communication at every touch point--from the first interaction when joining the service (35%), to when they are experiencing issues with the service (61%), to when their needs are changing (40%).



The survey, which was executed by independent research firm Vanson Bourne last month, polled 6,000 consumers from 12 countries across EMEA, Latin America and Asia Pacific on their service usage and spending habits, as well as their relationships and satisfaction with their mobile operators. The results also shed light on the importance of understanding each individual subscriber and his/her unique contexts, and leveraging this intelligence to best serve them and maximise business opportunities.

More than three quarters of consumers agree that one way mobile operators can improve their personal interaction with customers is by proactively recognising and acknowledging poor service quality when it happens. Nearly three out of five would like an apology or some form of compensation for the issues. When asked to rank the top channels through which they interact with their mobile operators, half of respondents selected phone as their main method, with just under a third noting online as their preferred option.


There is also significant revenue potential for mobile operators that personally interact with consumers when they have ad hoc needs. Almost two-thirds of consumers said that they would like to download large files to their devices more often if they had a better rate plan for their mobile data, better bandwidth or a better device, and nearly half (49%) would pay for a temporary upgrade to download those files more quickly and improve their viewing experience, if offered. On average, these consumers are willing to spend $3.80 for such a boost--accounting for an increase in ARPU of 12 percent.

"Mobile operators can spend as much as 20% of their revenue on churn compensation and customer retention, according to industry firm tefficient.

While this number is staggering, it means there is a huge opportunity to earn customer loyalty," said Ulla Koivukoski, senior vice president, marketing and communications, Comptel. "We believe that contextual intelligence at every touch point is key for achieving this, and as the survey results demonstrate, consistent, personalised interaction opens up the door for mobile operators to win consumers' hearts, efficiently utilise their assets and profitably monetise their offerings." Full copies of the research report, with consumer data from Brasil, Chile, France, Germany, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and Vietnam, will be available at Comptel's Mobile World Congress booth (Hall 6, Stand 6C30). It will also be available for download from the company's website after Mobile World Congress or by contacting [email protected].

Other Key Findings On average, respondents have been with their mobile operators for a little more than five years, with more than a third having been with their operators for more than seven years. However, 34% indicated that they might consider changing their mobile operators now if they could.

More than four in ten consumers said that they selected their current mobile operator, as their friends and family are with the same one. In addition to social network influencers, the results indicated flexible pricing and service options and good quality of service as primary drivers for customer acquisition and retention.

Four in ten consumers indicated that they would be more likely to buy additional products and services, such as ringtones or apps, when they have just been paid. On average, these respondents would be prepared to spend $6.20 extra--an ARPU increase of 19 percent.

More than 80% of pay-as-you-go customers are happy to receive special offers from their mobile operators; however, almost a third of those respondents cited only wanting precisely targeted communications, or mobile operators risk dissatisfaction.

Resources Visit Comptel's Mobile World Congress microsite to see how mobile operators can intelligently engage their customers at every touch point For more information about Comptel, visit www.comptel.com.

Learn more about the company's Customer Engagement Solutions and its contextual intelligence approach.

Connect with Comptel on its blog, Compelling Conversations on OSS, and on Twitter, LinkedIn and facebook.

Also visit the company's Vimeo and YouTube channels.

Tags Comptel, Vanson Bourne, customer engagement, contextual intelligence, Mobile World Congress, mobile operators, OSS, interaction, Tefficient, acquisition, retention, loyalty, churn, EMEA, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Brasil, Chile, France, Germany, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, Vietnam About Comptel Corporation Since 1986, Comptel has helped more than 290 service providers across 86 countries meet over one billion subscribers' communications and infotainment needs. Comptel's solutions are built on an Event - Analysis - Action strategic framework that leverages the company's strengths in collecting and analysing Big Data and turning intelligence into opportunities in real time. Comptel's service fulfillment, mediation, charging and policy control, and predictive social analytics products with implementation and professional services enable service providers to automate customer interactions and other business decisions, to create revenue, reduce costs and lessen churn. Comptel has a global team of more than 600 professionals, and net sales were EUR 77 million in 2011. For more information, visit www.comptel.com.

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to [email protected])).

(c) 2013 M2 COMMUNICATIONS

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