Research Reveals How Operators are Retaining 'Experience Advantage' over OTT Players

Amdocs, a global provider of customer experience solutions for the telecoms community, has released new independent research that explores the market forces driving The New World of Customer Experience, a world characterized by a rapidly changing competitive landscape and the ongoing need to compete by delivering a superior customer experience.

The research shows that, globally, despite the competitive challenges from over-the-top (OTT) players, the vast majority of consumers still favor “traditional” service providers. However, while customers value their service providers’ customer experience, network quality and brand reputation, churn remains high within the industry.

The Amdocs Customer Experience Spotlight 2015, an independent research study conducted by IE Market Research (IEMR) on behalf of Amdocs, highlights the importance of providing a superior customer experience in order to retain as well as attract new customers, such as including a carrier-grade Wi-Fi strategy to combat the threat of emerging players in the mobile market and offering multi-play bundles to win market share.

The global survey was conducted among 8,450 consumers in 17 countries including India, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and other countries across Europe, North America, etc.

In India, the research found that 31 percent of the respondents would switch to OTT players if they offered mobile connectivity, much higher than the global figure of 20 percent. Nonetheless, customers would recommend their service providers to friends and family if they experience great customer care (94 percent), quality internet coverage (62 percent) and competitive pricing (86 percent).

It further uncovers the need for service providers to roll out Wi-Fi services in India. Although 53 percent of the respondents had a mobile internet plan, 47 percent used Wi-Fi in public places and 67 percent used Wi-Fi, even though some had active mobile internet plans.

Other key global findings include:
• Churn persists within service provider industry: While 63 percent of respondents stated they would recommend their service provider, citing customer care/experience (89 percent) and high-quality Internet connection and coverage (59 percent) as the top reasons for their endorsement, 50 percent of respondents said they had been with their current service provider for less than a year.
• Customers prefer “traditional” service providers:80 percent of respondents would not consider switching to OTT disruptors if these players offered mobile connectivity. The top reasons were: privacy & security issues, lack of trust and potential network quality issues. Global variations were significant – the majority of APAC and emerging markets were more likely to consider OTT disruptor services, while mature markets in Europe and North America proved more loyal.
• Customers desire innovative and new personalized services:More than half of the respondents stated that they would switch mobile subscription plans for a plan that included additional communication services (e.g. home, Internet, TV) with almost the same number of respondents saying they would switch if they were able to choose the bundle components.
• The multi-play opportunity remains unclaimed: Although more than half (52 percent) of respondents subscribe to four services (broadband, TV, mobile, fixed line), only 1 percent has a single quad-play provider. Triple-play penetration was also low (9 percent).
• Carrier-grade Wi-Fi will drive loyalty: Among the 62 percent of respondents with a mobile Internet plan, 71 percent use Wi-Fi more frequently than their mobile connection.

“With changing customer expectations and the ever-increasing threat of disruptive competitors, service providers are required to adopt a new strategy by taking a multidimensional view of customer experience,” said Chris Williams, head of global marketing at Amdocs. “By leveraging their customer experience strengths and exciting customers with innovative, personalized and multi-play bundles, as well as shaping the quality of network experience through real-time network visibility and control carrier-grade Wi-Fi strategies, service providers have a tremendous opportunity to lead in The New World of Customer Experience.”