Mobile carriers must maintain their networks and offer more products to retain customers, according to a new report from Accenture.
The report, “Mobile Web Watch 2013: The New Persuaders,” comprises a survey of more than 30,000 people in 26 countries that asked how they use their mobile devices, and what kind of services and products they are demanding.
In light of rampant mobile usage, communications service providers (CSPs) are faced with four critical questions, according to the report:
Will customers pay more for better connectivity?
Are voice calls being phased out in favor of voice over Internet?
What are the demands for new services like mobile payments, personal cloud, location based advertising, and augmented reality?
Who will own the customer in the future?
Overall, 31% of respondents indicated they plan to buy a smartphone in the next 12 months, and that number grew to 39% in the so-called emerging markets, the report found. What’s more, 24% said they plan to buy a tablet in the next 12 months, and that number jumped to 32% in emerging markets. Those emerging markets are fertile territory for service providers to hone their customer experience strategies that can then be introduced into the more mature markets, according to the report.
Here are some more key statistics from the report:
96% believe quality of network is important
95% believe area of coverage is important
94% believe cost of data is important
97% believe speed is important
78% believe there is room for improvement
63% would pay more for more speed
According to the report, one third of customers in mature markets said they are ambivalent about which provider they use as long as that provider meets their needs. The reason for this, according to the report, is there is less demand for traditional voice service and more demand for infrastructure heavy data.
In mature markets, over 60% of respondents are willing to pay at least $5 extra per month for cloud-based offerings. According to the report, consumers want a wide array of digital offerings, and if the offer intrigues them, they will grab it from a mobile provider, device maker, or other provider.
“CSPs have the opportunity to expand aggressively to provide a larger breadth of digital offerings that meet specific consumer needs,” according to the report. “Areas that show promise from our survey include cloud services and location-based offers. Cloud services may be used by up to 70% percent of mobile Internet users in the near future.”
While 30% report already using cloud services, 21% plan to use to use a cloud service in the next 12 months, and an additional 18% are interested, the report found.
“This is significantly more consumer interest than in 2012, when 18% of mobile Internet users reported using cloud services and 21% were planning to use them or interested,” the report said. “Our research shows that mobile payment capabilities are highly attractive to
consumers, presenting CSPs with significant opportunity to lure the elusive highly
connected customer and create new revenue streams.”
Already 20% of smartphone users use mobile payments, according to the report, and that number could more than double in the near future as 31% plan to use mobile payments
in the next 12 months.
CSPs have an opportunity to improve their return on investment by monetizing
better connectivity, the report found. They must also expand horizontally to provide a seamless digital customer experience.
“This will require deep insight into subscriber behavior, new forms of collaboration within the industry, new capabilities within the organization, and an ability to constantly innovate to keep pace with today’s demanding consumers,” the report said. “With the right capabilities, innovative CSPs can blaze a trail on the new frontier. They can persuade mobile Internet users to relinquish some control, instead trusting them as the providers to fulfill the bulk of users’ communication and entertainment needs.”