CANCUN, Mexico—Having a superior customer experience is believed to be a key source of sustainable competitive advantage. According to Amdocs Customer Experience Spotlight, while 59% of Latin American customers would recommend their telecom service provider, 56% have been with their service provider for less than a year. The remaining question in both cases is why customers recommend their carrier.
As mentioned by Manuel Briseno, director of marketing for Caribbean and Latin America for Amdocs, during the Amdocs Latam Business Summit held this week in Cancun, customer care and experience is the reason why 92% of LatAm customers recommend their carrier, followed by competitive prices (64%), high-quality Internet connection and coverage (58%) and brand reputation (56%).
As to why customers switch their service providers, Briseno said customers are willing to have relevant, innovative and personal offerings that put them in control. It means that clients want plans that enable them to choose the bundle components – plans that include usage for family members and their devices, as well as additional communication services (e.g. home phone, internet, TV) and plans that bill based on usage history.
In addition to that, CALA customers are also very sensitive to Wi-Fi, the connectivity of choice. Despite 53% of respondents having a mobile Internet plan, they mostly use Wi-Fi, particularly in public places.
“They keep mobile Internet for low-data activities while using Wi-Fi for heavy data,” noted Briseno. The most uses of Wi-Fi are VoIP, watching live TV shows and watching OTT video content.
Wi-Fi was highlighted as a need CALA consumers have that could enhance their experience. Commissioned by Amdocs, a global survey conducted by Hot Telecom with about 4,000 consumers, 17% from the CALA region, showed that 82% of mobile users actively look for a Wi-Fi network whenever possible. Almost all of them (98%) use wireless to surf the Internet.
In her presentation, Elizabeth Bavin, solutions marketing manager for NGOSS at Amdocs, noted that 50% customers look for Wi-Fi for better network quality. They also seek faster downloads, preventing going over plan limits and saving money.
Bavin said that customers’ experience also affects their loyalty to the service provider. The survey showed that 86% of mobile users in CALA said they can identify a location from which they always suffer from poor coverage, which is higher than 80% from the APAC region, 63% from Europe and 64% from North America.
As for services, CALA consumers want personalized options. “They want to be in control,” added Bavin, who said they are interested in self-change service plans, self-controlled spending limits and roll-over plans, which carry unused credit from one month to the next.
Briseno highlighted that there’s still opportunity for multiplay across Latin America as 70% of respondents subscribed to three or four services, but only 4% subscribe to them from the same service provider.
Another opportunity is to increase the quality of service. When compared to the other regions, CALA consumers are most dissatisfied — 25%, compared to 10% in North America and 9% in both Europe and APAC.
“Network quality of experience is important to consumers and strategic to service providers as it’s a revenue enabler and loyalty driver,” said Bavin, citing as examples enabling digital lifestyle, speed and coverage, Wi-Fi and creating personalized experience.
Editor’s Note: Amdocs paid for travel costs to Cancun, Mexico.
