NEWS CATEGORIES:

NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>

Home / News / Telecoms

Telecoms

Do You Know What Phone You Own? 58% of mobile phone users don't know the make and model of the handset they own	By Sorin Trusca, Communications News Editor 19th of July 2006, 07:36 GMT Adjust text size:


A consumer research study conducted for LogicaCMG by Ipsos MORI shows that mobile operators could be losing revenue because more than half (58%) of mobile phone users do not know the make and the model of their handset. The poll suggests that this lack of knowledge could be posing a problem for operators and manufacturers who are trying to drive uptake of advanced data services, such as multimedia messaging (MMS), video calling and mobile internet browsing. Accurate, real-time handset details will enable operators to market relevant extra services with which the user's handset is actually compatible. Having access to this information will be invaluable for operators to cross-sell relevant services via all marketing media, such as SMS, email or direct mail, and will be especially crucial when a query is made to the customer call centre. For example, with only 42% of those surveyed knowing both the make and model of their handset, the number of additional revenue generating activities that can be encouraged and communicated by a customer care representative is limited. The exact handset details are also required for the correct 'service book', or software updates, for a new data service to be automatically delivered to the phone, enabling the subscriber to begin using it. Half of all users (49%) know only the make, with a further one in ten (9%) knowing neither make nor model. Men and younger users (in the 15 to 34 age group) are most likely to know details of their handset. These groups are also those most likely to engage with advanced data services (such as MMS and mobile internet browsing) than women and the 55 plus age group. While consumers themselves may not be overly interested in knowing the details of their phone, it is important for customer service specialists to know enough about the handset to be able to offer the appropriate technical advice. Paul Gleeson, chief operating officer, LogicaCMG telecoms, said: "This research demonstrates that many operators could well be trying to sell advanced data services based on the incorrect assumption that the users they are communicating with have basic knowledge of their own handsets. Often this is not the case; the language used by the customer service advisor can be inappropriately technical and, as a result, they could actually be putting a number of people off using their handsets." Paul Gleeson added: "Mobile data services are much more complex to deliver to consumers than voice services - just sending through the right service book to enable MMS depends on knowing to which handset it is going. Operators and manufacturers can help in the roll out of new mobile data services by ensuring that they control this kind of basic information, rather than depending on their customers often limited knowledge."

Rating:

Good (3.5/5)

9 vote(s) so far

Read by 727 user(s) | Add comment | Link to this article

Subscribe to news |

Print article |

Send to friend

© Copyright 2001-2008 Softpedia
Contact:

SEARCH THE NEWS ARCHIVE :

Today's News | Yesterday's News | News Archive

MORE RELATED ARTICLES:

More than Half a Billion Mobile TV Subscribers by 2011

Two Research Firms Come Up with the First Detailed Report on NAND Market Segment

Women Dominate Mobile Phone Gaming

Security Statistics for the Second Quarter of 2006

User opinions:

No user comments yet.

Be the first to express your opinion using the form below!

Share your opinion:

SUBMIT PROGRAM \| ADVERTISE \| GET HELP \| SEND US FEEDBACK \| RSS FEEDS \| ENTER NEWS SITE \| ENGLISH BOARD \| ROMANIAN FORUM
© 2001 - 2008 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Softpedia™ and the Softpedia™ logo are registered trademarks of SoftNews NET SRL.	Copyright Information \| Privacy Policy \| Terms of Use \| Update your software \| Archive