Wireless carriers have gained a level of satisfaction among business users equal to wireline offerings, but are still struggling to gain truly loyal subscribers, according to the Walker Loyalty Report for Communications Services released this week by Walker Information.
The study, which surveyed more than 2,000 enterprise customers, found that 79 percent of business users are satisfied with their wireless service. The wireless service satisfaction results were on par with those posted by wireless handsets, Internet service providers, local voice and long-distance voice services.
The satisfaction result is good news for the wireless industry, which has been stung by poor performances in recent surveys conducted by Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates. A Consumer Reports survey earlier this year found that only 45 percent of respondents were “completely” or “very” satisfied with their wireless service, while a J.D. Power’s survey ranked the wireless industry near the bottom on its consumer-satisfaction index.
Walker Information noted that its results were likely not directly comparable to more consumer-oriented surveys as business users are typically more tech-savvy wireless users and understand technology challenges.
“Business customers are more forgiving of more advanced technologies and those that offer more future promise,” said Phil Bounsall, executive vice president of Walker Information.
While overall satisfaction was high, the Walker survey found that only 41 percent of enterprise wireless users were considered “truly loyal” to their current service provider. The results were just below the 46 percent reported for wireless handsets, but ahead of the 38 percent for ISPs, 34 percent for local voice and 35 percent for long-distance voice services.
Walker noted that telecommunications companies that it considered “loyalty leaders” have posted a 20-percent greater annual growth rate over the past three years and a 34-point higher stock price change over the past five years than those companies it considers “loyalty laggards.”
However, Walker Information said it considered 31 percent of enterprise wireless users surveyed at high risk of leaving their current wireless provider. The report noted that the high-risk results were in line with the sector’s churn percentage.
“The percentage of high-risk customers is not surprising since carrier churn numbers show there is a level of dissatisfaction,” Bounsall said. “I don’t think the number is too high, but it’s something that needs to be looked at.”
Overall, Walker found that Verizon Wireless was the only operator with a distinct loyalty advantage among its peers and garnered high results for reputation, overall quality and as the best brand in the sector. Walker noted that Verizon Wireless’ parent company, Verizon Communications Inc., was one of its clients.
The survey also included results from Cingular Wireless L.L.C., AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Nextel Communications Inc., Sprint PCS, T-Mobile USA Inc. and BellSouth Corp.
