Cracking the code to success

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January 29, 2009 — Two revolutionary forces — the advent of the Internet and widespread deployment of wireless networks — have swept the communications world in the past two decades, changing how individuals interact and how companies do business. They promise access to personalised and location-based services anywhere, any time and through any device, consequently changing how humans connect making them constantly and immediately accessible

“Convergence Monitor: Personal Mobility ”, is the third in a series of surveys by PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on the new connected consumer and looks at the changes driving and enabling personal mobility and the resulting challenges faced by service providers, equipment manufacturers and application developers.

Mikhail Magrilov, partner, technology, entertainment & media performance improvement services, PricewaterhouseCoopers, said:

“Service providers are rolling out progressively more advanced mobile networks but business needs to play an important part in defining overall mobility needs. In a world where the lines between business and personal are increasingly blurred, flexible corporate policy governing the use of mobile solutions will provide the definite push towards convergence. ”

Findings

Finding the growth segment: There are distinctive differences between the genders when is comes to acquiring and using mobile devices. Men are more apt to be early adopters of technology and are also more willing to buy devices on line. They are also more focused on design. Women favour mobile phones and focus on price when purchasing (as stated by 31% of respondents). Attitudes and usage patterns also vary by geography with respondents in the Far East being clearly more advanced in the use of Web applications reflecting the maturity of the market and the ease of use of devices and applications.
Pushing convergence: Professionals will adopt advanced mobile devices if their job requires it or corporate policy favours it. Sixty-three per cent of respondents have business subscriptions due, largely to the fact that corporate policy subsidises the subscription of smartphones and Blackberrys. This, in turn, acts as an accelerator to convergence.
All stand to gain from the market: Service provides face a distinct challenge — how to monetise value-added services and maximise profits within the context of existing relationships with other provides. Pricing plans must guard against giving away applications (as part of fixed–price plans) and find ways to gain incremental revenues from each customer. Providing the customer choices in bundling advance services may make these applications more palatable.
The 30–45 year old age group is the “sweet spot” in the mobile market — high usage respondents and likely adopters of technology. Though the younger subscribers are more open to using a broader range of advanced services they lack the financial prowess to pay for them. Eighty–five per cent of all the respondents surveyed have one or more mobile phone with 37% of respondents owning a smart phone.

Technology has changed the balance of power in the world of communications. With the rich treasure trove of devices from which to choose, the quality of customer experience is central to determining a service provider’s success. Success will require companies to:

Focus on the customer experience: Know your customer/target segments by utilising all customer relationship management tools and customer analytics available and provide outstanding service and ease of use of device to ensure the customer experience is second to none.
Leverage the business/personal link: The current spread of converged devices has been driven by business needs. However this is changing with consumers now driving the market. Companies need to rethink their product road maps to garner the best results from converged technologies working with both device manufacturers and operators to fully determine the implications of the wants and needs of both personal and business users.
Collaborate with value chain partners: Synergies among partners, ie service provides, content owners and device manufacturers, will create opportunities for dynamic innovation.
Flexibility in what and how to offer: create innovative ways to reach target audiences taking advantage of the different requirements by age and gender. Offer alluring pricing options weighing the advantages and risks of each model.

Notes to Editor:

For additional information, please contact Anna Kogosova, PR Assistant Manager.
Download a copy of the report “Convergence Monitor: Personal Mobility”.
PricewaterhouseCoopers surveyed 7,411 partners and staff from 22 countries around the globe. The percentage split of respondents by region was: EMEA 32%, Americas 50% and Asia Pac 18%.

'PricewaterhouseCoopers' refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.