SINGAPORE: Mobile users across Asia want a better service from their telcos, in terms of the technical aspects of coverage and download speed as well as the ability to manage their plans themselves and to receive personalised offers.
A global survey by Amdocs, a provider of customer experience systems, found that more than half of respondents in Asia Pacific would pay extra for better coverage (56%) and for faster downloads (56%), while almost one third would pay for a one-time speed increase, to watch a movie or sports event, for example.
The same survey showed that 88% of APAC respondents would like to be able to self-manage their plans, and 83% wanted tailored offers based on their usage patterns.
But according to Rotem Katzir, Amdocs' director of marketing for revenue management, few operators have been able to offer the personalised experience craved by a majority of consumers.
"The inability to connect the dots between the network performance and customer experience means operators are missing out on opportunities," she said.
Manila's Globe Telecom is one telco that has fully grasped the need to change its mindset from that of utility provider to a customer-focused communications business, and which has turned around its fortunes as a result.
President and CEO Ernest Cu told an Amdocs-organised event how, a few years ago, the company had angry employees serving even angrier customers, before upgrading IT and networks and making customer-centricity its "number one mantle" and shifting the marketing focus away from price to connect with customers at an emotional level.
"We consider Globe now to be the purveyor of Filipino digital lifestyle," he declared. "We actually have a chance to shape an emerging lifestyle in the Philippines," he added in remarks reported by the Manila Standard.
Among its innovations is an automated system that allows subscribers to create their own plans. "Customers can customise their spend for the day by inputting the number of SMS, the amount of data and number of calls they want," Cu explained. "You can even label it and call it your own plan and post it on Facebook," he said.
A global survey by Amdocs, a provider of customer experience systems, found that more than half of respondents in Asia Pacific would pay extra for better coverage (56%) and for faster downloads (56%), while almost one third would pay for a one-time speed increase, to watch a movie or sports event, for example.
The same survey showed that 88% of APAC respondents would like to be able to self-manage their plans, and 83% wanted tailored offers based on their usage patterns.
But according to Rotem Katzir, Amdocs' director of marketing for revenue management, few operators have been able to offer the personalised experience craved by a majority of consumers.
"The inability to connect the dots between the network performance and customer experience means operators are missing out on opportunities," she said.
Manila's Globe Telecom is one telco that has fully grasped the need to change its mindset from that of utility provider to a customer-focused communications business, and which has turned around its fortunes as a result.
President and CEO Ernest Cu told an Amdocs-organised event how, a few years ago, the company had angry employees serving even angrier customers, before upgrading IT and networks and making customer-centricity its "number one mantle" and shifting the marketing focus away from price to connect with customers at an emotional level.
"We consider Globe now to be the purveyor of Filipino digital lifestyle," he declared. "We actually have a chance to shape an emerging lifestyle in the Philippines," he added in remarks reported by the Manila Standard.
Among its innovations is an automated system that allows subscribers to create their own plans. "Customers can customise their spend for the day by inputting the number of SMS, the amount of data and number of calls they want," Cu explained. "You can even label it and call it your own plan and post it on Facebook," he said.
Data sourced from Amdocs, Manila Standard, Mobile World Live; additional content by Warc staff
