Customer Retention Programs Used by Internet Suppliers in the UK.
For
customer retention programs, UK internet suppliers innovate to meet the
challenges of an intensely competitive marketplace. A survey by leading
consumer magazine ‘Which’ has rated the top broadband and ISP providers for
customer satisfaction in the UK recently. Zen Internet at 86% topped the charts
while Sky Broadband hit a low with a rating of 47%.
However,
the research warned that many customers are very loyal to their UK ISP. In a
survey of over 7000 broadband customers, almost ¾ of respondents had been with
their ISP for three years. Typically, most of the discounts ISPs in the UK
offer last for 2 years to match the minimum contract term, and beyond that,
prices can shoot up, hence the increased loyalty.
- Retention Strategies Used by Virgin Media
Customers
of Virgin Media faced the steadiest price rises in recent times. The ISP may
have a customer rating of 59 percent and
79% of the customers were stuck with the provider for more than three
years, because high-speed internet forms the core of customer retention programs. When placed on
the standard tariff, Virgin Media users were found to pay 52 percent more on an
average than acquired customers. For example, Virgin Media offered a steep rise
on their VIVID 100 package after 12 months, with prices rising by 74%. A
culture of discounting is the consequence of an aggressively competitive
market. ISPs make their post-contract prices clear.
- TalkTalk Offers Alternatives
Some ISPs
like TalkTalk offer a different approach by enabling present customers to
re-contract on lower price points than standard rates. Such small ISPs don’t
bother with discounts and instead adopt a standard price that does not change.
On the other hand, smaller ISPs may also deliver more advanced features and
better service quality or support, making customer retention more than just the
price.
- Building on Customer Satisfaction
Virgin
Media, BT and Tesco Mobile reported higher levels of overall satisfaction. In
another research, UK ISP TalkTalk was quick at answering landline and broadband
customer calls taking 47 seconds on an average. TalkTalk also had the lowest
rate of customers abandoning calls before getting through. So, customer care is
another competitive differentiator for customer retention.
- Digital Economy Act and Impact on Retention
With the
Digital Economy Act coming through, UK ISPs are focusing on improving their
transparency and retention communication strategies. This is why customer
retention programs are increasingly factoring in experiential marketing and
bringing together the customer’s changing preferences, advances in technology
and regulatory changes.
Thus,
customer retention is more than just focusing on price or quality of the
service. It focuses on offering customers a combination of the various factors
that need to be considered, from bandwidth usage to download speeds. Customer
retention is more than just building the perfect buyer persona or coming up
with the most budget-friendly retention strategy. Price or quality of service
are two key factors that influence customer retention, as well as customer
churn. But there are so many more. Innovation, cutting-edge technologies and
exclusive deals and discounts offer immense benefits.