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. 

Popular posts from this blog

Why Pathwwway Partners Leading Businesses Worldwide

How to Tap Internet Marketing Services For Generating Revenue

How A Party Planning Business Can Apply Customer Retention Management Techniques