83% of consumers in Malaysia may switch telco provider: Frost

By Digital News Asia April 8, 2015

Lack of transparency in pricing and subscription plans driving them away
U Mobile best overall customer experience level, Celcom with highest loyalty

83% of consumers in Malaysia may switch telco provider: Frost

THE lack of transparency in pricing and subscription plans is driving customers away from their telecommunication service providers, Frost & Sullivan said in a statement.

Based on Frost & Sullivan’s Malaysia Telecommunications Services Customer Experience study, 83% of consumers said that they will switch to another telecom service provider if there is a lack of transparency in pricing and subscription plans.

The research and analyst firm conducted an online survey from October to November 2014, involving 1,300 respondents, randomly selected from consumer online panels, to measure customer experience in the telecommunications sector in Malaysia.

Sixty-six percent of respondents surveyed also demand higher speed connectivity, and have no qualms ending their subscription from the current service provider due to low speed.

“The lack of customer experience from telecom service providers is the fourth highest reason at 58% for Malaysians to stop their subscription,” said Hazmi Yusof, country head and senior vice president, Asia Pacific, at Frost & Sullivan.

He said that based on data analysed by Frost & Sullivan, when it comes to customer loyalty, Celcom at 66% is ahead of the industry average of 57%.

“When asked if they would recommend their current telecommunication service provider to their friends and colleagues, U Mobile is the clear winner with 65%, which is higher than the industry average of 51%,” he added.

Hazmi said that Malaysian telecommunication service providers’ customer rewards programmes leave much to be desired.

More than one-third of the consumers reported not receiving any rewards from their service providers, and even among those who did, almost half get a celebratory token on their special days, which could be considered a bare minimum.

Apart from Frost & Sullivan’s Customer Experience Index, respondents were also polled using a commonly-used methodology called Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is calculated as the percentage of promoters (likely to promote brand) deducting the percentage of detractors (likely to shift brand).

“NPS is considered a predictor of customer behaviour that spurs a telecoms service provider’s growth, as recommendations are a good indicator of current and future behaviour,” Hazmi said.

He added that U Mobile rates significantly higher for NPS compared with other service providers, with a score of 54%.

Frost & Sullivan said that a comprehensive view was taken to assess company performance by channels across the customer journey, at the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages.

In summary, companies that have scored over industry average on a scale of 1-5 find a place in the ‘Band of Champions.’

“These companies are the ones that have been voted highest by their own customers when it comes to delighting them, Hazmi said.

“Therefore, there are instances when there is more than one company recognised for Excellence in Customer Experience in the same category,” he said, adding that there are other categories where no company made it to the ‘Band of Champions.’

Below are the Malaysian telecommunication service providers that have been recognised for Excellence in Customer Experience Management, Telecommunications Industry by their customers based on a survey conducted by Frost & Sullivan: