Customer Experience Wars: Wireless Edition

The wireless telecommunication industry continues to be highly competitive as the major carriers slug it out to compete for an increasingly elusive and fickle customer. While major players such as Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless and U.S. Cellular were once content to compete on value, call quality, or network coverage – there has been a noticeable shift to a new competitive battleground: the customer experience.

The shift in strategy is due to a changing wireless industry landscape. The maturing industry is being characterized by increasing market saturation, industry consolidation, flat or declining revenue per customer, and generalized commoditization of products & services. As a result, the traditional “Five P’s” of Marketing (Price, Product, Place, Promotion, and People) are becoming less effective as the major players seek ways to gain a strategic advantage.

To respond to these new challenges, major wireless carriers are doubling their efforts to create a meaningful emotional connection with their existing customers while (hopefully) attracting new customers. In some cases, the shift in focus towards a differentiated customer experience has been subtle. For other companies, the change in messaging is in stark contrast from previous marketing efforts.

Sprint

Old: Sprint became well known for their ‘pin drop’ commercials that promised the best possible call quality.

New: Sprint’s more recent ads are clearly focused on the customer experience. Helping customers get the most out of their smart phones is a clear shift to a more customer-centric focus.

T-Mobile

Old: In several of T-Mobile’s early ads, the clear focus was on value as they featured their ‘whenever’ minutes and emphasized price.

New: T-Mobile has made a clear shift to a more customer-centric approach; In their latest adds, they emphasize individual and family needs while showcasing real-time account personalization.

U.S. Cellular

Old: U.S. Cellular has always been an industry leader in customer service. Many of their early ads followed the industry, however, and focused primarily on the value element of free incoming calls.

New: U.S. Cellular’s latest efforts have introduced a new brand promise; “Believe in Something Better.” Their ads clear shift the focus away from the handset or network and focus on a more rich and emotional experience.

Verizon

Old: Verizon’s early advertisements hammered home that the focus was on the network. Their “Can You Hear Me Now?” campaigns have been very effective in hammering home their network-focused strategy.

New: Verizon’s current advertisements continue to focus on the network. However, we see a shift from the straight forward ‘Can you hear me now?’ to more engaging situations that attempt to explain how the network can help customers avoid a bad experience – or dead zone.

AT&T Wireless

Old: AT&T (previously Cingular), like other wireless carriers focused their early advertising efforts on value with no roaming or long distance charges.

New: The latest AT&T Wireless commercials paint different customer scenarios that could be avoided if they had AT&T’s service. Although still product-centric, these ads seek to paint the picture of a better customer experience.

Summary

The wireless industry customer experience wars will likely become more pronounced in the coming years as the market become more saturated and increasingly commoditized. Although recent economic factors will prompt consumers to place greater emphasis on price and value, expect the major wireless carriers to continue their battle to differentiate based on customer experience.