Ericsson ConsumerLab report highlights consumer expectations on operators in India

1. ConsumerLab
Transforming
experiences
Understanding Indian consumers’
expectations of their mobile operator
An Ericsson Consumer Insight Summary Report
October 2013

2. METHODOLOGY
contents
Consumer research
InTroduction and key findings
Mobile operator customer care agents
> 10 in-depth face-to-face interviews
> 2 focus group discussions
>
200 quantitative face-to-face
research responses
3
benchmarking the consumer experience
4
what frustrates consumers?
6
satisfaction vs. importance
Age: 15–50 years
Socio-economic classes A-E
16 urban cities in India, including the
top 8 cities as well as smaller cities
Prepaid and postpaid subscribers
split: 95 percent–5 percent
22 in-depth qualitative interviews
9 focus group discussions
4,003 quantitative
face-to-face interviews
7
The impact of good and bad experiences
Mobile data customer service challenges
10
Exceeding consumer expectations
10
Ludhiana
DELHI
LUCKNOW
jaipur
guwahati
ahmedabad
PATNA
indore
Social media listening exercise
MUMBAI
KOLKATA
Bhubaneswar
PUNE
HYDERABAD
Interpreting the results
Survey results represent the
voice of 100 million urban
Indian mobile users
9
supporting mobile broadband users
Aligarh
Monitored and mined social
media posts relating to mobile
broadband in India between
June 2011 and Jan 2013
8
CHENNAI
Consumer research only
Consumer and customer
care research
bangalore
Cochin
the voice of the consumer
Ericsson ConsumerLab has close to 20 years’ experience of studying
people’s behaviors and values, including the way they act and think
about ICT products and services. Ericsson ConsumerLab provides
unique insights on market and consumer trends.
Ericsson ConsumerLab gains its knowledge through a
global consumer research program based on interviews with
100,000 individuals each year, in more than 40 countries and
15 megacities – statistically representing the views of
1.1 billion people.
2 ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences
Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used,
and hundreds of hours are spent with consumers
from different cultures.
To be close to the market and consumers, Ericsson
ConsumerLab has analysts in all regions where Ericsson
is present, which gives a thorough global understanding
of the ICT market and business models.
All ConsumerLab reports can be found at:
www.ericsson.com/consumerlab

3. a new world
of consumer
expectations
From online shopping through to
fast food and insurance, today’s
consumer interacts with many
different companies across a
broad range of industries.
Almost half of urban Indians
interact with an average of at
least four service companies
at any given time in a week.
Their perception of some of
these service companies,
and the quality of interactions
with them, sets firm service
level expectations that
apply across the board.
When it comes to their mobile
operators, consumers do not just
compare their experiences with
other operators, but with the
experiences of their interactions
across all service industries,
from pizza delivery companies
to online shopping providers.
Key findings
onsumers compare their experience with
C
mobile operators to service companies from
other industries and thus have different
expectations – one third of existing mobile
users feel that operators are the most frustrating
service companies to interact with.
here is no single wonder pill to drive consumer
T
satisfaction across various interactions with
mobile operators – there are differences in what
mobile users state is most important to them
when interacting with their operator. In India,
initial purchase process and customer service
are rated as most important.
ustomer service is in need of transformation –
C
three in five customer care agents find it difficult
to support mobile data users with the tools and
information available to them.
etaining profitable users will rely on
R
prioritizing and identifying shifting consumer
needs – these include basic needs such
as billing, as well as those which increase
satisfaction proportionally, including network
performance and delighters like assured mobile
internet speeds, rewards and loyalty programs.
obile users complain, but not to their
M
operators – one in four urban Indian mobile users
is currently facing some sort of issue with their
operator but only half of all issues are reported.
onsumer expectations are growing in line
C
with device complexity and mobile data usage
– mobile operators are facing a rate of churn
that is increasing as users adopt new advanced
data services.
ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences 3

4. BENCHMARKING THE
consumer EXPERIENCE
I shopped online, and the item
was delivered next day with a
handwritten personal note from
the seller thanking me for the
purchase and offering free return
if I did not like the item. This is
what I call delighting consumers.”
Female, 22 years old, Delhi
Figure 1: Ericsson ConsumerLab industry consumer experience
rankings for India
For this study, Ericsson ConsumerLab has ranked
12 service industries on the level of overall consumer
experience that they offer. These rankings are based on
how consumers perceive each of the industries to be
performing on nine key performance attributes. These
attributes were derived through in-depth discussions
with consumers.
1
Airline
2
Online shopping
3
Fast food
4
Broadband provider
5
Private radio taxi
6
Satellite TV
7
Insurance provider
8
Cable TV provider
9
Credit card firm
9 performance attributes
10
Banking
11
Mobile operator
12
Utility provider
Quick resolution of problems
Transparency in billing/
bill understanding
Puts customer needs first
Keeps its promises
Motivated and friendly staff
Ease of making payments
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences, 2013
Base: Urban mobile users
4 ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences
To start with, the impact of the nine performance
attributes was calculated separately. This analysis
revealed that the factor which has the maximum impact
on consumer satisfaction across all the industries was
the ability to solve problems quickly.
We then analyzed the impact of these attributes
in driving overall satisfaction within each industry.
This was compared against the current consumer
satisfaction ratings of each attribute for each industry.
This comparison enabled us to create the consumer
experience rankings shown in figure 1.
Mobile operators are second only to utility providers in
having the lowest customer experience rating.
Knowledge and
understanding of what
products and services the
customer already uses
Relevant and timely
communication
Regularly introduces
new products and
services to the market

5. On the other hand, airlines, online shopping and fast
food chains rate highest. The possible reasons for this,
highlighted by consumers who ranked these industries,
was that they both offer transparency and are good at
meeting punctuality expectations. In the case of airlines,
where low cost operators are popular, consumers know
exactly what they are paying for. They do not have high
service requirements because getting to their destination
on time is more important. Online shopping providers rank
better than other industries because they offer innovative
ways of making payments (such as cash on delivery, timely
delivery, and personalization). They are also perceived to
be very good at solving problems quickly.
Other industries are raising the bar on meeting consumer
expectations. It is now up to telecommunications
companies to catch up by finding new ways of improving
the consumer experience.
What drives consumer satisfaction with operators?
In order to identify which parts of the consumer
journey were rated as most important, we identified
five touch points that reflect interactions mobile phone
customers have with their operator. We then analyzed
the relative importance of these in driving overall
consumer satisfaction.
Figure 2 shows the relative importance of the five different
service area touch points in the four markets studied.
The relative importance of touch points shown here for
the Russian, Brazilian and US markets were taken from
Ericsson’s Optimal Consumer Experience 2012 report.
It clearly shows that service and support is the most
important factor across all four countries.
Figure 2: Relative importance of touchpoints in driving
consumer satisfaction
Initial
purchase
process
Billing
payment
27%
Account
management
Service
support
Loyalty
building
21%
20%
25%
7%
1%
44%
4%
50%
1%
1%
19%
32%
47%
1%
29%
13%
2%
49%
8%
Sources: Ericsson ConsumerLab, Optimal consumer experience, 2012, Ericsson
ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences, India 2013. Base: 6,909 mobile users in
US, Russia, Brazil, India
Relative importance of touchpoints for US, Brazil and Russia were identified
using 58 parameters. For India, 33 relevant parameters were used.
Can they be like pizza
delivery? Promising me
they can fix issues in
30 minutes.”
Male, 26 years old, Mumbai
In India, the initial purchase process is most important.
It is worth noting that the measurements for India are
much flatter across the board when compared to the
other markets. The only exception here is loyalty building.
There is no single factor which will improve the
consumer experience – a number of factors need to
be addressed.
Different consumer segments have different needs. For
example, network performance and customer service
are important to young people, while basic phone users
require more support in terms of billing and payment
and account management – making these factors more
important to them. Network performance, mobile
internet performance and privacy were additional
factors identified as having an impact on the consumer
experience for mobile phone users. Therefore, this also
needs to be taken into consideration.
Start at the beginning
Consumers are often faced with a challenge the
moment they come into contact with an operator.
The process of choosing a mobile phone plan or offer
in the first place can be confusing. Service providers
will often offer a myriad of plans and information about
availability, and what is included often differs between
the operator’s call centers, website and physical stores.
1/3
of mobile subscribers do
not find plans which match
their usage patterns
Most consumers find it difficult to identify which plan
best suits their usage and will only find out if it is right
for them once they have started using it – by which
point it is already too late. Most will then face a bill
shock or spend more money on account of not being
able to identify an optimal plan.
Sorting through various prepaid plans and then choosing
the best is like shooting in the dark. They purposely keep it
very complex.”
Male, 30 years old, Delhi
ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences 5

6. WHAT FRUSTRATES
CONSUMERS?
One in
four
mobile users currently faces
some sort of issue
A quarter of all urban mobile users reported facing
some sort of problem with their mobile operator, and
on average Indian users face up to six different issues
on at least a weekly basis.
Figure 3 shows what these issues are. The three most
common problems are network, mobile internet or
billing and charging related. Other issues include poor
customer service, unsolicited calls or SMS that infringe
privacy, and bad experiences at the operator’s store
or in accessing their website.
However, many of these issues are not being reported to
the operator. On average, just under half of all problems
are relayed back.
The reason for the lack of complaints is that customers
do not want to go through the hassle of contacting the
operator. The thought of long periods stuck on hold and
then having to go through monotonous troubleshooting
puts them off.
Problems relating to billing and unfair balance
deductions from prepaid accounts are an exception
– but this is merely a reflection of the lack of trust
consumers have in operators to correct issues that
directly relate to their money.
The silent
sufferers
On average just half of all
issues faced by a mobile user
are reported to the operator
This shows that people who do complain to operators
are actually only a subset of those who are dissatisfied.
6 ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences
Today almost half of all urban Indian mobile phone
consumers are thinking about switching operator due to
a poor experience. The 2 biggest reasons for this – poor
customer support and poor network or mobile internet
performance – together account for 54 percent of all
issues faced by those looking to switch operators.
Figure 3: Percentage of mobile users who currently face issues
32%
Network related
Mobile internet related
29%
Billing and
prepaid charging
25%
Privacy
25%
Poor customer service
Other touchpoints –
website and store
20%
13%
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences, 2013
Base: All mobile users who are facing an issue

7. SATISFACTION VS.
IMPORTANCE
Figure 4: Combining satisfaction and importance
DERIVED IMPORTANCE
SATISFACTION
High
Low
High
Areas to sustain
Strongest areas
Network
performance (voice)
Initial purchase
experience
Privacy
Billing and payment
Low
Loyalty
building
Account
management
Mobile internet
performance
Service/support
Areas of concern
Areas to improve
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences, 2013. Base: All mobile users
While not very important in general, loyalty building
and privacy in the form of curbing unsolicited calls
and text messages, does matter to a very small
number of high-spending consumers. Mobile internet
performance also rates low in terms of satisfaction,
however, as the ubiquity of mobile broadband grows,
this factor is likely to grow in importance. On the other
hand, network performance and coverage for voice
calls both see stable high satisfaction, mainly because
the relative maturity of the technology means that few
issues arise and consumers know what to expect.
Billing and unfair balance deductions from prepaid
accounts in particular is an area where consumers
have zero tolerance for discrepancies. In fact,
78 percent rate billing and charging accuracy as very
important and would like to see a penalty fee imposed
if operators overcharge. Quickly resolving billing
issues is critical, as many consumers will immediately
consider switching provider, even over very small
sums of money.
Figure 5 digs down one level deeper, identifying the
specific points which need to be fixed today and
monitored in the future to ensure customer satisfaction.
Figure 5: Key drivers of consumer satisfaction
High
FIX
First contact resolution i.e. customer
DERIVED IMPORTANCE
Figure 4 shows satisfaction plotted against importance
for eight different areas of interaction with mobile
operators. Billing and payment, account management
and service and support are all areas which need
immediate attention if operators want to improve
consumer experience.
service to solve issues on the first attempt
Accuracy in billing/charging and
quick resolution of related issues
Advanced notification of price
changes on your plan/account
MONITOR
360 degree view of service usage and
interaction history of subscribers
Mobile internet speed and reliability
Skill and expertise of customer care
agents to solve technical issues
Low
Network coverage while roaming
Ease of starting/stopping services
Rewarding for loyalty
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences India, 2013
Base: All mobile users
ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences 7

8. THE IMPACT OF GOOD
AND BAD EXPERIENCEs
Of course, not all experiences are bad, and a
successful interaction can result in the consumer
liking the operator on social networks, spreading
good word of mouth among friends and family.
However, as shown in figure 6, when it comes to having
a bad experience consumers are much less likely to
get in contact with the operator and many will simply
terminate the relationship altogether. In fact, consumer
satisfaction surveys are only enabling operators to
listen to two percent of their dissatisfied customers.
This means that relying on customer survey feedback
alone will not provide a full picture, as it has virtually
no information on the customers that are most at
risk of churning. Operators need to be proactive
and find other channels through which to measure
customer satisfaction, such as monitoring social
media or monitoring real time quality of service.
Transforming customer care
For many consumers, customer care is still the
channel of choice for seeking support, and this
will continue to be the case in the future. However,
local retailers are also a preferred point of contact.
This is because they are generally more trusted, as
they are used to dealing directly with a wide variety
of handsets on a day-to-day basis, and are not
necessarily associated with a single brand. They
are also seen as more approachable – especially by
low income groups that may not be familiar with the
language used by customer care representatives.
In fact, 55 percent of low income users rely on
face-to-face interactions with retailers to solve
queries, rather than calling customer care.
Figure 6: What happens after a good or bad experience?
Percentage of consumers who
said a good experience leads to:
Sharing their experience
with friends and family
Responding to a
satisfaction survey
Likes, posts
and tweets
Percentage of consumers who
said a bad experience leads to:
59%
15%
7%
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences India, 2013
Base: Mobile phone users
8 ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences
Thinking of terminating
the relationship
Registering a complaint
Responding to a
satisfaction survey
23%
6%
2%

9. Mobile data
customer service
challenges
3 out of 5
customer care
agents say:
“The current tools and information
available to me are not sufficient to
create a positive consumer experience.”
Customer care and the new mobile data paradigm
As part of this study, we interviewed 200 customer care
agents, manning call centers for mobile operators across
8 Indian cities, to better understand their needs when it
comes to supporting consumers. Many agents work in
high pressure environments in which their performance is
judged based on their average call handling time. This is
counter-productive to providing a great customer service.
Today, the complexity of the software available to
operator customer care agents is an issue. Over half
struggle with the systems and processes that they use
and many say that the tools and information they have
available to them are not sufficient to create a positive
consumer experience. The result of these factors is
longer, more frustrating call times for consumers.
The number of new devices and technologies is growing
and creates a challenge for customer service agents.
Figure 7 shows that smartphones and mobile
broadband users generate more complaints than the
overall average. This is because newer, more advanced
technologies tend to require more complex solutions
and are owned by heavy usage subscribers.
Figure 7: Customer service calls over six months
Mobile
broadband users
47%
35%
18%
Smartphone
44%
37%
19%
Overall
42%
At least twice
27%
More than three times
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences India, 2013
Base: Urban mobile phone users
31%
Never
Figure 8 shows which issues customer care agents
say are most time consuming to resolve. Billing and
prepaid charging issues came out on top, as it requires
back-end support to trace. However, mobile data
issues are also a growing problem. The reason for this
is that the current call center software does not give a
complete view of consumers’ mobile data usage and
quality of service data. 40 percent say they have to look
through 4 or more different screens or programs to solve
issues. Most of the time they also have to remember
the order in which these have to be accessed.
Figure 8: Issues that are the most time consuming to resolve
Billing
discrepancy
56%
Mobile data
issues
48%
Network
37%
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences India, 2013
Base: Customer care agents
In response to this, 77 percent of customer care
agents agree that they need a single unified view of the
consumer and intelligent tools. These would analyze a
customer’s usage as a basis for recommending which
plans and offers are optimized to suit their needs, as well
as acknowledge and trace issues. This would allow the
agents to make decisions that are in the best interest
of consumers. According to customer care agents,
the benefits of using intelligent systems would include
increased satisfaction and retention and improved
first-time resolution of issues. This final point was
highlighted on page four as being the most important
customer service attribute and the area which consumers
are least satisfied with in the current scenario.
ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences 9

10. Supporting Mobile
Broadband customers
Listening to online conversations
We conducted a study of social media to find out what
people were saying online about their experience with
operators, with a specific focus on their mobile broadband
service. Over 250 million tweets and 1.8 million posts
across Facebook, Twitter, blogs and complaint forums
were sifted through to come up with 100,000 key
conversations on mobile broadband experience
among Indian users.
Figure 9: Drivers of negative sentiments
Mobile internet
performance
Billing or
charging issues
Technical support/
customer care
31%
48%
21%
Of the online buzz associated with mobile broadband,
45 percent was negative whereas just 29 percent was
positive. The rest was neutral. Figure 9 shows the
drivers for negative sentiments only. It was found that
technical support and customer care is the greatest
issue being discussed, with a particular focus on
unattended complaints.
This is an important issue, as increased satisfaction
with customer service has a direct impact on a mobile
broadband consumer’s loyalty. Those that are most
satisfied with customer service are three times more likely
to stay loyal than a dissatisfied customer.
From this study we have identified that there are three
priority drivers for improving the mobile broadband
user experience and growing profitability. These
include customer service and support, mobile internet
performance and account management – in other words
putting users in control of their own usage and being
transparent about any changes made to their account.
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab
Transforming Experiences, 2013
Base: 25,000 unique online users, India
Exceeding consumer
expectations
This makes it very difficult for operators to understand
and gauge consumer loyalty. Figure 10 outlines a new
approach which compares how likely the customer
is to switch operator against how likely they are to
promote their provider by recommending it to
friends and family.
The question for operators is which of these segments
are advocates for their brand, and which should be
focused on in order to improve profits? Defectors
make up a large portion of the users questioned.
However, despite this, the profitability of this
segment is minimal.
On the other hand, the vulnerable segment consists
of high spenders who own smartphones and use
mobile data.
10 ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences
Figure 10: Consumer loyalty vs. advocacy
High
Defectors 40%
INTENTION TO SWITCH
Satisfaction alone is not enough to successfully
diagnose loyalty. When asked if they are satisfied
many respond ‘yes’. In fact, perceptible differences
among operator brands are quickly evaporating and
61 percent say that there is hardly any differentiation
when it comes to operators.
Low
Vulnerable 8%
No attachment and poor
perception of the brand
– they will not stay with
their current provider
They do recommend
the brand but are close
to leaving due to
poor experience
Passive 20%
Secure 32%
Indifferent consumers
with a weak relationship
with the provider – they
feel trapped
Are most satisfied brand
advocates – they are 5 times
more likely to increase
spend compared to defectors
ADVOCACY
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences 2013.
Base: 4,003 urban Indian mobile phone users
High

11. Figure 11: Kano Model – classifying and prioritizing consumer needs
Delighters
Rewards for higher usage and spending
Mobile data plan with assured speed
Delight
Delighters/
attractive
needs
Performance
needs
Performance needs
Quick and easy activation
Rapid call transfer with no wait time
Network performance
Personalization on plans based on usage
Advance notifcation of price changes
Assured problem resolution
Fulfilled
Not fulfilled
Basic needs
Basic needs
Billing/charging accuracy
Frustration
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences India, 2013
Base: Vulnerable consumer segment
In fact, these affluent smartphone mobile data
consumers are often among the top 10 percent of
the mobile users that generate around 35 percent
of overall revenue for operators.
Figure 11 shows a framework called the Kano Model.
Created in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano,
the model enables companies to classify consumer
needs. For this study we have used it to identify
which requirements will meet the vulnerable segment’s
basic needs, improve their satisfaction and exceed
their expectations. These needs can be divided into
three categories, depending on their ability to drive
satisfaction or cause dissatisfaction. This helps
operators understand which needs and attributes to
focus on when developing products and services.
Figure 11 also lists which curve each satisfaction
parameter inhibits. Billing and charging accuracy is
considered a basic hygiene factor and if not met will
lead to a lot of frustration amongst customers.
The ‘performance needs’ curve features six parameters.
Improving on these factors will have a direct correlation
with the level of consumer satisfaction – in other words,
the more you put in, the more you get out. Of course this
can also work in the opposite direction and operators
that do not give these factors adequate attention risk
frustrating their subscribers.
The two attributes listed under ‘delighters’ are services
that customers do not necessarily expect, so failure to
provide these services will not frustrate them. However,
if operators do provide them it will act as a differentiator
and please consumers by significantly boosting
satisfaction levels and loyalty.
However, what is interesting today might not be
interesting tomorrow. What pleases consumers today
could be the basic requirements of tomorrow and
operators need to constantly evolve their offering
as consumer needs change. Figure 12 shows which
services smartphone users said they would be
interested in for the future. These are areas which
operators need to take action on today, if they intend
to satisfy the consumers of tomorrow.
Transforming the experience of tomorrow
With technology developing at an ever-increasing rate,
operators must adopt new strategies that focus on
future needs.
Both the initial purchase process and service and support
are pivotal touchpoints in the consumer experience. If
operators wish to improve their service in both areas,
then they need to empower their staff with a single view
of a customer’s interactions, and enable them to make
recommendations which best suit the individual.
Ultimately, the battle for the hearts and minds of Indian
consumers will be won on the front line. We have seen in
this report that by embracing three key areas – network
performance, transparency and control – and by
improving customer service and the support experience,
operators can exceed expectations. By doing this they
transform the consumer experience from one that merely
satisfies, to one that genuinely pleases consumers.
Figure 12: Services that consumers requested for the future
60%
A mobile application which periodically advises me
with a better plan or recharge, keeping in mind my
current consumption patterns
55%
A single prepaid recharge for my broadband,
smartphone, and satellite TV services,
proportionally distributing it how I like
57%
Customer care agents remotely identify
and correct problems relating to my device
or connection
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Transforming Experiences India, 2013
Base: Smartphone users
ERICSSON ConsumerLab Transforming experiences 11

12. Ericsson is a world-leading provider of communications technology
and services. We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient
real-time solutions that allow us all to study, work and live our lives
more freely, in sustainable societies around the world.
Our offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within
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and other industries. Today 40 percent of the world’s mobile traffic
goes through Ericsson networks and we support customers’
networks servicing more than 2.5 billion subscriptions.
We are more than 110,000 people working with customers in more
than 180 countries. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is headquartered
in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2012 the company’s net sales were SEK
227.8 billion (USD 33.8 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX,
Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.
The content of this document is subject to revision without
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damage of any kind resulting from the use of this document.
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