Mobile Data Scores World Cup Own Goal

An NOP survey published today reveals that almost half of UK mobile phone users who used a mobile data service for the first time during the recent World Cup will not use mobile data services again. Pricing and ease of set up and use were named as the key barriers to mobile data uptake.
The survey of 999 adults was carried out during the final weekend of the competition, and was commissioned by service adoption management (SAM) specialist Olista, which helps mobile operators increase data revenues by increasing the number of users of mobile data services.
29% of world cup mobile data users said they had used a mobile data service for the first time during the World Cup, but worryingly for operators, 44% of these claimed they would not use a mobile data service again. Only 49% of consumers were satisfied with the cost of the mobile data service they used. On top of this, 19% believe that if mobile data services were easier to set up and use they would have been encouraged to use the services on offer during the World Cup.
The survey also asked respondents which mobile data services they would have considered using if ease of access and quality of service were not problems. Of the services on offer during the tournament, text alerts (22%), video clips (16%) and picture messages (16%) were the most appealing to users. Only 11% of potential mobile data users said they would have been interested in Mobile TV.
The survey illustrates that operators are succeeding in getting consumers interested in mobile data services, with an encouraging amount of first time users attempting to use a services during the 2006 tournament says Olista CEO, Oren Glanz. The disappointing part of this survey is that after interest has been achieved, the customer is often left disappointed and does not become a repeat customer. Operators need to anticipate, detect and resolve potential user problems to ensure users enjoy a flawless first-time experience every time, or they can forget about repeat customers.