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TECH331-TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM ANALYSIS
STUDENT AFFILIATION
PROFFESSOR NAME
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FACTORS AFFECTING ACQUISITION AND RETENTION OF ATT&T SUBSCRIBERS IN THE USA.
Mobile telephony in USA has been growing greatly. The subscriber base is now above 15.0 million with a mobile penetration rate of 59 percent. The subscriber base is expected to rise to 140.28 million, or 70.25percent penetration, by year-end 2016. The annual churn rate is growing as customer acquisition increases. Customer acquisition and retention is very important as it leads to profitability of a firm . It also leads to higher market share, high efficiency and high productivity. Retaining customers has a cost though it is way cheaper than acquiring new customers. This is why retention strategies are not as easily imitated as acquisition strategies.
This research identifies and analyses the customer acquisition and retention strategies in the USA mobile telephony, specifically, ATT&T mobility- the leading mobile services provider in USA among others. Among the top wireless providers it was ranked the second in 3Q15 customer wireless retention. Specifically, the study addresses Brand, image and reputation which scores a close second to quality of services as an important strategy of selection among clients. It also addresses trade promotions, tariffs, customer care and services, distribution systems, brand and line extensions and market extensions. The study also analyses how the above are used to acquire and retain customers.
The findings indicate that the customers do shift from one mobile phone provider to another due to factors such as network coverage, tariffs, presence of friends and peers in the same network and offers by the mobile phone providers .Nearly half of Americans use total of data allocated by their network and the rest indicate it happens occasionally(Haque13).
Conclusion
The strategies mentioned above were found to influence attraction and retention of customers. On customer service, it was evident that the customers were kept waiting for long before they were attended to but it is gradually changing because of fear of losing the customers. ATT&T mobility offers good quality products and services and that’s why they are well entrenched. ATT&T mobility also offers a variety of tariffs but it is felt that the tariffs should include less costly calling rate across other networks. Trade promotions are also an attraction and retention strategy and distribution and corporate customers think so too. The distribution systems and ordering processes are efficient and the remuneration structures are good. According to Birke his can be attributed to its increase in customer retention through postpaid services which includes 90% of their customers (Postpaid retention of customer’s services 3).
Recommendation
ATT&T mobility should therefore conduct market research prior to product definition and the firm should continue being innovative. On distribution systems, undercutting should be addressed and the firm should improve its relations with the trading partners by holding regular meeting and training the channel members regularly to improve on trade support in products and materials. On customer service, the firm should decentralize call center services and further increase the number of call centers. The firm should also improve loyalty programs. Employees should also be involved in decision making to gain their commitment and support and also to improve their morale.
Reference
Haque,A.(2013).Customers Perception Towards Cellular Mobile Telephone Operators (23rded.). ORIC publications.
Birke,D.(2013).Social Networks and their Economics:Influencing Consumer Choice (1st ed.).John Wiley & Sons.
