October 4th, 2023, Rishad Dsouza
Network loyalty and inertia make for huge barriers to entry in the mobile network provider space. YouGov Profiles, which continuously tracks a range of behavioural and consumption data, reveals that a quarter of high-income Brits simply can’t be bothered to switch carriers (26%). Another third of them indicate trust for a company as a reason to choose it as their provider (31%).
For new players in the space as well as existing players looking to expand their consumer base, it is important to try and strike the balance between price and coverage quality to woo new customers.
Over half of high-income Brits (defined as those who earn more than 200% of the median income) choose mobile coverage quality as one of the factors that helps them determine their choice of network provider. Only a slightly smaller share of consumers say that they are drawn by companies offering the cheapest prices overall (46%).
Nearly a quarter of this audience also find appeal in the companies offering the best special offers (23%) and a fifth of them cite best customer service (20%) as a determinant of their coverage provider choice. Brands offering the widest range of packages (15%) and easiest website to use (10%) also appeal to some consumers.
Looking at the factors that consumers regard as the one most important determinant of their carrier preference makes for a more robust understanding of how brands can tailor their marketing and developmental efforts. Although carrier quality is the most commonly cited factor when consumers are asked to select multiple choices, it drops narrowly behind price when their selection is limited to one. This shows just how important a role pricing plays even among high-income Brits.
For 15% of the audience, familiarity with a brand is the biggest factor as they can’t be bothered to switch networks. Company trust (11%) also plays a significant role.
Mapping these attitudinal data points against telcos that consumers are currently subscribed to can help brands identify how consumers perceive them. For instance, among high-income Brits who cite brand trust as their most important factor for sticking with a brand, Vodafone (17%) is the most popular network provider. And among consumers citing coverage quality, EE (23%) claims the top spot. And while only 6% of high-income Brits use Tesco as their primary service provider, the share rises to 13% among those who say they can’t be bothered to switch carriers.
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the Great Britain is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.
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