Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Verizon Wireless Receives Highest Rankings in Five out of Six Regions

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 23:43:59 -0400

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20030930005428&newsLang=en

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 

Headlines

Company Information Center

SMART MULTIMEDIA GALLERY:

September 30, 2003 09:00 AM US Eastern Timezone

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Customer Loyalty Becoming a More Critical Issue in the Wireless Industry as Phone Number Portability is Poised to Become a Reality in November

NOTE TO MEDIA: Multimedia assets available

A chart is available at URL:

http://www.newstream.com/uk/public_story.html?10819

Web-ready logo

Two charts from the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 U.S. Wireless Regional Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) StudySM are available.

MORE
MULTIMEDIA

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2003--

Verizon Wireless Receives Highest Rankings in Five out of Six Regions

As wireless penetration continues to slow and legislation soon goes into effect allowing consumers to keep their phone numbers after switching providers, customer retention has become a top priority among wireless carriers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 U.S. Wireless Regional CSI Study(SM) released today.

The study finds the overall wireless growth rate between 2002 and 2003 among the 27 largest U.S. markets was just 5.3 percent -- considerably lower than the 7.6 percent overall growth rate between 2001 and 2002. In addition, more than one in four (26%) subscribers say they have switched wireless carriers at least once in the past 12 months -- up from 24 percent in 2002, and the length of time a subscriber stays with a carrier before they switch has shortened a full three months since 1999.

"It's imperative that wireless service providers concentrate on retention strategies as the ability to expand the customer base becomes more difficult," said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates. "The issue of number portability, which becomes a reality for consumers in November, removes a major barrier for customers in switching providers. With the cost of acquiring each new customer ranging between $300 and $425, wireless providers must make a serious effort to retain customers with superior service and loyalty programs."

The study indicates that providing superior customer satisfaction has become critical in the wireless industry to bolster customer retention and increase revenue potential. Just 7 percent of current customers of the highest-ranking providers are likely to switch carriers in the next 12 months, compared to 21 percent for the lowest-ranking providers. Furthermore, customers of the highest-ranking providers are 38 percent more likely to renew with their current carrier than are customers of lower-ranking providers.

Customer satisfaction is measured based on 42 specific service-related issues grouped into six key areas that impact overall carrier performance. These are (in order of importance): call performance and reliability (26%); customer service (17%); service plan options (17%); brand image (14%); cost of service (14%); and billing (12%). Carriers are ranked in six regions in the United States.

Verizon Wireless performed particularly well in the study, ranking highest five of the six regions of the country (including three ties), largely by demonstrating a competitive advantage in call quality, customer service, and service plan options. Other providers that perform well include Nextel, ranking highest in a tie in three of the four regions covered; T-Mobile, ranking highest in a tie in two out of five regions covered; and AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless, each tying in one region.

The study finds several key wireless service usage patterns:

-- Users report spending $52 per month on wireless service using 365 minutes of air time per month.

-- The average minutes included in a typical service plan is 1,623. Only 56 percent report using all their minutes on a monthly basis.

-- Twenty percent of wireless households say they have at least two or more family members sharing service plan minutes.

The 2003 U.S. Wireless Regional CSI Study is based on responses from 25,429 households.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. Media e-mail contact: [email-masked] or [email-masked]

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com.

Note: A chart is available at URL:

http://www.newstream.com/uk/public_story.html?10819

Contacts

J.D. Power and Associates
Michael Greywitt (West Coast), 805-418-8000
or
John Tews (East Coast), 248-267-6800

Company Information Center

Print this release

Return
to Headlines

Terms of Use   |
© Business Wire 2003