News | May 5, 2000

Telephia Unveils Perceptions about Wireless

Of the more than 2,000 San Diego residents surveyed, 24% responded that Qualcomm, a San Diego-based company, is the brand that comes to mind first when thinking of handsets. Interestingly, Nokia follows as a close second with 21%. That is just one of many conclusions about consumer perceptions that Telephia Inc. found in its nationwide wireless E~trac survey, an ongoing Internet survey of wireless users and non-users. Telephia has revealed results from three additional wireless E~trac markets: Atlanta, Minneapolis, and San Diego.

Market Analysis
Telephia, in conjunction with Harris Interactive, a leading global Internet research firm, has surveyed more than 17,000 wireless users and 8,000 non-users in 14 local markets to better understand wireless brand awareness, buying and usage habits, customer satisfaction, interest in new product offerings, and key factors affecting switching and loyalty.

The company's goal is to help wireless carriers make better-informed decisions and drive improved growth and performance by providing them with actionable, market-level information on a monthly basis. By tapping the power of Harris Interactive's Internet database, Telephia's wireless E~Trac, a multiple market survey product compiling responses from more than 100,000 wireless users and non-users, collects information that allows carriers to create more effective market strategies targeting key consumer segments.

Locations
Available market findings now cover the following cities: Atlanta, GA; Denver, CO; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, MO; Las Vegas, NV; Miami, FL; Minneapolis, MN; New Orleans, LA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis MO. In addition, the company is also providing survey data for New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Detroit, MI; Dallas, TX; Boston, MA; Houston, TX; San Francisco/San Jose, CA; and Baltimore/Washington, DC. Telephia will be surveying the remainder of the top 75 U.S. markets by the end of this year.

Survey Topics
Within each market, Wireless E~Trac surveys consumers about five overall topics: customer satisfaction, brand awareness, purchasing decision, product development, and switching and loyalty dynamics. Each survey includes market-level information on user and usage profiles; non-user profiles; subscriber market share; wireless expenditures; calling patterns; and perceptions regarding delivered performance on network quality metrics. Market results may be combined to provide insights into the dynamics of the 24 largest wireless markets in the U.S.

To illustrate the type of data available, the company unveiled top-line results from the Atlanta, Minneapolis, and San Diego surveys.

Atlanta: (n = 3,242)

  • Current customers of Sprint PCS and AT&T Wireless are "most likely to recommend their carrier to a friend/relative."
  • AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, and Powertel customers report the highest overall satisfaction scores.
  • The top 2 brands that "come to consumers' minds first when thinking about wireless service providers" in Atlanta are BellSouth Mobility and Sprint PCS.
Minneapolis: (n = 2,155)
  • Current customers of Aerial and U S West are "most likely to recommend their carrier to a friend/relative."
  • Aerial, AirTouch, and AT&T Wireless customers report the highest overall satisfaction scores.
  • The top 2 brands that "come to consumers' minds first when thinking about wireless service providers" in Minneapolis are AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS.
San Diego: (n = 2,004)
  • Current customers of AirTouch and Pacific Bell are "most likely to recommend their carrier to a friend/relative."
  • AirTouch, GTE Wireless, and Pacific Bell customers report the highest overall satisfaction scores.
  • The top 2 brands that "come to consumers' minds first when thinking about wireless service providers" in San Diego are Sprint PCS and AirTouch.
Cross-Market Comparison
Brand awareness of Qualcomm is four times greater in Minneapolis than in Atlanta. And in San Diego, it is 10 times greater than in Atlanta.

Both Bell Atlantic Mobile and AirTouch now operate under the brand name Verizon Wireless, and it will be interesting to watch how effectively the two carriers can transition their current brand awareness in markets such as Atlanta and San Diego in the next year.

Wireless E~trac offers comprehensive information to carriers. It not only provides information on their own customers but also information on their competitors' customers. The integrated product line allows carriers to compare key information obtained from this survey with critical market share (Market~trac), pricing plan and promotion (Pricing~trac), media spending (Media~trac), and network performance (Net~Q) data.

Edited by Ellen Jensen