The silent customer revolution has a tool -- make the most of it

‘THE owls are not what they seem,” ran a classic line from the ’90s cult series Twin Peaks. This has never been a more appropriate slogan for the mobile operator industry. Cellphone fees, tariffs and bundles are not what they seem. More significantly, the public perception of the most economical or most expensive networks does not always reflect the true position.

This is one of the key underlying messages emerging from an analysis conducted by Tariffic, a South African company that analyses company cellphone bills and recommends the best packages based on existing behaviour.

This month it opened up its tool to consumers, allowing them to upload their cellphone bills to the Tariffic website. An online system conducts an analysis of current usage and rates, with the option of including preferred network, and automatically recommends the best packages.

In the process of developing its tool, the company analyses every bundle or deal available from all networks. And it is here that the secrets of the cellphone service industry begin to be uncovered.

“It’s fascinating to see how the industry goes through waves,” says CEO Antony Seeff. “Before, we used to compare the industry on a pure tariff basis. Now we are looking at the deals they offer, and it’s really interesting to see how the deals rather than the tariffs control user behaviour.”

Traditionally, Cell C has been the most competitive. That was when the tariffs were the deciding factor for consumers.

“Now we see MTN, which was traditionally more expensive, performing surprisingly well.”

The analysis shows MTN outperforming Cell C and Vodacom in handset deals for certain markets, with its MyMTN Plus packages especially competitive. Vodacom had the best deal on the new Samsung S7. Cell C has highly competitive tariffs on its ChatMore and StraightUp packages, but handset deals are only available on its Epic and Pinnacle packages, which turn out to be more expensive.

“We find that, yes, Cell C offers the cheapest packages. If you compare directly on SIMonly deals, you’d get the best deal there, but they don’t offer handsets on those packages.

“Telkom is very good as well. It really offers the best combination of whatever tariff you like with whatever cellphone you want, with or without a bundle. It’s such a pity it is a market laggard.”

The analysis also throws up key new trends that are driving the industry, in particular the extent to which consumers are looking for SIM-only deals, taking out a contract without a new phone. “A few years ago that was not a consideration,” says Seeff. “But now people are far more comfortable with their current handsets. The major evolutionary jumps in hardware have slowed down. Consumers are under more financial pressure. And last year’s iPhone is perfectly usable for the next three years.”

Another trend Tariffic has noted is a shift towards people wanting fewer voice minutes and more data allowance.

Combined with deeper insights into deals and tariffs and their own bills, this silent consumer revolution may force the industry to change the way it structures its offerings.

Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Twitter @art2gee and subscribe to his YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/GGadgets