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Monday, June 18, 2012

Adding a little extra to every mobile sale will make a big difference

Mark Bridge writes:

Is there any product that offers as much potential for additional sales as the mobile phone?

When I visit a coffee shop to buy a coffee, I’m often asked “would you like any pastries or muffins with that?”

On the one occasion that I bought a new car, I was offered the option of paying extra for different colours, for floor mats and for a fancy stereo.

When you buy a DVD player or a games console, it’s pretty obvious you’ll be paying extra for entertainment.

Yet, when you consider the variety of add-ons available in the mobile industry, I’d say smartphones were in a league of their own.

Mrs Bridge bought a new smartphone at the weekend. Her aging Sony Ericsson developed software problems, so it was time for an upgrade.

First, credit where it’s due. Well done Carphone Warehouse. Our local branch dramatically outperformed the network-run shop we visited first, both in terms of customer service and price as well.

Upgrade complete and contract signed, we turned to the question of transferring contacts from the old phone to the new one. Would our new friends at CPW help us?  Yes, they would. They’d whip out their Cellebrite machine for a one-off charge. Alternatively, the service was available as part of a monthly ‘tech support’ Geek Squad subscription. Nicely done. However, as Mrs Bridge is under the impression she’s married to someone who knows about mobile phones, we declined.

Insurance we also declined, although it’s not been ruled out in the longer-term. Time for some comparison shopping before we commit.

Next came the case. Having just turned down insurance, putting the phone inside an attractive leather pouch definitely made sense.

Then there was the screen protector. Mrs B has skipped this for the moment; it seemed a shame to reduce the quality of the display by sticking something on it.

And still to come are any number of chargeable apps and cloud-based services - and accessories ranging from the Bluetooth oven thermometer to the remote-control helicopter.

What struck me after all this wasn’t the ‘hidden’ cost of buying a smartphone. Not the inherently incomplete nature of the new device.

No, it was a point made in the recent results announcement from Carphone Warehouse Group. Along with a slight drop in retail revenue, the company noted “our newer format Wireless World stores offer a wider range of mobile and other connected devices and an enhanced level of service. These stores have proved popular with customers and have delivered compelling returns.”

It went on to talk about “moving more deeply into tablets, accessories, and app-cessories”, adding that this non-cellular sector had significant potential for growth.

Ignoring the pain that the word app-cessories causes me, it seems that Carphone Warehouse is definitely heading in the right direction.

Back in the 1990s, some mobile phone shops would attempt to sell ‘value-added services’ that either added very little value or alternatively were almost-essential services that should have been included anyway.

Today, the smartest retailers are offering additional products and services that consumers actually want - and don’t mind paying for.

The UK may have reached saturation as far as mobile phone connections go. But the market for accessory sales and additional services just keeps growing.

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Opinion Articles

Is Android losing its impact for Google?

Mark Bridge writes:

Recent figures released by ABI Research have prompted the market intelligence company to ask whether Google is losing control of the Android ecosystem.

At first glance, Android dominated smartphone shipments for the final quarter of 2013. ABI Research says 77% of the 287 million smartphones shipped in Q4 2013 were running Android.

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It’s time to prepare for the upcoming surge in signaling traffic

Robin Kent writes:

After initially suffering from slow pick up by consumers, 4G has begun to accelerate, and is now well on the way to the forecasted one billion subscribers by 2017. In fact EE, owner of T-Mobile and Orange, recently announced the addition of 493,000 new 4G customers to its existing base of 1.2 million.

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Mobile phone coverage: is this as good as it gets?

Mark Bridge writes:

A new report has highlighted the issue of poor mobile phone coverage in rural Sussex villages. BBC Sussex invited me onto their ‘Sussex Breakfast’ radio show to explain what could be done - and, as usual, I made enough notes for a lecture rather than a three-minute interview.

Here’s what I would have liked to have said if I’d been given a disproportionate amount of time to talk.

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Last week at The Fonecast: 27th January 2014

Expecting the unexpected

Mark Bridge writes:

Great news for mobile phone users. Ofcom’s new rules preventing unexpected mid-contract price rises came into force last week, which means UK consumers can no longer be surprised by their subscription charge increasing while they’re still locked into a minimum-term deal.

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Ofcom changes the rules for mobile phone contracts... and so does O2

Mark Bridge writes:

This week, new Ofcom rules came into force. They’re designed to avoid unexpected price rises during the minimum term of a mobile phone contract. Yes, just because you signed a fixed-term contract doesn’t mean the charges can’t increase. Networks said they needed this option in case of inflation or regulatory changes. Customers felt trapped.

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Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

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Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

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Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

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Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

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A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

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