The mobile handset industry in SA received an overall satisfaction score of 73.3 out of 100 from customers. This was revealed by the South African Customer Satisfaction Index.
The handset manufacturers measured were Apple, Samsung, Nokia, BlackBerry and a category of "other brands" based on market share. Apple, Samsung and "other brands" are the industry leaders; Nokia scored on par with the industry; and BlackBerry scored significantly lower than the industry average, reflecting the company's decline worldwide.
The research was conducted between January and June 2014 among 1 563 South African customers. Each company was measured through telephonic and Web-survey methods, at a sample of at least 270 respondents per company.
SA compares favourably
According to professor Adr'e Schreuder, founder and chairman of the South African Customer Satisfaction Index, the 73.3 score compares favourably with other American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) licensed countries. Relative to the international ACSI, the UK is the international benchmark with a score of 78 out of 100 followed closely by the US (76), he says. Customer satisfaction with SA's mobile handsets industry ranks fourth internationally behind Turkey (74).
"We have seen a general downward trend in mobile satisfaction scores, which we believe is partly due to the last few years' disappointments with new-generation smartphone launches," says Schreuder.
"Compared to the big excitement of earlier model launches, customers are more muted in their responses. The marginal extra features and functionality weighed up against the ever-increasing prices of these top-end smartphones are being questioned, especially when customers have the choice of cheaper handsets that generally offer the same."
He points out Samsung has improved its customer satisfaction since last year, and it has done so in other markets as well.
In the US, says Schreuder, Apple sells nearly twice the number of smartphones Samsung does, yet Samsung came out on top this year in one critical metric - customer satisfaction.
"In South Africa, Samsung shares the customer satisfaction leadership position with Apple and other brands," he adds.
"BlackBerry's overall satisfaction score has declined further since last year, and it is now recording one of the lowest scores we have seen for customer satisfaction in South Africa." Schreuder believes Apple has a reputation for good quality, but its product refresh cycles seem really long when new Android phones seem to be released much more often.
Generating interest
He adds Apple and Samsung brands are appealing because both invest heavily in marketing - their total marketing spend is substantial. The innovative upgrade programme of consecutive generations of these handsets are launched with massive worldwide PR and live streaming events, which create a lot of interest and brand appeal, he notes.
On the other hand, he points out the initial key differentiator of BlackBerry Internet Service was effectively wiped out through competing messaging apps from both iPhone and Samsung. Another major contributor is BlackBerry's financial woes, which clearly had an effect on new handsets being launched, resulting in the brand falling out of favour with customers, he adds.
Schreuder explains the timing of the South African industry survey (January to June 2014) preceded the September launch of iPhone 6, yet new Samsung mobile models had already been launched.
"This is reflected in Samsung's increased satisfaction score compared to iPhone. We have seen this switching of first and second place in other parts of the world where the effect of launching a new model is only felt in customer satisfaction some time after the launch date, when the market has had an opportunity to actually buy and evaluate the new handsets," he concludes.
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