Too complicated and too much
Three quarters of UK financial management professionals believe that mobile operators offer unnecessarily complicated pricing structures that lead to the over-charging of customers, according to new research conducted on behalf of Orange through the Confirm-IT research system.
Compounding a level of mistrust, 81 per cent also pointed out mobile operators now charge for associated services, such as answerphone and replacement handsets, that used to be free.
“Mobile operators have been too busy navel gazing and not thinking enough about how we can make things better for our customers,” says Alastair MacLeod, vice president, Orange Business Solutions. “The findings confirm our own thoughts; that businesses just want a straight-forward, crystal clear package of prices and services. We aim to make it as easy as possible for businesses to find the best deal if they choose not to commit considerable resources to the task.”
Eighty five per cent of financial management professionals argue that complex tariffs and pricing make it impossible to determine the true value of offerings from operators.
“We’re rewriting the mobile rulebook on the back of the research,” says MacLeod. “Instead of a myriad of packages and offers, we’ve created a single package that is applicable to all businesses and open to existing as well as new customers. What’s more, it includes all the services that businesses want the most.”
According to the research, the top three services most demanded by financial management professionals are free mobile phone calls between colleagues, free voicemails and effective tariff reviews.
Launching today, Business Plus is a package that reflects these demands and offers businesses of all sizes a broad range of benefits including:
No per minute charges between colleagues
Free answerphone service
Free 24-hour replacement of lost or stolen phones
Proactive mid-contract tariff review
Loyalty discounts for longer contracts
Dedicated business customer services with no automated services
Appropriate call bundles are chosen by the customer, with the proactive mid-contract tariff review ensuring that they are on the most appropriate package as their businesses grow and change. Further clarity is offered by an online instant tariff checker that allows customers to see how much Orange saves them compared to other UK mobile operators.