Competition Looms Over Support for Smartphones and Mobile Gadgets

By Kurt Hogan

As consumers welcome a budding array of home-based electronic and mobile gadgets into their lives, a competition is looming among industry players over where these consumers will turn for integrated technical support services.

It’s a crowded field of competitors, with communications providers, Internet service providers, software companies, manufacturers, retailers and other technology-centric companies, all of which are could vie for the right to devise and provide technical support services for consumers.

Communications providers are arguably the best equipped to do so. Why? Because they already deliver a variety of support services through time-honored customer relationships and well-established touch points, such as phone contacts, retail stores, websites and in-home service calls. 

However, recent global surveys by Accenture show that there appears to be a fundamental disconnect between providers’ perceptions and consumers’ views on where they might look for technical support, preferred delivery methods and willingness to pay for integrated services. Consumers surveyed preferred a variety of service modes, including in-home service visits, email support, remote access, live call-center and Web support. The same sets of customers are also ready to shell out for and reward for good service and the right customer experience. But interestingly, when asked about consumers’ willingness to pay for some types of routine computer services, providers underestimated their willingness to pay by 25 percent.  

Further, more than half (58 percent) of the smartphone consumers surveyed said they would look to mobile phone or smartphone providers – rather than communications providers – as a likely source of technical support for multiple devices. By contrast, 80 percent of communications providers said their industry was a good fit to provide mobile phones or smartphones with technical support. At the same time, Accenture’s research reveals that many companies are still evaluating how to offer technical support services in a way that would be well received by their end-user customers.

In other research, Accenture found that a majority of consumers (63 percent) who use many home and mobile electronics devices clearly prefer integrated technical support from a single company.

Communications companies have a tremendous opportunity to become the best choice for this critical mass of mobile-device users. But before taking action, providers must fully understand and consider customers’ preferences. For example, providers must be prepared to support consumers’ expectations for how they want technical support for their home and mobile devices. This is especially critical because, as our survey shows, consumers’ preferences vary greatly, encompassing remote assistance, in-person tech support at their homes, or in retail stores. Plus, providers need a deep understanding of their customers’ potential acceptance of remote technical support, before taking steps to cope with the impending consumer demand.

As far as demand is concerned, our surveys identified an emerging “critical mass" of consumers that is a prime target market for premium technical services. These consumers want integrated technical support across a variety of devices. Communications providers are reasonably well positioned to offer such tech support services to their customers, creating another potential opportunity to become a single point of tech support. 

When all is said and done, if communications providers identify the right mix of support scope and price points, the combination of increased customer demand and the availability of cost-effective solutions can open the door for service providers to enhance relevance and value with customers, leading to further differentiation in a hotly competitive market.

Kurt Hogan is executive director, premium technology services, in Accenture’s communications practice.