According to new research from J.D. Power Associates, the overall purchase satisfaction among customers who visited non-carrier-owned stores (such as Target or Best Buy, as well as independent authorized dealers) has improved by 52 points since 2011. The overall satisfaction rates among customers at non-carrier-owned stores was 792 (on a 1,000-point scale), while the satisfaction rates at carrier-owned stores was 805.
“Overall, the scores are still higher among carrier-owned stores, but the non-carrier stores are catching up,” Kirk Parsons, senior director of the telecommunications services practice at J.D. Power, tells Marketing Daily.
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The biggest factor for improvement is better device selection among non-carrier-owned stores, where satisfaction scores saw a 77-point improvement over the three-year period since 2011. “Now they’re getting the latest and greatest offerings as well,” Parsons says.
In addition, more full-service consumers who are looking to upgrade their phone or device are heading to non-carrier-owned stores (24% vs. 19%, respectively), according to the report. “Definitely, consumers are a lot more savvy. They do their homework, and they know what they’re looking for,” Parsons says. “Consumers are already familiar with the service for the carriers. It’s now about getting a brand new device or adding lines.”
The advantage for the company-owned stores comes down to its employees, who tend to be more knowledgable and better-trained than their counterparts at non-company-owned stores, Parsons says. Scores in the sales representative channel were significantly higher (809 vs. 795) for carrier-owned stores.
“[Salespeople] are trained better and with more vigor in carrier-owned stores than in the non-carrier-owned stores,” Parsons
says. “That’s the biggest challenge they have [in closing the gap].”
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