Telecommunications
Product Positioning Research: A large, regional telecommunications company wanted to increase usage of its most profitable telephone service package. Qualitative research, using focus groups, was conducted among customers who subscribed to this package as well as those who subscribed to other less profitable service packages. Results revealed that the product appealed to different consumers depending on their desire for specific telephone features and their habits regarding Internet use. MDRG advised the telecommunications company to develop a communications plan that would address these specific issues and provided recommendations for developing a positioning strategy that would have the broadest appeal.

Customer Retention Product Design: A regional telecommunications company was facing an imminent deregulated telecommunications industry. As part of their strategy to discourage customers from switching to other local carriers, the client was planning to roll out a new product. The client wanted to understand how consumers would react to this product and what impact, if any, this would have on customer loyalty. Focus groups were used to explore the appeal and usefulness of the product among various groups of consumers. Results were used to refine the product's design and develop a marketing plan to introduce the product.

Maximizing Sales Efforts: A large, regional telecommunications company wanted to evaluate a service they had developed for a specific demographic group. Research revealed that customers who tended to enthusiastically respond to the service tended to be those who had been educated about the benefits of the service by their salesman. Those customers who were not as enthusiastic, and even expressed some negative viewpoints about the service, tended to be individuals who lacked a clear understanding of how the service worked, and how it benefited them. The client was advised that in order to maximize positive response to the service, sales training should focus on explaining specific features and benefits of the service.

Telecommunications Brand Equity Tracker: A relatively new telephone company offering bundled telephone service including local and long distance service sought to gauge the effectiveness of its advertising in one of the markets in which it was beginning operations. Effectiveness would be gauged by the extent to which awareness of the client's brand increased over time and the extent to which consumers expressed interest in the concept. High concept interest in the clients product offering presented the client with an opportunity for expansion; though specific changes to the brand positioning would be necessary to build a recognizable brand image.

Telecommunications Product Concept Test:A telecommunications company was interested in expanding its services to include cable television and high-speed Internet service. The client was interested not only in evaluating consumers' interest in their concept, but also in determining the likelihood that they would switch providers for a telecommunications package like this one. Results suggested that there was sufficient interest to justify offering the single-provider telecommunications package, and while cost was the major factor driving selection of telecommunications service providers, dissatisfaction with current phone and cable television service providers was also a significant disincentive.

Telecommunications Product Package Optimization: A telephone company offering a comprehensive package of telephone services including both local and long distance service sought to determine the optimal configuration of product features to offer in its various operating areas. The research utilized a conjoint methodology to determine the trade-offs consumers are willing to make between cost and features of phone service packages. The research was used to determine which packages would generate the highest consumer purchase intent and which features of the product packages would drive satisfaction with the product.