This report first appeared in Gulf Marketing Review's April 2008 issue. The full report with statistics is available for download at the bottom of this page.

Overview

The telecommunication industry, while previously was monopoly-based, has morphed to become a highly competitive one. Three telecommunication providers were evaluated; Etisalat, du and Mobily. Etisalat is a well-established telecommunications provider, while both du and Mobily are relatively new entrants. Mobily is a subsidiary of Etisalat, acting in the Saudi market, while du and Etisalat are competitors in the UAE market.

Public Perception

Survey results for Etisalat indicate that there’s a clear relationship between nationality and satisfaction level; Expatriate Arabs being the most satisfied and Westerners being the least satisfied, implying that there’s an individual comparison between Etisalat’s services and the services customers have grown familiar with in their own home countries. There was also a significant level of indifference among Westerners, which may be resultant in a low level of expectations of the services.

There seems to be a relationship between age and level of satisfaction as well. The higher the age, the lower the satisfaction, which may be due to the higher quality of services and variety of features demanded and expected by those of higher ages, in comparison to the younger population.

The higher the income, the lower the satisfaction, which again may be attributed to the level of demand and expectations raised by those with higher incomes. They are willing to pay more for better services, which is not attained in this case. Females are more satisfied than males.

Survey results indicate that there’s also a relationship between nationality and satisfaction level for du. Expatriate Arabs and others are the most satisfied and Westerners are the least satisfied, due to comparison to the services they have grown to expect from their own countries. However, interestingly, only 2% of UAE nationals indicated satisfaction with du’s services, which can be attributed to nationals preferring dealing with Etisalat, leaving du to the expatriates.

The higher the age, the higher the level of satisfaction, which is the opposite trend witnessed in Etisalat. This can be due to the nature of du’s services, such as its international calls offers, its billing per second, etc.

The higher the income, the less the satisfaction is for du. High-income individuals demand better services and are willing to pay for it. As for gender, females seem to be slightly more satisfied, which is a pattern exhibited across the different companies. It is worth noting that all of du’s results indicate a very high level of indifference in the survey results, which can be clearly attributed to the vast untapped market by du. The majority of UAE residents are Etisalat customers.

As for Mobily, survey results indicate a slightly higher dissatisfaction amongst Saudis compared to other nationalities. The higher the age, the higher the level of satisfaction is. In addition to, a high level of indifference. Customers are neither very happy nor unhappy with Mobily’s services.

The higher the income, the higher the satisfaction level. This is not the case with Etisalat. The only exceptions to this rule are those with incomes below $1,600, which is probably due to Mobily’s numerous discount offers and promotions. Gender does not seem to play a role in terms of satisfaction levels.

Media Coverage

The media coverage for Etisalat, Mobily and du in the Saudi and UAE markets throughout the month of February 2008, indicate that Mobily achieved the highest prominence value; 0.79, followed by du with 0.49 and finally Etisalat with 0.42. However, it also provides that Etisalat had the highest amount of coverage, the greatest coverage size, impressions and real advertising value equivalence. du came in 2nd place in terms of those respective categories and Mobily came in last.

Interestingly, 92.1% of Mobily’s messages were positive reputation drivers and 17% were negative reputation drivers, while du had 70.3% positive reputation drivers and 6% negative reputation drivers. Finally, 77.8% of Etisalat’s messages were positive reputation drivers and 1.15% negative reputation drivers. Evident by these findings, Mobily has the highest percentage of positive and negative reputation drivers and Etisalat had the lowest level of negative reputation drivers.

92.1% of Mobily’s messages were resultant from PR work, while 75% and 73.8% are du’s and Etisalat’s PR influence respectively. Evident from the media coverage findings, it seems that Mobily’s coverage is highly resultant from PR with high percentage of positive reputation drivers and highly prominent mentions.

Etisalat’s coverage featured messages that may explain its customers’ satisfaction level. Etisalat experienced slight damage to its network relative to the other providers, during the network disruption from Jan 31st to Feb 11th. Etisalat took necessary precautions for the Internet cut. Etisalat also completed its FTTH deployment, launched 3.5G package as well as a 4Mbps internet speed service, which stands testimony to Etisalat always trying to upgrade its services and network ahead of others.

Etisalat opened new branches in Virgin, introduced installment payment schemea, struck an agreement with HCT, and another to provide WiFi for the hospitality industry. It also offered a Dhs9 per month fee across 12 months for expired Wasel accounts. These messages imply that Etisalat always tries to make things easier for customers by opening outlets in areas closer to them and introducing easy payment methods for customers to be able to afford its services. Finally, Etisalat won a customer care award and trained its Nigerian staff, which indicates that Etisalat tries to keep its services up to date in all the countries it operates in.

The relation between Etisalat’s messages and activities with the survey results is strong. Etisalat had the highest level of satisfaction in relation to the other telecommunication companies, by achieving a 42% total level of satisfaction.

In contrast, du’s messages included the internet cut which affected du’s services as well as complaints from RAK citizens about the low coverage. These messages go inline with the very low satisfaction found in the poll, as du achieved a measly 7% satisfaction level. du is new and seems to be in the process of adjusting, evident by the frequent replacement of its CEOs.

It must be noted that du did feature positive messages such as its deal for ICT development, deal to provide WiFi at Dubai Festival City and on its rerouting of voice calls. These provide evidence that du keeps trying to improve services, but it still has a long way to go.

Mobily achieved a total level of satisfaction of 28%. Its messages included its apology for the Uzaniah service outage. Mobily is still new and has some problems, but on the backdrop of the experience of its parent company, Etisalat, it is managing to improve its customer care and develop itself.

Mobily featured messages such as its opening of new branches in the South, Western Region and Bareeda, as well as its promotions for PTS, Internet and Post-Paid packages, its MMS agreements and its WiFi for pilgrims. The Saudi operator is obviously working hard to reach all members of the Saudi population in all areas.

Mobily’s messages also featured its deals with Huawei for HSDPA deployment and with Motorola to expand its network. Finally, Mobily ranks high on customer satisfaction according to the media coverage. Despite being new, it is gaining on the experience of its parent; Etisalat, to develop fast and gain recognition among Saudi customers.

Conclusion

It seems clear that Etisalat reigns in comparison to the other providers; however, Mobily seems to be fast catching pace with Etisalat in terms of its customers’ satisfaction level. du, on the other hand, seems to be falling far behind and is suffering from high level of dissatisfaction, due to its internal problems and poorer quality of services. du should either try to gain on the totally lacking nationals segment or focus on distinguishing its niche as the provider for the expatriates. Mobily should look into improving the low level of satisfaction, while Etisalat needs to maintain its current standing.