Loyalty Enhancing Communication for Telecom Customer Relationships : A Qualitative Study of Telecom Customers

Abstract: The telecommunication business has been transformed in Sweden through the past few years. Previously telecom industry was under monopoly which has now been converted into more competitive market in which more competitors have entered and offering various alternatives of different kinds of services. TeliaSonera has been one of biggest telecommunication service providers in Sweden which is amalgamation between two big companies; Telia, a major Swedish company and Sonera which is Finish counterpart of Telia. Currently, TeliaSonera is offering various communication services to its customers such as Broadband, TV, Fix telephone connections and Mobile phone services. TeliaSonera is offering these services to both kinds of customers; i.e. business and residential customers.The purpose of this research project is to understand the telecom customers‟ switching behavior in detail by distinguishing between two different kinds of customer experiences which are active customers and passive customers, based on their specific characteristics and to learn to design a communication that is effective not only for one kind of customers‟ e.g. active customers but also for passive customers that have been found challenging regarding communication reception generally. By analyzing the outcomes, researchers would be able to demonstrate different features which need to be taken under consideration while communicating to each of these customers. The research has been carried out with an explorative research approach and qualitative interviewing with 13 students of Karlstad University in two parts. Through this research process, the researchers have built the understanding regarding what triggers influence the customers to switch and what kind of communication attracts them in order to make a decision about staying with current operator or switching to the new one. The theoretical framework is constructed on previous research on customer behavior, customer relationship management and contemporary written communication in the field of service management and marketing.The results of the research show that passive customers are more inclined towards the communication that focuses mainly on cheaper price options and they should be frequently communicated the cheaper options whereas active customers mainly search actively for the moreiiirich information therefore they should be communicated various innovative services and beneficial packages through social networking platforms and emailing newsletters.