Telstra: Internet and Mobile Phone Services Market Research

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Purpose

Telstra Corporation invites all interested tenders to submit their proposals for marketing research at Telstra Corporation with the focus on the internet and mobile phone services provided by the company. The research should concentrate on the company pricing policy in order to increase its competitiveness on the telecommunications market; and customer services satisfaction on the territory of Australia. The successful applicants may be further invited to participate in the consequent stages of analysis and project implementation.

Background

Telstra Corporation has been one of the leading Australian telecommunications company. The Corporation deals primarily with landline and mobile phone services, the internet and intrnet, business data services and cable television. The major strength of the company is a developed landline and mobile services infrastructure that covers extended area in the country as well as abroad. Telstra provides services to the majority of 19 million mobile service and internet subscribers in Australia (more than 31% of the total number of subscribers).

Currently, the Australian telecommunications market is one of the biggest on the territory of Asia and the tenth largest market in the world, according to WITSA Digital Planet 2002.

Telstra provides basic access services to most homes and businesses in Australia, local and long-distance calls in all the regions of Australia and international calls to and from Australia; extensive mobile telecommunication services, and broadband access and content. Telstra also provides a comprehensive range of data and Internet services as well as management of business customers’ IT and telecommunication services, advertising, search and information services, cable distribution services for cable subscription television services.

The growth of mobile communications in Australia surpasses the growth of fixed communications. The Australian market is shared by several carriers: Telstra (32%), Singtel (17%) and Powertel (16%), with Telstra occupying the dominant position in all the above mentioned areas.

In the year of 2004 – 2005, Australians made 8.5 billion local phone calls, used 6.75 mobile minutes, and sent 2.3 SMS messages using Telstra services, and these numbers are increasingly growing which indicates the growth of the market.

Telstra owns 50% of FOXTEL®; on the international arena, it includes CSL New World Mobility Group, one of Hong Kong’s leading mobile operators, TelstraClear Limited, the second service carrier in New Zealand and Reach Ltd, as well as SouFun Holdings Limited, a leading real estate and furnishings website in China.

Although domestically Telstra is still occupying the dominant position on the market, its share prices have been decreasing. The company also has to deal with increasing client complaints and persistent failures to communicate its message to the target audiences and effectively present the key information to its customers.

At the present moment, the major cause of complaints is the new 3G technology that the company has lately introduced (comprises about 60% of all received customer complaints), the service prices and customer support quality. According to the data of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), the customer complaints have grown by a third. The biggest number of complaints concerns the quality of the mobile services – almost 88%. Mobile service complaints now surpass the landline service complaints. 25% of all complaints concern billing, 17% – customer service, 20% concern contracts dissatisfaction, and 20% – mobile service faults. The Reliability and Service Survey conducted by Haymarket Media PC Authority magazine conducted in 2006 among the carriers of mobile and internet services indicated that 50% of the Telstra Internet service users would not recommend this service to a friend, and 26% reported that they are dissatisfied with the value of the offer. Only 54% of the surveyed users said that they were satisfied or highly satisfied with the company services. No other company on the list of surveyed organization scored worse results than Telestra. Thus, by the Haymarket Media PC Authority magazine Telstra Corporation was claimed to be the biggest and yet the most dissatisfying mobile and internet service provider in Australia.

Previous Research

In 2007 IE Market Research Corp. provided report on the analysis of the operational and financial data of Telstra with the focus on the main strategic issues and market challenges, such as the fight for the broadband market share. The report also highlights the main financial trends for Telstra and mobile market share increase.

In 2004 Telstra commissioned research of mobile services provided for businesses. Research was conducted by ACA Research and concluded that about 50% of the businesses surveyed indicated that they are going continuously increase mobile phone usage. The main mobile service applications: 90% email sending & receiving, 85% – corporate intranet access, 79% – internet access, 80% – office systems and databases operation. While 95% expressed their belief in the future of the mobile technologies, 89% also displayed some concern. The main reasons for concern are: costs of implementing and introducing mobile services and devices as well as data security.

In 2001 Telstra contracted with Adelaide University to improve its data communications with a special focus on the internet and predict future trends of infrastructure developments. The main goal of the research is outlining the network structure and set up so that large amounts of information could be stored and transmitted.

Extensive opinion polls on the use of mobile services, high speed internet, etc is also contained on the Telstra administered web site.

Need for Research

The given research will be used primarily in order to increase the competitiveness of the Telstra Corporation on the telecommunications market in Australia in terms of its pricing policy. It shall also define and analyze the current attitudes of the customer towards the services provided, and thus later result in a strong communication campaign and key messages. In addition to that, the research will also focus on identifying the main factors that stimulate the customer to purchase particular services, so that the key information could later be correspondingly presented to the customer. The need for the research arises primarily from the customer feedback and share price decreases that the Corporation has recently faced. Since the telecommunications market in Australia is constantly growing, Telstra Corporation needs to keep up with the recent trends and developments in order to preserve its position on the market and attract new clients and partners.

Research Objectives

This research will focus on:

Identifying and analyzing current customer attitude toward the services provided;
Researching the aspects that form customer opinion and feedback on the service;
Identifying the gaps existing between the expected and existing quality service;
Analyzing the customer behavior towards pricing policy in order to tailor it to the needs and trends of the changing economy and requirements of the continuously growing Australian telecommunications market;
Analyzing pricing policy of the competitive companies in order to retrieve main trends and pricing solutions;
Defining the range of opportunities and challenges presented by the new 3G technology, and customer behavior concerned with it;
Evaluating the current state of the customer support and related services for further improvements;
Identifying the most effective customer messages to introduce the desired customer behavior.

Target Audiences

The research shall focus on all high-speed internet and mobile services users with the ability to single out each group. The main target group should include average-income citizens, 19-35 years of age. The data as to the variations by the age segments shall also be presented.

Special Audiences

In order to increase the effectiveness of the communication campaign, Telstra Corporation is turning its attention to special target groups. Special attention should be given to the following categories:

Marginalized groups (low-income rural and urban families, single-parent families, etc.);
Non-native English language speakers – both citizens and non-citizens (19-35 years of age);
People with disabilities (mental or physical disability, or both, 19-35 years of age). In this case, the attention should be given to the special accommodations and requirements of this group, as well as the opportunities that mobile and internet services could present for them.

The Proposal

The proposal should include, but is not limited to:

Consultant’s comprehension and understanding of the main issues involved into the research;
Consultant’s resume or curriculum vitae, or resume or curriculum vitae of the consultant’s staff proposed for the conduct of the research;
Consultant’s experience in handling any relevant projects and research, references of the former clients;
Proposed timeline of the research and a detailed budget with a short description of research activities;
Possible further solutions and developments, as well as general recommendations for the comapny;
Plan and methodology of the research, including main guidelines to ensure quality data and effective subsequent analysis.

The subsequent to the proposal project shall identify a comprehensive and competitive pricing policy for the Telstra Corporation as well means of its introduction and effectiveness monitoring. It will also concentrate on the improvements of the customer services in order to build client loyalty and long-term customer relationship. The estimate for the market research campaign lies between $60 000 and 80 000. The total amount of such research will depend on the methodology offered and implemented by the consultant, duration of the research and tools implemented in the course of it.

Proposal Requirements: 20 pages or less, A4 format, 12 font size, double-spaced, numbered pages, executive summary – no more than 2 pages, table of contents, 3 copies of the proposal.

Selection Criteria

The selection of the successful candidates will be based on:

The Consultant’s understanding of the key issues and clear vision of the possible solutions following the research;
Ability to meet the timeline and budget requirements;
Relevant project and research experience in similar fields or concerning similar issues;
Effective methodology of the proposed activities;
Demonstrated flexibility and organizational skills to ensure the success of the research.

Selection Process

Selection process will base on the two main stages:

Questions and answers session, the purpose of which is to look in detail at the aspects of the brief and answer questions that the consultants might have concerning the goals and objectives of the research. The questions and answers session will be held with the executives of the Telstra Corporation;
Selection of the successful candidates by the panel of executives.

Reporting

The Consultant (s) shall present the results of the survey in the following manner:

Give a short presentation of the results supported by the written report that will include the methodology and tools used for conducting the research (questionnaires, focus groups, etc.);
Dates when the research was conducted with the short description of the held activities;
Analysis of the research results;
Recommendations for the further stages of project development.

Conflict of Interests

The consultant will be engaged using a standard Australian Government contract that requires the consultant to declare any risk of conflict of interest. Where Telstra Corporation establishes, from information provided by the consultant or other information available to it, that a conflict of interest exists, such a conflict may be grounds for exclusion of the consultant from consideration for this consultancy after an opportunity is given to discuss the matter with the consultant. In the event the department establishes a conflict of interest exists after the engagement of the consultancy, the contract between the department and the consultancy may be terminated by letter in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contract.

Security, Confidentially, and Copyright

The information in this brief is confidential. The consultant and other persons working on this project will be bound by Public Service regulations with respect to confidentiality. All information gathered in relation to the project is the property of the Australian Government. No consultant involved in the tender process is at liberty to disclose any of this information to any other party. If confidential information is leaked during the tender process this may be grounds for exclusion of the consultant from consideration for this consultancy. The successful consultant is also not at liberty to disclose any of this information to any other party and if information is leaked after the successful consultant is appointed this may be grounds for termination of the contract.

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