A few months ago, a survey conducted by Market Force revealed T-Mobile to be the nation's favorite carrier. Now a survey conducted by JD Power Associates has named T-Mobile to be the top dog in wireless satisfaction among business customers.
The survey also revealed that unlimited data is a driving force behind customer satisfaction in the business class.
"Just as consumer wireless customers dread getting those data overage notifications, business wireless customers prefer the predictable budgeting and unrestricted employee access that comes with unlimited data plans, even if those plans cost more"- Peter Cunningham, Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Practice Lead at J.D. Power
On a 1,000 point scale, those with unlimited wireless data rated their carrier satisfaction at an average score of 822. Those without unlimited data gave their carrier an average score of 782. That works out to be about a 5% difference in overall satisfaction between the two groups. In the consumer market, the gap was smaller between the two groups coming in at just 2.5%.
The survey also revealed that business customers are much more likely to want an unlimited data plan compared to their consumer counterparts. A whopping 69% of business customers choose unlimited data plans compared to just 27% of consumers.
Among business customers who have unlimited data plans, 80% said they "definitely will not" or "probably will not" switch to another carrier. However that number drops to 73% when business customers are on a data limiting plan.
Other study highlights showed that unlimited texting and international roaming also drive higher satisfaction. So too, does the size of a business. Those in large business markets were more likely to be satisfied with their wireless service compared to those in either small to midsize or very small business markets. No reason was given for this particular difference, although it's possible that smaller businesses find the plans to be less affordable.
JD Power defined large business markets to have more than 500 employees, small to midsize markets 20-499 employees, and very small businesses to have 1-19 employees.
How The Carriers Fared
T-Mobile ranked number 1 in all 3 business market segments. Among the large enterprise market, the carrier scored an 849 out of 1,000, in the small to midsize segment it got a score of 813, while in the very small business segment it got an 805.
AT&T came in 2nd in the large enterprise segment with a score of 820. Sprint came in 2nd with a score of 800 in the small to midsize markets, while Verizon came in 2nd with a score of 770 in the very small business markets.
About The Surveys
The surveys were based on responses from 2,707 wireless customers divided among the large, small to midsize and very small enterprise markets. Satisfaction was measured across 6 different factors including performance and reliability; offerings and promotions; cost of service; sales representative and account executive; billing; and customer service.