Six Ways Mobile Carriers Can Improve in 2015

What would make for a perfect mobile phone carrier in 2015? Everyone wants more for less but mobile is not a zero sum game. It is not just about free phones and cheap service in the business world. Businesses want the best of everything and in an age when carriers look more and more alike they have to work hard to differentiate themselves to stay competitive.

As you research small business wireless plans for your company these six things should make a difference in your decision making:

The smaller carriers are on the right track with unlimited data. We are on our mobile phones more using larger amounts of data than ever before. An unlimited data plan gives me comfort knowing I won't have to sign off on a huge cell phone bill when I watch employees streaming GoToMeeting video calls on 4G.

Paying for unlimited data is great but carriers need to make it affordable to add a tablet to that bottomless bucket of data. Yes it may be easy to connect an iPad to your iPhone these days but having an iPad with a sim card built in is even more convenient, especially when you are pressed for time.

Being able to remotely add and manage work apps and email with sensitive information saves time and money for businesses of any size. As employees expect to be able to use their own phone for work functions and we read about companies getting hacked on a weekly basis, security is more than just a concern. It is now in the forefront of every decision made so the ability to lock and wipe any business related data off a cell phone is of the utmost importance. Customers are no longer subjected to only using the mobile devices that their carriers (e.g., AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) supply. Customers have many more options in terms of their hardware preferences, whether it is an Apple iPhone or a Samsung, and can purchase them anywhere. They are keeping their devices longer and also want the flexibility to use their devices with any carrier. With this shift in customer preferences, carriers need to acknowledge this and find a way to generate revenue. Movius new myIdentities solution provides the flexibility necessary to address these multiple device management trends, while also helping carriers to bring in alternate sources of revenue.

Carriers need to find significant ways to differentiate themselves from each other and I believe the easiest way is going to be with OTT add-ons to plans. Right now the general publics consensus of carriers are just that they offer good or bad reception for either a reasonable or too expensive of a price. No one ever says, oh wow, that price is just too low. So the add-on services is what will separate the carriers from one another. A few examples of what I would like to see are every 1,000 accounts a company has with a carrier could get it concierge access for 5 employees or 10 airport club memberships or 20 Boingo (airplane wifi) accounts. For a small business accounts it could be if you have an annual bill of $3,000 or more you would get an automatic 10% discount at FedEx or complimentary upgrades at certain hotels. These are the types of things that gets consumers excited. Help them in their every day lives!

Anyone who has traveled outside of their home country probably knows the pain of an international roaming bill. Offloading cellular network calls onto WiFi is one of the key ways I believe a carrier can help their customers. This is on the road map for many of the cell phone companies in the US in 2015 and it can't come soon enough. Allowing users to make calls from anywhere in the world over WiFi is going to cut roaming fees but also speed up carrier networks by offloading some of their busy tower traffic onto ISP services. This will help at home and abroad.

Lastly and possibly most important is understanding and caring for your customers. According to one mother I spoke to recently, she does not feel like her carrier gets her. In her words, "I honestly don't feel like my carrier could care less about me. I'm a mom with two jobs, I need more data and split billing". This customer has a large bill every month but cannot customize a plan to her specific small business needs. In this age of social media and instant customer interaction, she could complain on Twitter and within minutes have another carrier's social media team sweep her off her feet. If companies can maintain loyal customers by making them feel special and giving them a competitive price, they will keep them for years.

These are some of the top qualities I look for in a service. What would you
add to this list?