Enterprises have gone beyond the primitive model of "traditional services" and started to transform from simple repair services to personalized, diversified and user-oriented services. CCID Consulting's eighth survey of mobile phone users' satisfaction with their services shows that China's mobile phone after-sales service industry has topped 3 billion Yuan in size. With the application of 3G products, new services such as valued-added services have grown quickly. In the future, mobile phone services will continue their fast growth trend, topping 7 billion Yuan in the next 5 years.
In the face of the opportunities which 3G brings to the mobile phone service market, the key for enterprises to seize the first market opportunity lies in how vendors, operators and services providers are pursuing consumers' differentiated demands and forming personalized services.
Mobile phone vendors: expand non-warranty repair services, and push forward new 3G services
Services currently provided by mobile phone vendors are mainly divided into warranty repair services and non-warranty services (non-guaranteed services and new services). In 2006, non-warranty mobile phone repair services were still in a dominant position, accounting for 79.6% of the overall repair services.
Value-added services became a new flashing point in the market, experiencing a notable rise in both market size and share. Its total market size reached 270 million Yuan. In 3G competition, mobile phone vendors have introduced end products with more related functions, while diversified product functions are bound to push forward the growth of value-added services.
With the increase of mobile phone functions, users' demand for services has also grown. For example, regarding the video transmission function, which has attracted a lot of attention, vendors can make use of their online service advantages and directly provide users with such news services as plug-in downloading. The wider range of applications for 3G functions has also put forward higher requirements for vendors' services. Some emerging services will become new growth areas for mobile phone vendors.
Operators: customized services growth deepens integration in service industry
Currently, operators are gradually gaining an important position in the mobile phone industry. Operators' relevant services affect not only product functions but also after-sales services for mobile phones. In the future 3G market, customized mobile phones will get more market shares. The emergence of such customized products will bring more customization businesses to operators. Meanwhile, after-sales repair services for the customized products will also be brought into the spotlight. Through their head office or provincial branches, operators can coordinate and unify their after-sales service resources, and introduce professional after-sales service management platforms.
Due to their focus on service product development and maintenance, operators do not have notable advantages in professional repair. This actually promotes operators to cooperate over after-sales services with other enterprises in the services industry. In the cooperation process, operators can fully exhibit their 3G-related services in the application and maintenance areas. Services providers can also provide operators with total after-sales service solutions and greatly push forward their future business growth. Therefore, the emerging market of operator services will be a focus of attention in the future 3G market.
Services providers: value-added 3G services are becoming a new profit growth point
With the wide-ranging applications of music, TV and games in mobile phones, mobile entertainment and businesses will become new flashing points in the market. In the future, more 3G-based technologies will be used to make information highly portable.
To adapt to market changes, service providers must continue to upgrade the content of their mobile phone services. While operators provide value-added services to meet changing user demand, a new direction for development has also been suggested for mobile phone service content. This thus specifies the new profit growth point for mobile phone services.
The 3G concept is gradually gaining in popularity. Service providers can take this opportunity to introduce serial 3G experience activities. While publicizing their own services, they can lay the foundation for expansion into the future 3G market.
The greatest feature of experience-based services is its ability to highlight personalized user experiences. To a certain extent, the promotion of experience-based services has broken the inherent model of traditional services. In face-to-face contact with consumers, service providers can have a more intuitive feeling of service needs. As 3G services offer huge profit margins, improving service capabilities and seizing the first market opportunities are the ways for enterprises to take up the new value-added market.
