70% of UK customers would defect for higher speed: Sky users least likely to churn

14 Jan 2009 | 11.30 Europe/London

Sky customers are the least likely to switch their ISP, independent research from Strategy Analytics reveals.

The American research company found that, despite most UK consumers reporting satisfaction with their existing ISP, 70% would consider churning in favour of a rival supplier if the right deal were on offer. Crucially, speed is the most important factor which would tempt subscribers to a switch supplier and is, perhaps surprisingly, considered above price.

As the researchers behind the study conclude, the findings appear to vindicate ISPs which are rolling out high speed offerings which some experts have previously professed to be too expensive for the current market.

"The study results underline the importance of speed to the UK broadband consumer," said Ben Piper, analyst and Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service. "This is particularly relevant in light of Virgin's recent launch of its 50 Mbps product. In order to stay in the game, competitors will need to quickly and nimbly match or beat the Virgin offering."
The research found that of the major UK ISPs Sky customers reported the highest level of satisfaction with 87% reporting they were ‘very’ of ‘somewhat’ satisfied with the operator.

Another key finding was that the major barrier to people considering switching is the perception that it will be difficult to arrange and so the researchers believe this opens up a new marketing route for ISPs who should not only be advertising their latest offers but also reassuring companies how simple it can be to switch supplier.

"Companies that focus on minimizing customer disruption and inconvenience during switchover will go a long way toward increasing their subscriber base," noted David Mercer, Vice-President of the Strategy Analytics Digital Consumer Practice.