In collaboration with Dr. Bob E. Hayes, PhD of Business Over Broadway, Mob4Hire’s 111-country ‘Global Wireless Satisfaction Survey’ reveals the importance of Mobile Apps on the wider ecosystem; especially network operators.

1.
2010
March 16
Mob4Hire
Global Wireless
Satisfaction Survey
Research Report A:
We Make
Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway report
on the role of Apps in the mobile ecosystem.
Mobile Better.

2.
Executive Summary
Business Over Broadway (BOB; www.businessoverbroadway.com), customer
satisfaction and loyalty experts, helped design the survey instrument and
research design. This particular study on wireless service providers, which
included both loyalty‐ and quality‐related questions, was powered by
Mob4Hire (www.mob4hire.com) who provided the online data collection tool
and consumer panels. This summary is a first look at the data gathered.
Sample Description
Mob4Hire panelists (or Mobsters) were recruited through an opt‐in process. All respondents for this study
are testers for Mob4Hire and were rewarded with a nominal financial incentive for completing the survey.
The survey was fielded in February 2010, asking a sample of 5000 mobile app savvy users in the Mob4Hire
community from around the world ages 18 or older about their user experience with respect to mobile
applications, their mobile phone and wireless service provider. The survey respondents are primarily male
(82%) with a median age of 25 years. A highly educated sample, 57% of the respondents have a 4‐year
degree or higher. The worldwide sample of respondents represented 111 countries, 204 wireless service
providers and 179 distinct mobile handsets.
Summary of Findings
This unprecedented global survey reveals the role of mobile applications in the wider ecosystem of the users’
mobile experience. We found that the quality of mobile apps is a key driver of customer loyalty for the early
mobile app adopters in our sample for both wireless service providers and mobile devices. Mobile apps now
add a new level of complexity to whether service providers keep customers, and more importantly, how they
attract new customers.
List of Figures
1. Top reasons for switching wireless service providers
2. Number of mobile applications downloaded in the past three months (by handset)
3. Number of mobile applications purchased in the past three months (by handset)
4. Number of mobile applications downloaded in past three months (by mobile satisfaction)
5. Number of mobile applications purchased in the past three months (by mobile satisfaction)
6. Rating the performance of 33 operators related to users’ mobile app experience
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Copyright © 2010 Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway

3. Highlights of the study
Network Operator Churn: The Impact of Apps on Mobile Ecosystem
The importance of mobile apps as an emerging component of operator customer loyalty is not surprising, but
the magnitude shown by the research is:
1. 75% of respondents indicated that mobile applications are important in their decision to select a
network operator.
2. 32% of the survey respondents say mobile apps are extremely important (10 out of 10) when
choosing their new operator.
3. 27% of mobile users who replied to the survey indicated that they are likely to switch to another
network operator within the next 12 months.
4. Top reasons for switching wireless service providers were related to poor value (64%) poor
customer service (53%) and poor coverage/reliability (~49%). Interestingly, nearly 40% of likely
switchers cite lack of mobile applications as a reason for leaving an operator. Also, poor variety of
phones played a minor role for customers switching (28%). After primary product/service features,
mobile applications play a significant role in churn rates for wireless service providers
Figure 1. Top reasons for switching wireless service providers.
.
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Copyright © 2010 Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway

4. Mobile Application User Experience
1. Nearly three‐quarters (72%) of respondents were satisfied with the performance of mobile
applications on their phone.
2. 89% of mobile users in the survey report that applications crash on their phones. Almost half (48%)
of the respondents report that applications crash regularly.
3. There were differences between genders in their mobile application experience. More men (72%)
were satisfied with the mobile application performance compared to women (64%). More women
(54%) regularly experienced mobile applications crashes (57%) compared to men (47%).
4. About half (53%) of the respondents used one mobile application store in the past three months. 47%
of the respondents used two or more mobile application stores in the past three months. A majority
of iPhone users and Motorola users typically use one mobile application store while users of HTC
phones and RIM users typically use two or more mobile application stores.
5. When considering downloading/purchasing mobile applications, users typically like to see at least a
4‐star rating before they download/purchase the mobile application.
6. About 86% of users have downloaded at least 1 mobile application in the past three months. About
42% of users have purchased at least 1 mobile application in the past three months. For iPhone
users, 98% have downloaded at least 1. On the other end of the analysis, 83% of Samsung users
have downloaded at least 1.
7. On average, people downloaded 5 to 7 free apps in the last 3 months. At the same time, paid apps
downloads were low, with only 1 purchase per person.
8. Not surprisingly, iPhone users are the most active mobile app users. What is surprising, however, is
how large the gap is with other handset manufacturers. iPhone users download the most free mobile
apps than any other handset manufacturer; 70% of users download 8 or more free apps.
Comparatively speaking, only 20% of Motorola’s users download 8 or more apps; a trend we see
reversing as Motorola’s line of Android handsets continues to make market inroads.
9. iPhone users also download the most paid apps, with over 60% purchasing more than 2, which
translates into real dollars for mobile developers (and Apple). With Motorola, it’s only 20% of users
who purchase at least 2 apps.
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5. Figure 2. Number of free mobile applications downloaded in the past three months.
Figure 3. Number of mobile applications purchased in the past three months.
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Copyright © 2010 Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway

6.
10. Users who were more satisfied with the performance of mobile applications on their phone
downloaded/purchased more mobile applications than users who were dissatisfied with the
performance of mobile applications (see Figures 3 and 4).
Figure 4. Number of mobile applications downloaded in past three months.
100%
90%
Percent of Customers
80%
70%
60% 0 apps
50%
40% 1 app
30% 2‐4 apps
20%
10% 5‐7 apps
0%
8 or more apps
Very Neutral Very
Dissas^ied Sa`sfied
Sa]sfac]on with Performance of Mobile Applica]ons
Figure 5. Number of mobile applications purchased in the past three months.
100%
90%
Percent of Customers
80%
70%
60% 0 apps
50%
40% 1 app
30% 2‐4 apps
20%
10% 5‐7 apps
0% 8 or more apps
Very Neutral Very
Dissa`sfied Sa`sfied
Sa]sfac]on with Performance of Mobile Applica]ons
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Copyright © 2010 Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway

7.
Network Operator Performance
As described previously, the research illustrates mobile apps play a vital role in sustained revenue growth by
network operators. Those who provide a great mobile app experience for their users are poised to grow faster
than their peers.
Who are the world leaders when it comes to delivering a great mobile app experience? The two dimensions of
Mobile App Customer Satisfaction and Mobile App Stability varies greatly across global wireless service
providers; the report ranks 33 of the top network operators worldwide, shown in Figure 6.
The network operator providing the best mobile app experience to their users is Zain, serving over 64 million
customers in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Seven other operators share the top quadrant with
Zain (in no particular order): BSNL, MTN, Vodafone, AT&T, Orange, Claro and Movistar.
We’re pleased to award each of these eight operators with a Mob4Hire “5-Star Excellence in Mobile Award.”
Figure 6. Rating the performance of 33 operators related to users’ mobile app experience.
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Copyright © 2010 Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway

8. Who we are
About Business Over Broadway
Business Over Broadway (BOB; www.businessoverbroadway.com) provides consultative
services to help companies gain superior customer insight through customer satisfaction
and loyalty research. Customer insights help business professionals make better‐informed
decisions to improve customer satisfaction and ensure long‐term customer loyalty and
financial success.
Business Over Broadway was founded by Bob E. Hayes, Ph.D., a recognized expert in customer satisfaction
and loyalty measurement, and author of the best‐selling books, Beyond the Ultimate Question, and
Measuring Customer Satisfaction. Dr. Hayes has conducted consumer research for Oracle, Sophos, Siebel
Systems, Agilent Technologies, and Cisco Systems. For more information about Business Over Broadway,
please surf to www.businessoverbroadway.com, or contact us at info@businessoverbroadway.com.
About Mob4Hire
With 40,000 mobile users on over 354 operators in 144
countries worldwide, Mob4Hire
(http://www.mob4hire.com) is the largest real world;
crowd sourced testing and market research community
for mobile apps. By incorporating user feedback and in‐
market testing to developers, we help make mobile software better. Award‐winning Mob4Hire significantly
reduces mobile application testing costs and reduces time to market by connecting developers with eager,
lower priced, crowd sourced testers and focus groups. Mob4Hire also provides their unique micro‐payment
crowd‐sourced MAAP technology (Mob4Hire as a Platform) to developer networks and app stores such as O2
Litmus to allow for private labeled communities to be added to Carrier and Handset Manufacturer enterprise
systems to reduce costs and help developers make better software for their mobile users. Founded in 2007,
Mob4Hire is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with offices in Victoria, British Columbia and London,
U.K. Contact info@mob4hire.com for more details.
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Copyright © 2010 Mob4Hire and Business Over Broadway