t-mobile inspirational consumer

Case study

TMobileTMobile

How does mobile technology get integrated into the life projects of T-integrated into the life projects of TMobile's "inspirational consumers"

3.3.2010 www.idealisti.eu 1

TMobile's "inspirational consumers"

changes over time and especially during the "transformative" periods of their lives, and how they use

ChallengeThey can inspire a company to bring better innovation to the

k h i

There are consumers and then there are y

specific services like mobile web browsing, roaming and others.

Solution

market, to serve their customers better, to have more meaningful conversations and relationships with all their stakeholders T Mobile decided

Consumers. All of them are

sources of SolutionWe devised a rich ethnographic study involving three distinct consumer groups (one group per each competitive brand in

stakeholders. T‐Mobile decided to zero down on just this kind of customers and to find out more about the way they "consume" technology what

revenue for a company but the

latter can do per each competitive brand in the Czech market), each group being a "community" before we recruited them. The reason for this was the need to obtain

consume technology, what exactly sets them apart from the "regular" customers in terms of their level of engagement with the brand,

much muchmore.

this was the need to obtain real‐life narratives from the research rather than

g g ,how their mobile communication behavior


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Methodologically, the study was a patchwork of different approaches: from in‐depth interviewing, through auto‐

laboratory‐like "verbatims" which standard qualitative marketing research yields with heterogeneous groups in focus‐

“TMobile was able to

"interrogate" g gethnography and photo‐ethnography, to creative workshops and personal diaries

g g pgroup discussions. We spent roughly three months with each of the group observing, documenting, and discussing

gthe stories

pretty much like if it was

The ResultThe benefits of the study were manifold: some of them

their lives with mobile technology. The "lebensweltnarratives" which emerged from the study were the basis for further data mining and

talking to the physical people

themselves.”manifold: some of them predictable, some unexpected. First and foremost, the notion of "inspirational consumer" has been confirmed, albeit in a

for further data mining and interpretation. In the end of the day, T‐Mobile was able to "interrogate" the stories pretty much like if it was talking to the ,

quite different outline that the original concept suggested.

much like if it was talking to the physical people themselves.




As for specific services, thanks to the study further improvements could be made in providing mobile internet

Inspirational consumers come in many shapes and flavors, the most benign (in terms of brand advocacy/criticism) aren't the

“thanks to the study further improvements p g

services to T‐Mobile customers.y/ )

most valuable. Segmenting inspirational consumers into a finer typology shed some light on how to work with each of

f

pcould be made in providing

mobile internet the groups in the future ‐ in the process of product innovations and brand advocacy. Further, mapping the role mobile technology plays in the

services to TMobile

customers”technology plays in the transitional periods of consumers' lives allowed T‐Mobile to better address the channging needs in thosechannging needs in those periods and to minimize related. churn.




About Idealisti

Today's ideas will become tomorrow's world

Not only we (still) have ideals but also weNot only we (still) have ideals but also we believe that most of what we experience today and what makes up our world has been here yesterday in a form of an idea.

We believe in the transformative power of thoughts (in the form of brands, for

l ) h lexample), in their power to move also very material and sometimes heavy things like pianos, buildings, cars, jars of face care lotions or even people.

We help create and steer brands – ideas which have the ability to animatewhich have the ability to animate organizations, infuse consumption with meaning and bring about good things to life. We always do it in dialogue with those in charge of brands (which is just about anyone who has ever heard of the brand) and with the notion that all the )ideasbrands will have to compete for their existence in the free arena.


t-mobile inspirational consumer

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