aimm

Improving Customer Care for the Interactive Media Industry

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

aimm has always championed best practice across the industry, and ensuring that customer care is the focus to help improve consumers’ experience of interactive services has been at the top of the agenda. 

Our extensive and comprehensive Customer Care Best Practice Guide was created to reduce customer escalations to mobile network operators and regulators in the UK. This is intended to work in tandem with the Phone-paid Services Authority’s (PSA) own general guidance on complaint handling. 

The Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) is now compiling a similar guide and will be using key elements from our best practice to ensure there is continuity surrounding customer care for the interactive media and micropayments industries. 

Joanna Cox, General Manager of aimm said “The purpose of aimm is to create an environment of consumer confidence and trust within which our members’ commerce can flourish, inside a framework of a strong members’ code of ethics.  aimm has several working groups that bring together the entire interactive media value chain, with a view to making that happen. Our Internal Standards and External Education Working Group is proud to share its Customer Care Guide with our friends at MEF. Sharing best practice in this way can only help Industry self regulate and raise standards, which in turn will benefit the consumer and build trust in phone paid services.”

Ross Flynn from MEF commented “In this succinct White paper, aimm lays down the current obfuscations that lay between the buyer and the relevant merchant and how, through collaboration, each individual player in the Direct Carrier Billing ecosystem can come together to improve the consumer experience through improved clarity and customer support.”

Our Customer Care Best Practice Guide has been well received across our membership value chain, and we are pleased to be able to now share this more widely across industry.

If you are interested in getting your own copy of our best practice guide please contact aimm.

aimm speaking at MEF Connects – Digital Transformation

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

Next week is MEF Connects – Digital Transformation a two day online event July 18th and 19th. As a Trade Association in the same space we are pleased to be able to support this event. We have been invited to speak on 19th July, Day 2 on Regulatory Frameworks at 12pm UK time.

“The increasing growth of mobile payments has provoked a response from regulators. The intersection of financial, telecommunication and technological regulation make this a complex and challenging question. Leaders in the field are ready to share insight and knowledge.”

As our members will know we have spent a lot of time over the last few years working with the Regulators to ensure that the regulatory space our members work in is protected, fair and encourages innovation and growth, especially with the launch of Code 15 this spring.
We will be joined by Mobile Ecosystem Forum, Three UK, MCP Insight Ltd and Empello

This event is free to attend and you can register for your ticket online. Join the event to get the latest information and news on all things, IoT, Identity and Authentication, Security, Direct Carrier Billing [DCB], OTT Sports, NFTs, Crypto and so much more.

aimm response to PSA announcement (future of phone-paid services)

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

While we are surprised by this announcement, (regulatory responsibility will transfer from the PSA to Ofcom in late 2023) coming less than a month after the launch of a new Code of Practice, we do understand the reasons that have been put forward for the absorption of the PSA into Ofcom.

Huge progress has been made through collaboration across Industry and ongoing communication with the PSA – in particular the ability to liaise with the regulator on highly technical matters – and we look forward to continuing this relationship with Ofcom.

As the transition develops, we will continue to work with our members to ensure that they are consulted and able to input into the regulatory changes at every stage. In building a new relationship with Ofcom, we are keen that we can help refine further a regulatory landscape that is proportionate and allows for innovation and opportunity in our changing market.

For full details regarding the announcement by the PSA on their merger with Ofcom please see their press release.

Take a Journey with Mobile Billing – EE BT event, supported by aimm

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

On the 23rd March EE/BT, supported by aimm, hosted the  ‘Take a Journey with Mobile Billing’ event at the BT Tower.

The aim of the event was to provide an introduction to Charge to Bill, as an additional payment method for the transport and parking sector.  The event demonstrated how – by giving a wider choice of payment options to their customers – the transport sector could reach those that may not wish to or are able to buy transport tickets the traditional ways.

Naomi Hone, Charge to Bill Manager at EE/BT said: ‘there are 72 million mobile phones in the UK, and carrier billing is already automatically enabled on most of them. This essentially means that the majority of people are walking around with a ticketing vending machine in their pocket!’

With speakers from aimm, EE, Kaleyra and Plusdial, as well as a panel featuring Fonix and DMB, answering questions  from the audience, it was a great opportunity to start the conversation around the opportunities that mobile billing can provide the transport industry.

Largest Ever Survey of Digital Subscriptions – 78% Don’t Want Fixed-Term Subscriptions

Posted on by Andrea Putnam-Moorcroft

90% of consumers state the ending of a subscription to a service should be entirely their decision.

5th August 2021: Research of 1,000 consumers, commissioned by aimm in June 2021, observed that 93% described the process of signing up to a subscription to be clear and transparent. Just 1.5% of consumers found themselves subscribed to a service that they didn’t want. Unsurprisingly then, 90% of consumers felt that they alone should be responsible for choosing when to end their subscription, and 78% don’t want to sign up for a fixed term.

The research found that when it comes to digital subscriptions, regulation should guide consumer behaviour, but not be an imposition.

The current regulations already require robust consent, so any new regulations that impose stricter criteria will automatically discriminate against subscribers who are passively happy. The natural suspicion of consumers to click on links to renew a subscription means that services, including charity fundraising, will suffer, should this become a requirement.

The recommendation from the research, which asked about consumers’ preferences regarding reminder messages and length of subscriptions, is that for monthly subscription services a reminder message should be sent every month for the first 3 months, then once a quarter following that, with an additional service summary sent annually.

Joanna Cox, General Manager at aimm said “We wanted to ask consumers what they wanted when it came to digital subscriptions. The results of the research overwhelming show that the current regulations provide enough security for consumers and if anything they’d like to be contacted even less than they currently are.”

Over 97% of consumers felt that an annual service summary, that was for information only and did not need to be acted on, would be beneficial. Consumers now think of digital subscriptions as long term and not in 12-monthly timeframes. This is backed up by the fact that 75% have subscribed to a service or donation for over a year.

“We want to make sure that consumers are protected and feel safe using mobile subscriptions to sign up to services or donate to charity,” said Neil Johnson, Chairman at aimm. “However, we also want to make sure that we don’t create regulations that are too stringent, that actively dissuade consumers from signing up to quality subscription services, or mean that they are inadvertently cancelled. Too much unnecessary regulation risks damaging the consumer experience and the subscription business model; a model which creates a convenient way for users to pay for services they enjoy.”

 

Details about the research

Research was commissioned via Mobile Squared during June 2021. This research asked a panel of 1,000 unbiased people about their experiences, with the expectation that this would provide a meaningful insight into the world of those with a passive happiness with the service they receive. The panel was evenly split by age group, gender and location, to ensure a fair cross-representation of society.

Whilst recognising there have been challenges with phone-paid subscriptions in the past, these have now largely been resolved. This research addressed the experiences of those with a passive happiness with their subscription; the silent majority of people now using phone-paid subscriptions without concern.