Customer expectations and brand experience : the case of the Maltese telecoms market

Abstract

This project investigates the link (if any) between Customer expectations and customer brand experience, focusing on consumers within the telecoms market in Malta. The telecoms industry in Malta has grown, what was just fixed line telephone forty years ago is now, fixed line telephone, smart phone, internet and TV. What was one play monopoly for Telemalta is now Quad-play open market. The telecoms market in Malta has seen a lot changes, the world has become a ‘global village’ and Malta has become part of it. We can easily say that the telecoms is at decline level when it comes to fixed line service on its own. The situation is different for the other three services. In telecoms, technology, new innovation bring new demands and Customer expectation. Therefore even though part of the telecoms might be in decline, the industry is still developing new technologies. Technologies like 4G and FTTH (fibre to the home) are still at initial to growth stage. Technology changes bring changes also in Customer expectation. Changes in the telecom market in Malta has also brought a different brand experience. If we take GO p.l.c as an example within the Maltese market, the brand represents all four services and not just one. Whereas before Maltacom p.l.c had different subsidiaries offering their services each with a different brand, the GO brand today represent all four services. Brand experience has changed primarily because most services are now associated with multiple brands rather than one. The same applies for Melita p.lc., the other Quad-Play provider in the Maltese market, what used to be just TV service and Internet is now Quad-Play. There are a lot of studies in the field of marketing about Customer expectations and customer brand experience. The project will first look at the literature for both of these constructs. The main aspects of each of the constructs will be singled out in ways that they can be put and possibly measured within the context of services and products that are provided by main telecoms providers in Malta. We will then focus specifically on GO p.l.c as a case study.