Give me a call!

Published on: September 20, 2018 / Updated on: September 20, 2018 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

Give me a call! – @shutterstock | DisobeyArt

+++ Why don't you give them a call? +++ This is how long consumers are stuck on hold +++ This is what Germans use their smartphones for every day +++ This is how Germans communicate +++ Calling and surfing the internet have never been cheaper +++ Expensive tariffs – mobile phone prices in Switzerland +++

Generation Millenium – @shutterstock | SmartPhotoLab

The new generation of decision-makers is increasingly and powerfully pushing its way into leadership positions. This is Generation Y, also known as Generation Millennium, the first generation to have grown up in a digital world. Their actions and thinking differ significantly from the previous generation: they have a symbiotic relationship with the mobile world, especially smartphones. Questions are immediately clarified by phone, and short research and decision-making processes are the goal. Information that isn't readily available is a deal-breaker. For example, newsletters that aren't mobile-friendly have a disproportionately high bounce rate, and contact forms are considered relics from the Middle Ages. As early as 2015, Google announced that websites that aren't mobile-friendly are outdated and will lose out in the ranking competition. This trend has only intensified since then. Instead of lengthy product and solution pages, landing pages focused on a specific topic are essential. You have to get straight to the point to win over this digital generation.

Is that so?

Looking at private life, things are quite different. This suggests that a confident approach to the digital world also entails a more nuanced use of the medium in different areas of life. While professionally, people want to get to the point quickly and efficiently—anything else is a waste of time and boring—the multifunctional possibilities of the media world are enjoyed anytime, anywhere. Whether it's a cinematic experience, for example via virtual reality (VR) at home, or a chat in a hotel room after a business meeting, the best possible experience can be found in any location. People use fewer phone calls and enjoy quiet communication via text messages on WhatsApp or other social media channels. Everyone is their own director.

The following topics are therefore also of interest:

Give me a call!

“Give us a call!” – that was a Telekom advertising slogan in the early 1990s , intended to encourage Germans to pick up the phone more often. While a revival of the old commercials seems unlikely, not least because there's hardly any money to be made from telephony these days, phone calls themselves could certainly benefit from a small image campaign. Because with all the functions that smartphones offer today, their original purpose is increasingly fading into the background.

While most users seem aware of their smartphone's core function – mobile phone use is on the rise in Germany – the overall call volume has been steadily declining since 2010. In the age of WhatsApp and similar apps, making phone calls seems to be falling out of favor, especially among young people. Many appreciate the casual nature of text messages, and some passionate smartphone users are practically startled when their beloved phone actually rings.

The following graphic, based on data from the Federal Network Agency, shows that the total outgoing call volume has declined continuously since 2010. While this trend is primarily due to the decline in fixed-line telephony, mobile call volume also stagnated for the first time in 2016.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Consumers are stuck on hold for this long.

Nearly 8,700 calls to 141 company hotlines across twelve sectors – that's the 2018 hotline test. Statista and CHIP magazine put telephone customer service in Germany to the test, from mobile phone/telephone services to online pharmacies and direct banks. Who offers particularly good advice, how easy are the hotlines to reach, and where are the waiting times shortest?

As our infographic shows, smartphone repair service hotlines were the fastest this year: Callers only needed 1 minute and 5 seconds to get through to an advisor. Online opticians and electricity providers were also quick to respond, with waiting times only four seconds longer. By comparison, test callers spent an average of 1 minute and 54 seconds on hold.

Nevertheless, from a consumer perspective, it can be noted that the fastest industries were even faster in previous years.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Germans use their smartphones for this every day.

What do Germans actually do with their smartphones? A survey by comScore investigated this question. The result: Beyond texting and making calls, smartphones primarily serve communication purposes. For example, about one in three people use their device to send and receive messages via email or instant messaging. Weather information comes in third place with a daily usage reach of 26.7 percent, just ahead of social networks at 26.1 percent.

You can find more infographics at Statista

This is how Germans communicate

The telephone is the number one communication channel in Germany, according to the latest edition of the Media Activity Guide from SevenOne Media. The guide reveals that the average German spends 39 minutes a day on the phone. Reading and writing emails accounts for 36 minutes, while the daily time spent on messaging services is 24 minutes. Communication duration and methods vary considerably depending on age. For example, 14- to 29-year-olds spend 155 minutes a day talking, typing, and reading – three times as much as those over 65. Younger people are also the only age group where messaging services are the most frequently used communication medium.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Never before have phone calls and internet browsing been cheaper.

Those born before 1990 will remember that making phone calls and surfing the internet were once activities that could quickly become a significant drain on one's bank account. While a 15-minute mobile phone call in the 1990s was practically an investment decision, telecommunications services are comparatively inexpensive in the flat-rate era. Data from the Federal Statistical Office shows that prices for landline telephone, internet, and mobile services in Germany have been declining for years. A reversal of this trend is not currently expected.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Mobile and landline telephony declining

VATM , 309 million outgoing voice call minutes are logged daily from mobile phones in Germany. This marks the second consecutive year of decline in mobile telephony. Over-the-top (OTT) providers such as Skype and FaceTime are partly responsible for this decline. Currently, 260 million call minutes are handled daily via software-based OTT telephony. The downward trend for fixed-line connections continues unabated. However, with 345 million call minutes, landline telephony still accounts for the largest share (38 percent) of voice traffic in Germany.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Expensive tariffs

76 percent of people in Switzerland find their mobile phone plans too expensive. This was the result of last year's mobile phone customer satisfaction survey in Switzerland conducted by the comparison website bonus.ch. The other 24 percent, however, consider the mobile phone prices justified, for example, due to the general price level in the country or in light of the quality of service.

Around 71 percent of respondents with a fixed-term contract pay more than 40 Swiss francs per month. In contrast, well over half (58.4 percent) of mobile phone users with prepaid services pay less than 15 Swiss francs per month, while around 42 percent incur costs of 15 Swiss francs or more per month.

You can find more infographics at Statista