Market research has shown that the biggest barrier preventing pre-paid cellphone subscribers switching to contracts is the inconvenience of changing cellphone numbers. MTN, however, has developed an innovative that will allow subscribers to migrate from MTN Pay As You Go to any of the network`s existing contract options, without changing their cellphone number!
The new MTN Number For Life service, introduced on 4 March this year, is a first for South Africa. The service reflects international trends, whereby operators elsewhere in the world have been offering number retention for some months in a quest to accommodate the needs of their customers.
Says MTN Pay As You Go Brand Manager, Larry Annetts, "Many pre-paid subscribers are keen to switch to a post-paid contract arrangement in order to take advantage of the more attractive per minute call rates, `free minutes`, convenient payment methods and value-adding services such as itemised billing. By allowing them to retain their 083 cellphone number, they can now migrate comfortably between the payment options. All they have to do is visit an MTN dealer, select one of MTN`s contract options, and sign-up."
Annetts is confident that the MTN Number For Life service will engender long-term brand loyalty towards MTN. "The financial advantages of changing to the more cost-effective contract packages are no longer outweighed by the inconvenience of changing your cellphone number," he explains. "This means that our pre-paid subscribers who are considering changing to contract need look no further than MTN. The option to retain one`s cellphone number could also incentivise new cellphone users to enter the system through Pay As You Go, knowing that they can move to contract when they`re ready to do so."
He goes on to point out that there`s a contract package to suit every budget and lifestyle, and that all contracts include a free handset. What`s more, for those subscribers not wanting to commit themselves to a 24-month contract, there`s the new MTN Month-to-Month contract option which offers the assurance of always being connected with unlimited call time together with the freedom of committing themselves for just one month at a time.
"We believe that the ability to retain one`s MTN cellphone number places a world of possibilities into the hands of our subscribers," Annetts concludes.
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