Are iPhone Users The Most Loyal?

[Michael Knutson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/01/20/iphone-users-more-loyal-than-google-rim-palm/' target='_blank'>http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/01/...oogle-rim-palm/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Apple's iPhone users are the most loyal to their product, according to a new survey conducted by market research firm Zokem."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//at/auto/1295632720.usr17748.png" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>This study ranks customer loyalty, but doesn't describe their methodology or sample size. They do mention that Apple has the lowest "churn rate," or customers buying a competing product, with Google in second place. The study goes on to show that Google (do they really mean Android?) has the highest re-purchase rate, at 89 percent, followed by Apple, at 85 percent. A disclaimer at the end states that these numbers were tabulated before Verizon's announcement on the iPhone. The bottom line appears to be that iPhone users keep their iPhones, and Android users keep their Android devices. I'm a bit surprised that Blackberry users don't rank higher, as they seem to be a pretty loyal bunch. Or, is it that their companies mandate the mobile device that they carry?</p>

[Sven Johannsen]

Gosh I love statistics. Notice the chart purports to display "loyalty". What the heck is that? Well the title is Mobile Platform Loyalty Ranking, which is trademarked, and the quantity graphed is NPS which you can dig and find is Net Promoter Score. Huh? So what the heck did they count? Was it a survey to see if people would feel quilty if they used another phone? Were people asked to swear an oath of allegiance to their phone? What?

There is an additional chart which graphs peoples intent to buy the same phone again if they were to buy another. Actually it was what will you buy next time, but the evidence of recidivism would seem to me a better measure of 'loyalty', and the numbers are markedly different.

Who by the way says 40% think this, and 73% think that, so 84% more think that? (I get the bizarre math. the 33 additional is 84% of the 40, but come on) If 400 folks out of 1000 like their Android, and 73 out of 100 like their iPhone, can you really say 84% of iPhone users like their phone more than Android users? Well you can say it... and back it up. That's what I love about statistics. ;)

[Brad Adrian]

Both Sven and Michael make some very important and valid points, not the least of which is how convoluted statistical analysis can be.

Perhaps one of the most important points is to remember that when it comes to measuring loyalty, the mobile phone market has a very complex bag of influencers. Because things like contracts, device availability and corporate requirements can all impact how likely a customer is to continue patronizing a particular vendor, looking at churn alone is a very dicey way to try to understand loyalty.

And, it is of no little consequence that this data was collected prior to Verizon's iPhone announcement and the availability of that device through Verizon. Those factors alone can have a huge impact on how people would respond to this survey. For example, two months ago I might have stated a very small likelihood to switch carriers because I'm really attached to my iPhone; today, though, I'm much more likely to switch to Verizon if it means I can still have an iPhone.

Food for thought...

[Said the Market Researcher...!]