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U.S. Toll-Free Services MarketsPublished by: Frost & Sullivan Published: Sep. 29, 2003 Table of Contents1. U.S. Toll-Free Services Markets 1. Executive Summary 1. Introduction and Market Definitions 2. Summary of Key Market Trends 2. Market Overview 1. Toll-Free Services: The Essence of a Business 2. Market Challenges a. Increasing Usage of Web Capabilities for Customer Acquisition and Support Activities b. Relatively Limited Demand for Enhanced Toll-Free Features Within the Small and Medium Business Segments c. Declining Toll-Free Prices Create Growth Challenges for Carriers and Resellers d. Standalone Toll-Free Providers Face Competitive Challenges From Bundled Services Providers e. Limited Growth of International Toll-Free Services Affects Overall Revenue Growth f. "Imitation" Numbers Increase Reluctance to Use Toll-Free Services 3. Market Drivers a. Ability of Toll-Free Services to Provide 24x7x365 Storefront Remains the Leading Growth Driver for the Industry b. Rising Use of Off-Shore Call Centers Stimulates International Toll-Free Growth c. Provision of Advanced Toll-Free Features Encourages Enterprise Usage of the Service d. Longer "On Hold" Time Periods Fuel Growth in Toll-Free Minutes of Use e. Continued Use of Prepaid Card Calling Services f. Growth in Toll-Free Usage by Multiple Market Sectors g. Use of Toll-Free Services for Emerging Applications 4. Market Restraints a. Greater Business Focus on Streamlining Customer Care b. Uncertain Economic Environment Within the U.S. c. Usage of Enhanced Routing Techniques by Large Businesses Shorten Toll-Free Call Duration d. Limited Use of Advanced Toll-Free Features by Small Businesses e. Increasing Business Bankruptcies in 2001 and 2002 f. Implementation of Alternative Communication Capabilities Further Limits Toll-Free Usage for Customer Care Applications 3. Market Forecasts and Trends Analysis 1. Total Market Forecasts: Has Demand For Toll-Free Services Reached a Plateau? 2. Trends in Toll-Free Usage 3. Other Market and Technology Trends 4. Business Toll-Free Services 1. Switched Toll-Free Services Carry Appeal Among Niche Business Segments 2. Dedicated Toll-Free Services 3. Which Vertical Market Segments Will Continue to Exhibit Growth in Toll-Free Usage? 4. Domestic Toll-Free Usage Outweighs Demand for ITFS and UIFN 5. Residential Toll-Free Services 1. Alternative Technologies Displace Residential Toll-Free Services 6. Conclusions & Market Engineering Awards 1. Conclusions: Will Toll-Free Services Remain A Leading Customer Care Platform? 2. Strategic Recommendations 3. Frost & Sullivan Awards for the U.S. Toll-Free Services Market List Of Figures Chapter 1 Toll-Free Services Market: Seven-Step Market Engineering Forecast Methodology (U.S.), 2003 Total Toll-Free Services Market: Minutes of Use Forecast (U.S.), 1999-2009 Toll-Free Services Market: Impact of Top Industry Challenges (U.S.), 2003-2009 Toll-Free Services Market: Market Drivers Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2003-2009 Toll-Free Services Market: Market Restraints Ranked in Order of Impact (U.S.), 2003-2009 Total Toll-Free Services Market: Domestic and International Minutes of Use Forecast (U.S.), 1999-2009 Total Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Minutes of Use and Revenue Forecasts (U.S.), 1999-2009 Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Historical Total Toll-Free Call Volumes with Domestic Origination (U.S.), 1992-1999 Total Toll-Free Calls with Domestic Origination: Market Forecasts (U.S.), 1999-2009 Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Total Working and Available Toll-Free Numbers (U.S.), 1993-2003 Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Distribution of Domestic Working Toll-Free Numbers by Prefix (U.S.), 2000-2003 Total Domestic Working Toll-Free Numbers: Market Forecasts (U.S.), 1999-2005 Total Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Distribution of Minutes of Use, Business vs. Residential Services (U.S.), 1999-2009 Business Toll-Free Services Market: Total Minutes of Use, Domestic and International (U.S.), 1999-2009 Total Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Distribution of MOU, Dedicated vs. Switched Services (U.S.), 1999-2009 Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Switched Services Forecast (U.S.), 1999-2009 Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Dedicated Services Forecast (U.S.), 1999-2009 Business Toll-Free Services Market: Distribution of Traffic by End-User Segment (U.S.), 2002 International Toll-Free Services: Market Forecasts (U.S.), 1999-2003 Domestic Toll-Free Services Market: Residential Toll-Free Services Forecast (U.S.), 1999-2009 Residential Toll-Free Services: Selected Service Provider Product and Pricing Analysis (U.S.), 2003 Toll-Free Services Market: Competitive Structure (U.S.), 2003 Toll-Free Services Market: Impact of Top Industry Challenges on Business Functions (U.S.), 2003-2009 Toll-Free Services Market: Impact of Top Industry Drivers on Business Functions (U.S.), 2003-2009 Toll-Free Services Market: Impact of Top Industry Restraints on Business Functions (U.S.), 2003-2009 AbstractToll-free Service Providers Challenged by Web-based Customer Care Technologies The continuation of toll-free services as a leading customer care platform is threatened by the growing deployment of online self-service customer care technologies such as e-mail and web-chat capabilities by various businesses/companies in the United States. These emerging technologies provide a cost-effective alternative to live agent customer support through toll-free numbers, resulting in declining usage of toll-free services on the part of the consumers and businesses. This research examines the current trends in the U.S. toll-free services market. Special emphasis has been placed on identifying and analyzing trends in domestic toll-free services revenue, minutes of use (MOU), and product penetration in various vertical market segments such as finance, insurance, and travel and hospitality. Moreover, the research evaluates competitive product and marketing strategies of the various industry participants. Increasing Use of Feature-rich Internet Self-help Services Impedes Toll-free Usage The proliferation of the Internet as a 24x7x365 storefront has created strong competitive challenges for toll-free service providers. The growth of e-commerce has enabled customers to shop online without any help from customer service representatives of the e-tailers (electronic retailers). Even in situations where customers require assistance from an agent, the provision of online chat capabilities has reduced the usage of toll-free numbers. "While it is unlikely that the enterprise customers will abandon toll-free numbers altogether in favor of Web-based customer support, the inbound toll-free call volume and minutes of use is expected to continuously decline owing to intense competition from online customer care services," says the analyst. Will Toll-free Services Remain a Leading Customer Care Platform? The Internet and online communications tools such as e-mail mimic the value proposition offered by toll-free services. However, relatively low penetration of the Internet when compared to telephony continues to drive businesses toward subscription of toll-free services for customer care purposes. "The fact that callers can access toll-free services free of charge from payphones, home and office phones, and wireless phones (excluding airtime charges) constitutes a key advantage of the service over Web-based customer care," says the analyst. For a majority of businesses, toll-free services are likely to remain a viable channel for communication with various stakeholders. Voice interaction through toll-free services is expected to remain a primary communication medium in call centers, as migration to 'pure play' Web-enabled call centers is taking place at a relatively slow pace. Subscribers of toll-free services, especially large enterprises, demand network-based features and advanced functionalities such as number portability and customized routing capabilities as they endeavor to streamline operations and reduce communication costs. With toll-free services becoming increasingly homogeneous, service providers will be compelled to offer new value propositions in the near future to attract and retain customers.
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