Digital Home Study Taiwan Results

• The vast majority of Taiwanese consumers believe that technology has made their lives easier (87 percent) and more fun (89 percent).
  
  
• Price is the leading determinant for many with regard to deciding between competing products and services – an indicator of commoditization. Fifty-five percent of Taiwanese respondents put it in their top three considerations, followed by features and brand reputation.
  
  
• Consumers in Taipei are very frustrated with complexity, with three-quarters stating that they’d prefer to buy a single-use product or service that does one thing well. Globally, 43 percent of respondents state that they'd prefer to buy a single-use product or service that does one thing well.
  
  
• The majority of Taiwanese respondents (55 percent) want best-of-breed product and services rather than a single source for related products and services (26 percent).
  
  

• Taiwanese consumers say services do matter, and many would be interested in paying for offerings that improve the customer experience with advanced digital technologies.
  
  
  • The majority of respondents are interested to some extent in paying for services such as: phoning for technical support (93%), service to back up data (85%) and service to monitor home PCs (85%).
    
    
  • When products are outside of the warranty, service costs are the greatest concern. Interest in paying for extended warranties is relatively large with 83 percent of respondents voicing an interest in extended warranties. By contrast, 53 percent of respondents globally expressed interest in extended warranties.
    
    
• Even highly technical proficiency users need help:
  
  
  • 34 percent prefer to go to a branded repair/service center for help.
    
    
  • More than half (57 percent) state that they would like someone to come to their home to fix the problem as opposed to phone or online help.
    
    
  • Almost one in every five (17%) actually use friends or family to help when problem arise.
    
    
• Good customer support yields customer loyalty, but customer support needs improvement.
  
  
  • Almost two thirds (64 percent) agree that getting good customer support makes them more likely to refer friends and family to buy from the company. One in two states that it makes them more likely to buy from the company in the future.
    
    

However, the major technology brands have a long way to go. The survey found that:

• Poor customer support is among the top four reasons consumers are not satisfied with electronics and computing products and services.
  
  
  • This is particularly the case for standard cable, cable modem, DSL and dial-up.
    
    
• Of those dissatisfied with support, almost half (46 percent) said it took too long to fix the problem. Thirty-three percent report that service reps did not fix the problem or were not qualified.
  
  
• The majority of consumers believe manufacturers understand the customer. However, the vast majority (95 percent) would not go to the manufacturer for help, with most (64 percent) citing inconvenience as the primary reason.
  
  

As the market for these technologies expands, the companies that will survive and demonstrate the most rapid growth will be those that deliver new products and services that foster the closest relationships with consumers. Consumers in Taipei are most interested in applications that allow them to:

• Monitor health (76 percent) and home security (79 percent)
  
  
• Work from home (75 percent)
  
  
• Take courses or training on their PC or TV (63 percent)
  
  
• Watch their local TV stations when out of town or on the road (59 percent
  
  
• Download and watch movies, TV shows or other video content on their TV (54 percent)
  
  
• Use one voicemail box for all phone numbers (54 percent)