Andrew Penn, Telstra CEO, says the brand’s Net Promoter Scores (NPS) have dropped 8 points over the last six months as a result of network disruptions. The telco also revealed an unexpected 11.8% fall in profit and a drop in mobile revenue.
NPS reflects how likely customers are to recommend a brand and telcos, much like banks, often struggle to achieve high scores.
Penn said in today's half yearly results that its commitment to an incremental $3 billion investment in improving customer experience is in its early stages but a number of “important improvements” have been made.
He cited improvement in T&Cs, simplification of roaming charges and more flexibility when getting hardware from Telstra.
“Despite these improvements, our strategic NPS was eight points lower that the same period last year, largely due to the impact of network disruptions on our customers. We expect our NPS to recover as our investments in networks and digitalisation are implemented,” he says.
Penn referenced the major brand relaunch campaign the telco launched last year with The Monkeys saying brand consideration and perception measures had been "positive".
He says: "In July we refreshed our brand with a focus on being more human and developing an emotional connection with our customers by demonstrating how innovation and technology can help people and businesses thrive. Since launch we have seen positive trends in relation to brand consideration and perception measures and we have been recognised as Australia’s most valuable brand and among the world’s top 100 most valuable brands for the second year running.”
Net profit dipped 11.8% to $1.8bn as a result of restructuring costs, he says while total income increased 2.2%.
During 2016 mobile traffic on Telstra's network increase 39% but mobile revenue fell 8.7% to $5.5bn, compared with the first six months of the year.
Revenue in its fixed-line business also fell 4.7% to $3.3bn.
Penn added that he expects the telco's full-year revenue to be at the bottom end of its exceptions.
Update: This story was updated 16 February to include Penn's comments about the brand relaunch campaign.
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