Why do businesses whose job is selling communications struggle to talk to their customers?

Back in August, Vodafone angered some of its UK customers with an upgrade to its HTC Desire handsets. Customers were prompted to download what they thought was a new version of Android. Instead they discovered Vodafone had sent out apps based on its own 360 service as well as a number of bookmarks, including links to a dating service. The move showed a marked lack of understanding for users who prefer to choose the content on their own handsets rather than having it delivered by an operator. Vodafone forums were alive with outrage. “What really, really annoys me is that Vodafone think of themselves as one of the biggest mobile companies in the world…. however, they in one day have managed to annoy most of their customers by spoiling a brilliant phone,” said one displeased correspondent.

Fast forward to last week and T-Mobile UK’s unwise decision to change its fair-usage policy to introduce restrictions on the amount of data each user can download. The operator said it was reducing monthly data limits, previously set as high as 3GB on Android handsets, to 500MB from 1 February. The company was forced to back down on its policy after opposition from users (although the revision will still apply to new customers and those upgrading their handsets). Users had been particularly annoyed by T-Mobile’s high-handed manner. In regard to using their handsets to watch video, the operator said users should “save that stuff for your home broadband”.

What the two separate incidents have in common is the same outcome: mobile operator capitulation. On both occasions, the operators admitted they were wrong and backtracked either partially or completely on an ill-advised course of action. Undoing a mistake is always good of course. The downside is that confidence among a significant number of consumers will be undermined for some time to come. It’s certainly a coincidence that both companies are in the UK. Operators in any country are capable of annoying their customers.

How can operators have misread customers’ mood and preference so badly? The advent of social media is supposed to offer the opportunity for large companies to relate to customers in a more individual way. And mobile operators, given their business, should be at the forefront of such innovation. Instead, of course large companies often see the likes of Facebook and Twitter as a one-way communications tool along the lines of traditional media. They ignore how such services have a value in collecting views as well as distributing marketing messages. The irony of course is that consumers are becoming very adept at using social media and other forms of interactive media to get what they want from big companies. The industry is likely to see more resistance in the future when they get their policies wrong. Consumers have successfully embraced new forms of communication. Why can’t mobile operators learn from their example?