Branding and delivery of home technical support services to vary in Europe

Parks Associates’ latest study Customer Support in the Digital Home: Europe finds European households vary significantly in their preferences for PC tech support, indicating the market for support providers could be much more diverse and competitive in Europe than in the U.S.

This new study from the international research firm reports mixed results from broadband households in the U.K., France, and Spain when naming a trusted company to provide PC tech support. Independent technical support companies scored highest with French and Spanish households, whereas broadband service providers scored highest in the U.K., but no single type of company scored more than 30%.

These findings indicate no dominant player has yet emerged in the European market for PC tech support, unlike the U.S., where well-established brands such as Geek Squad® are likely to drive higher percentages of consumers to large CE retailers for tech support needs.

“There are significant opportunities for companies from varied backgrounds – including retailers, service providers, PC OEMs, CE manufacturers, and independent support providers – to start building market momentum for their technical support services,” said Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. “Backend providers could work with a variety of partners across Europe to deploy white-labeled technical support services.”

Scherf added that broadband service providers in the U.K. and France in particular have already established reputations for providing more extensive technical support services, which they could expand into nontraditional support areas.

“There is strong consumer demand for features that help them manage the complexity of their digital lifestyles,” Scherf said. “Broadband service providers have a unique opportunity to grow support services, but they will face increasing competition from a number of new entrants in the next few years.”

Parks Associates will present data and analysis from Customer Support in the Digital Home: Europe and other international studies at CONNECTIONS™ Europe: Monetizing Connectivity and User Experiences, April 27 in Amsterdam. For more information, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com, http://www.parksassociates.com/support, or contact 972-490-1113, [email protected].

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

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