Wireless service providers AT&T and Cingular had better take note - their customers don't love them; they don't even like them. Nonetheless, the corporate marriage plans were announced on February 17th. The companies may be headed for the altar but should consider some marital counseling first.

Wireless service providers AT&T and Cingular had better take note - their customers don't love them; they don't even like them. Nonetheless, the corporate marriage plans were announced on February 17th. The companies may be headed for the altar but should consider some marital counseling first.

The spotlight of the $41-billion merger has been directed primarily at accounting issues and economies of scale. However, in the final analysis customers will determine the success or failure of merger. Unfortunately, the entire wireless category has not discovered the path to reach the hearts, minds and souls of their customers.

In the NameQuest Online "Loving The Brand" study of the 130 most advertised US brands, wireless service providers consistently were rated as the least loved by 2,600 consumers.

Carrier     4th Quarter Churn (1) Brand Preference Ranking (2)

AT&T Wireless          3.3%                         105
Cingular                    2.8%                         123
Verizon                    1.7%                         112
Sprint                    2.7%                         130

1) Churn = Percentage of customers leaving    
2) BPR = Ranking based on factors such as quality, trust, likeability, etc.

John P. Hoeppner, president of NameQuest, noted that the relationship between brand preference and churn is an important factor to consider. Hoeppner believes that the "Brand Preference" bar on the chart will progress towards the "Churn Point" over time.

The key implication of the preference-churn correlation in the merger is that AT&T Wireless should trend downward in the Brand Preference scale and Cingular (along with Verizon and Sprint) should improve by trending upward.

According to Hoeppner, "SBC and BellSouth have probably made the right decision to use the Cingular brand and to drop the AT&T banner based on the research and the impending competition in local and long distance service."

The results of the Brand Preference research will be published later this year in "Loving The Brand - How Brand-Person Chemistry Ignites Profits for Companies and Their Customers" by John P. Hoeppner, President of NameQuest, Inc. and Andrea Markowitz, Ph.D., Consultant.

About NameQuest, Inc.

NameQuest, Inc., founded in 1984, is the first and most experienced company dedicated exclusively to brand research and development for Fortune 500 corporations.