A SINGLE DAY WITHOUT A MOBILE PHONE COSTS UK SMALL BUSINESSES £12K IN LOST REVENUE

The loss in potential revenue to a UK small business of not having access to their mobile phones for even one day could be as much as £12k*, new research for Vodafone UK has revealed.

The loss in potential revenue to a UK small business of not having access to their mobile phones for even one day could be as much as £12k*, new research for Vodafone UK has revealed. The research was commissioned to highlight the benefits of Vodafone Rapid, a new service which promises to get replacement phones into the hands of small businesses across the UK** within four hours of an approved insurance claim being made.

In a poll conducted by YouGov surveying more than 1,000 GB small businesses with up to nine employees, their senior decision makers estimate on average they would miss out on almost four new business opportunities in a working day when their work mobile is out of action. With the average opportunity valued at more than £3k, this means each business faces a potential loss of around £12k worth of new work each day they are phoneless. Losing potential revenues on this scale would have a significant impact on the bottom line of the UK’s millions of small businesses as well as delivering a blow to the UK economy.

To help get businesses back up and running as quickly as possible when their mobile is lost, stolen or damaged, Vodafone UK is launching Vodafone Rapid, a new service to get replacement phones into the hands of small businesses within four hours of an approved  claim being made on an existing insurance policy. Furthermore, for every hour beyond the four hours Vodafone will give a small business £10 (up to a maximum of £40). In what will be a first for the UK, the new service will see mobiles delivered by dedicated scooters in London and by courier to addresses across the rest of the country.

With  a whopping two-thirds (67 per cent) of small business owners and employees surveyed claiming their mobile phone is vital to the running of their organisation, losing a work mobile or finding it damaged or out of action could lead to major opportunity loss for UK businesses. One in five (20 per cent) respondents has had their phone lost, stolen or damaged rendering it unusable for business and yet, despite the importance businesses place on their work phone, more than half (55 per cent) don’t have business phone insurance.

Phil Mottram, Enterprise Director at Vodafone UK, said: “When the potential loss of new business opportunities equates to billions of pounds for small businesses country-wide, and more importantly could mean that a small business misses out on that vital call, it’s business critical to get replacement phones into the hands of business owners as quickly as possible when they find their mobile is lost, stolen or damaged. This is where Vodafone Rapid comes in – getting the country’s small business population back up and running with a replacement phone within just four hours.”

Vodafone Rapid is the new feature of Business Premier*** – Vodafone UK’s existing tariff for small businesses with up to nine employees, and will be available to larger small and medium sized businesses in the coming months. Other features of the Business Premier tariff include Prime Contact – providing a named contact person at Vodafone for a small business – and Worry-free Roaming for doing business abroad. The survey showed that 59 per cent of small business owners and employees said having a named person they can turn to with any queries about their mobile service would be helpful, while a third said they turned off data roaming as soon as they leave the country to avoid any unnecessary charges.

Find out more about Vodafone Rapid at vodafone.co.uk/rapid

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Notes to editors

*Value of business lost figure calculated as follows:

• According to the YouGov research, the average new business opportunity is worth £3,173
• According to the survey, small businesses who have a work mobile and who think they would lose a new business opportunity if they didn’t have their work mobile phone during an average working day estimate they would lose 3.88 opportunities in a day
• As each new business opportunity is estimated to be worth £3,173, therefore, on average, they would miss out on £12,310 a day.

The survey also found:

• 57 per cent of respondents said if their work mobile phone was lost, stolen or damaged, doing their job and/or running their business would be disrupted
• A mobile phone is considered to be the most vital device to the successful running of a business (67 per cent of respondents said it was vital or very vital), and is more important to small businesses than a desktop computer (61 per cent) or a landline phone or laptop (both 54 per cent)
• Small businesses in Scotland and the North West are more likely to have lost, damaged or had their work mobile stolen than anywhere else in Britain, with 1 in 4 saying this has happened to them, compared to the average of 1 in 5 across Britain. Despite this, the Scots are less likely than anywhere else in Britain to have insurance for their mobile, with 63 per cent saying they don’t currently have any phone insurance, compared to the national average of 55 per cent
• 48 per cent of people said customer phone numbers/contact details is the most important information in terms of running their business/doing their job on their work mobile phone followed by emails (21 per cent)

About the research

The survey was conducted on behalf of Vodafone UK by YouGov amongst 1,255 senior decision makers from British businesses with less than 10 employees, of which 1,024 have a work mobile phone. The survey was conducted online from 16-25 May 2016.

About Vodafone Rapid

Vodafone Rapid ensures a business is back up and running as soon as possible if their mobile phone is accidentally damaged, lost or stolen or has broken down and is out of warranty. With Vodafone Rapid, small business customers who have the service will receive a replacement phone within four hours, across the UK.

**There are a small number of locations that aren’t eligible for 4-hour delivery. See terms and conditions for more details.

In fact, Vodafone is so committed to keeping small businesses connected, that for every hour beyond the four hours Vodafone will give them £10, up to a maximum of £40.

***Vodafone Rapid is available on all Business Premier plans when insurance is added or is already included.

• For customers with a Business Premier 20GB, 30GB or 50GB or Business Premier Global Traveller plan, Vodafone Rapid is included at no extra cost along with Business Insurance Damage Cover (damage only). This can be upgraded to Business Insurance Plus (theft, loss and damage cover) with Vodafone Rapid included for just £4 more a month for each phone covered.
• For customers with a Business Premier 2GB, 5GB or10GB plan, Business Insurance Damage Cover with Vodafone Rapid added will cost £6 a month for each phone covered. If customers choose Business Insurance Plus (theft, loss and damage cover), with Vodafone Rapid added, it’ll be £10 a month for each phone covered.

 About Business Premier tariff

Business Premier is Vodafone’s tariff for small businesses with up to nine employees and includes unlimited UK minutes, texts and a flexible data plan. Prices start from £42 per month (ex VAT). As well as Vodafone Rapid, Business Premier also includes:

• Prime contact: offers small businesses a dedicated, named contact to help with anything to do with a customer’s business account; offering advice, support and continuity. Based in the UK, a customer’s Prime Contact can support them with anything account-related, either over the phone or through Live Chat
• Worry-free Roaming: All Business Premier plans come with Business Traveller included, allowing a small business to take its UK data, minutes and texts abroad for no extra cost when working in our Europe Zone, or it’s just £5 (exc. VAT) extra a day when travelling in our WorldZone of 58 countries.

More information on Business Premier available at vodafone.co.uk/businesspremier