South African operator MTN has launched its Made for Me postpaid packages, which allow subscribers to customize their plans in keeping with their usage patterns and budgets. The Made For Me range features four base plans, beginning with the MTN Made For Me S (50 minutes, 350 MB of data and 50 SMS for ZAR 99.00 [US $7.24] per month) and going up through the MTN Made For Me XL (300 minutes, 5.5 GB and 100 SMS for ZAR 699.00 [US $51.16] per month).
After selecting one of these four levels, customers can then tailor them by adding a so-called Booster Bundle. These consist of options to double minutes or data or both, at costs ranging from ZAR 39.00 (US $2.85) to ZAR 360.00 (US $26.35) per month.
Customers who subscribe to or upgrade a Made for Me plan before the end of 2017 will get free access to entertainment content providers Showmax or Simfy Africa for three months. In addition, they will get 30 GB of free data over three months if they also include the purchase of an LTE device in their contract.
Tarifica’s Take
As we have written previously, a global trend in affluent and rapidly developing mobile markets is customers’ desire for greater flexibility in their plans. Customers are rejecting one-size-fits-all approaches and are wary of any plan that appears to make them pay for services that they will not use. Operators have been responding to this feeling by offering customizable packages in which subscribers can pick and choose features that directly meet their specific needs, and be charged accordingly.
MTN’s Made For Me is a version of this approach. While it is not the most flexible, being based on four preset options that seem more like a traditional tiered slate of plans, it does offer an element of flexibility through the Booster Bundles. In a way, it seems like a hybrid between postpaid and prepaid, with the Booster Bundles functioning somewhat like top-ups.
Matula Bodibe, MTN’s Executive for Consumer Business, said, “We have committed ourselves to brightening our customers’ lives and making them a whole lot better, by ensuring that they enjoy an unparalleled experience on our network and the great value for money through our propositions. MTN Made For Me plans deliver on this brand promise as well as respond to our customer calling and data needs by offering these services in a simple and customized way.” The plans, Bodibe continued, “empower our customers to control their cellular spend in line with their needs.” Whether or not the right balance between “simple” and “customized” has been struck this time, the operator is showing that it has grasped the important fact that giving mobile customers more control over their plans is the way to their hearts.