How a tiny company took market share from the UK’s biggest brands

Client: Talkmobile

Talkmobile, founded in 2007, has always been a small player in the enormous mobile telecoms market. The market is dominated by the big 4 networks but even the smaller players come with huge brands like Virgin, Sky, BT & Tesco.

Talkmobile is a no-frills operator, run by a small team on a small budget. By keeping costs to a minimum, it’s able to pass those savings on to consumers in the form of lower prices. This strategy only works if deals can be surfaced to the right customer at the right time. This was the challenge Talkmobile took to its affiliate network partner AWIN with a view to supporting offline sales with enhanced online sales. Fighting larger rivals with expensive ad campaigns wasn’t going to work. Talkmobile and AWIN had to think differently. Talkmobile’s target audience are known as Tech Neutrals and Awin identified key publisher segments to access them. Treating each publisher as a unique route to market, Talkmobile used speed to market, tailored offers and reliable execution to grow market share. The journey has been fulfilling. Sales and market share have grown incrementally year on year and customer quality has continued to outperform expectations. Growth has been seen in each of the three target sectors, despite major shift in UK buying habits. Expansion has been profitable and a focus on customer experience, particularly joining experience, means customer lifetimes have been double expectations and continue to extend out.