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Number 3: No one can charge like telcos. DO THAT!
Charging models. Micropayments. Telcos have a lot of experience with these things, and do them extremely well. They're much better at charging than credit card companies or online vendors or lots of other companies who could use their expertise. Why can't some of that capability be utilized and sold to the external market? There's a market there, and an infrastructure in place to support it.
Keith Willetts, industry veteran and Chairman of the TMF, was quoted in Tim Young's article about Product Management (http://www.pipelinepub.com/0108
/EC1_1.html) as saying “Telcos are extremely good at payment and settlement for large numbers of small value transactions. Far better than credit card companies. Currently they just use it for their own services, but you could offer microbilling/micropayment settlement process for all manners of small value transactions.” Good advice from an industry pro.
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In every case above, the underlying lesson is to try your hand at maximizing the advantages of what you're good at... even great at... and make that your top priority. In every case, the battle is yours to lose. |
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need that guy! We can't all be scruffy hipsters with a memory bank of witty repartee and an iPod full of indie rock. Still, there are companies that inspire loyalty and attract the hip. Apple does it well. Some other device manufacturers do it pretty well, too. Motorola comes to mind, and so does the Blackberry, which updated is somewhat clunky looking initial models by introducing the “Pearl,” which comes in trendy colors like Ruby, Gold, and Sapphire, among others. It’s as though the experience of buying a handheld has become more akin to buying a piece of jewelry. And certainly, television viewers must remember the commercials that came out last year for the LG Chocolate phone that featured a thumping bass
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Number 4: Don't forget about the enterprise market.
Depending on what your specialty is as a telecom, chances are, you make a heck of a lot of money off of your enterprise customers. However, marketing plans for the enterprise segment (especially services for small businesses and home offices) tends to be an afterthought. A report by Archstone Consulting for the PBIA states that “particularly when debating wireless technologies, most regulatory, technology development, and investment focus is on the consumer market. Enterprise buyers are not well organized and there is resulting little focus on their needs.” Big, hot ad campaigns are on every corner trying to court the 18-25 year-old market when the ARPU involved in this set can be much less (and customers far more fickle and less reliable) than in the enterprise space.
Sure, business customers can be pretty demanding in terms of QoS since time and quality mean money in the space, but the rewards can be great. Let's just all remind ourselves not to get so wrapped up in value-added services for 39.99 a month cell phone users that the enterprises are given short shrift.
Number 5: Telecom companies: You haven't been so good at “sexy.”
Think of the Apple ad campaign with the guys playing the Mac and the PC. Telecoms? You're generally the PC. And that's okay! We
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soundtrack and a Chocolate dripping in, well, chocolate. I know it captured my attention. And, let’s take a look at the oft cited iPhone, just for a moment. Users don't care much that the iPhone is on AT&T's network. Think it would have been a bomb if it were on T-Mobile or Verizon?
There are device and content creators aching to get their products and solutions to a market, and don't necessarily want to get into the business of owning or operating a network. You can help them and everyone wins.
So what?
In every case above, the underlying lesson is to try your hand at maximizing the advantages of what you're good at... even great at... and make that your top priority. In every case, the battle is yours to lose. Cablecos are extremely well positioned to serve customers if they can avoid making them angry. Telcos (and all other CSPs, especially those who own infrastructure) are well positioned to be facilitators and enablers. To do that involves making some adjustments in focus and philosophy. If any of the above is way off base, feel free to contact the Pipeline editorial staff and let them know. They'll know to muzzle me better in the future. In the meantime, I wish you good luck and happy hunting. Just try to keep in mind what business you are in. Let's try to be timekeepers, not watchmakers.
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