Tag Archives: Strategic management

May 29, 2014 · 9:29 am

Give The People What They Want

I was working at a television network when the Internet became a “thing.”

Television

(Photo credit: Daniel Y. Go)

In those early years streaming video wasn’t really a consideration since the technology hadn’t been invented and there was no such thing as broadband in the home.  Nevertheless, the seeds of where we are today had been planted and there was a huge threat perceived by my compatriots at the network from the emerging technology.

Fast forward 15 years.  Today video streaming is a common part of the media experience and that technology has broadened the potential reach of content services (which is how one needs to think of “broadcasters”) well beyond the living room.  Forward-thinking companies embraced this new access to eyeballs while some continue to resist, entrenched in their old business models which are pretty much on their last legs.  The  way forward is seen in a study released the other day by the Viacom folks.  They studied the impact of TV Everywhere which defined as watching full-length TV programs on sites and apps by “authenticating,” or using pay TV log-in information.

The majority of users agree: TV Everywhere is additive to the TV viewing experience. Since they began using TV Everywhere apps and sites, 64% report watching more TV overall. This finding is even stronger among Millennials, with 72% watching more TV.  TV Everywhere also increases the value of pay TV subscriptions while strengthening loyalty to pay TV providers and relationships with networks.

  • A full 98% of users say TVE adds value to their pay TV subscription, with 67% saying it adds “a lot” of value.

  • The vast majority (93%) is more likely to stay with their provider due to TV Everywhere and 68% have a more favorable impression of networks that offer TVE experiences.

This points out how when we give consumers what they want instead of forcing them to choose an inferior option that may coincide with our business needs but not their appetites, companies do better.  Yes, I’m writing that in a way that extends it beyond just TV Everywhere but that’s the point I take away from the data.  Do you agree?

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May 28, 2014 · 8:59 am

Reach Out And Touch Someone

In the late 1970’s the folks at the Bell System, which was part (a BIG part) of AT&T, ran commercials with the theme “Reach Out And Touch Someone.”  It urged consumers to be proactive – to pick up the telephone and “just say hi.”  After last week I sort of wish they had followed their own advice and let me explain why.

AT&T Store

 (Photo credit: JeepersMedia)

My family and I have been on AT&T Wireless for decades.  So long that two of our four accounts have unlimited data plans grandfathered in (try to buy one of those any more – you can’t!).  We found, however, that sometimes one or two of us would go over the monthly data cap and have to pay additional charges while the two on the unlimited accounts rarely used much data at all (we’re often connected to WiFi).  Our monthly bill was close to $300 and we’ve been thinking about finding a cheaper, better plan for us all.

The good news is that our bill is now $100 a month less and we’re still with AT&T.  They have a shared data plan that will work for us all and even though two of us lost our unlimited data it won’t be an issue given our usage history.  The bad news is that AT&T came very close to losing us as customers.  Why?

Because we had to figure this out for ourselves.  Do I think it’s reasonable for a huge company to look at its customers and figure out that someone could be paying them $1,200 a year less?  Actually, I do.  That’s what the digital and data revolution of the last decade has been about to a large extent.  Using what you know about your customers to anticipate their needs and provide better service.  I will say that once we went to the AT&T store to confirm what we were able to discern on our own about adjusting our plan they could not have been more helpful and we left quite happy.

No one can take customers for granted.  While AT&T knows an awful lot more about how my family uses data and wireless services than most businesses know about their customers, it’s incumbent on all of us to take whatever it is we do know and try to put it to use in a proactive manner.  That’s what I urge my clients to do.  And now I’m urging you as well.  You in?

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May 19, 2014 · 12:19 pm

Fee-ed up

The family and I went to a concert last night – more about that tomorrow.

CeBIT Home 1998 student day ticket with barcode

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the process of setting up the evening out with the family, I bought tickets online.  I actually bought one too many so I sold it online as well.  If you’ve done either – along with a host of other things – in the last couple of years, you’ve probably noticed that there are fees associated with those activities.  Obviously there is the price of the ticket but there are handling fees, convenience fees, delivery fees, processing fees and who knows what else.  I’m fee-ed up.  Let me explain.

I certainly don’t begrudge anyone from making a buck for providing a service.  My issue is that many businesses seem to have followed the lead of the airline industry in nickel and dime-ing their customers to death.  Let’s take last night.  The face value of my ticket was $118.  On top of that, I paid a service fee of $12.80 (almost another 11%) and a $5 facility charge (another 4%) per ticket.  There was also a $3.25 order processing fee.  The last one is, in my opinion, where the nickel and dime mentality lives.  In light of the $102 they made processing my order for the tickets, do they really need another $3.25?  At least I didn’t get charged to use my own printer to print the tickets out…this time.

Then I sold a ticket.  Since it was an in-demand show, I was able to do so for $225.  Of course, that was before I paid 15% to the site that helped me sell it – $34.  At least that fee was straightforward.  Had I been selling baseball tickets, however, there’s also a $1.50 per ticket MLB transfer fee and a $2 per ticket delivery fee. So while MLB got paid by selling a seat, they want to get paid again (as if the beer and hotdogs aren’t enough) because what might be an unused ticket moves to someone who will be there.

It’s not just tickets.  Looked at your phone bill?  What’s an “administration fee” except billions in the phone company’s pocket and a buck out of yours? Bought a car and paid a “document fee” of a couple of hundred dollars? Bank fees are among the worst and try telling the cable company you don’t want a remote control for which they charge you every month.  Then there are the airlines…

I’ll say it again.  It’s fine to  collect a fee for delivering a product or service.  Be upfront about it (you usually discover most of these fees after you’ve “bought”).  Make them clear and reasonable and in line with what the customer would expect to pay for your service.  The way to lose big bucks in my mind is to collect nickels and dimes in a sneaky way on top of those bucks.  What do you think?

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