Expansion, expansion, expansion is the name of the game -- better known as customer acquisition. Retention is an afterthought. It's only - how do we get MORE customers. The result is that existing customers get pissed off.
I deal with pissed off customers all the time, it's my primary job to take these pissed off customers and sign them up (when selling TV). That's not bad at all. They already woke up in the morning with an chink in their emotional armor.
But the entire process made me wonder, can companies TV/Phone actually afford to charge their first year or second rates to everyone? I think the answer is no thereby creating a system that DOES NOT reward loyalty but rather PROMOTES frequent swapping.
The reality of the situation for Television providers is that everything is moving into an online streaming medium where you can provide advertisements directly, however charging people a monthly fee for things they do not care about -- that's going away. They will likely rake and claw their way down into oblivion with contracts and business deals to delay the inevitable, but the end IS coming.
As for phone providers, phones are becoming a way of life more than a communication device, an extension or replacement of their home computer system. Unless a viable alternative presents itself, phone providers will have their customers by the balls for some time.
All of these companies are seeking to expand into new areas and tap new locations; but the consumer base, like most of America is becoming jaded by one dimensional salesmen peddling the same old product year after year; they have a romantic adventure for the first year only to be screwed in successive years by a business scheme that everyone has accepted as reality.
TV is a non-essential service, people do NOT need it to survive and as many of the streamers are learning, you can be just fine without it. On the flip-side though, the worse the economy becomes, the more people on welfare, the more people that actually WANT TV because they have nothing better to do IN THEIR MINDS.
My personal view is: If you get bored without TV, there's clearly a problem with your lifestyle and expectations.
My question is: Where will services like Netflix, AmazonPrime, and Hulu fit into the future order. Will they begin offering new customer rates? Will they suffer the same negotiation problems Television providers are dealing with?
What will happen with the advent of Google Fiber and the incrediably low rates that provides for Gigabit internet? What will this do to regular providers? Will existing providers scheme up a way to crush Google's plans to make everyone's lives better?
What will the future hold? I'd like to see some predictions.
