Andy has a good rundown on the video chat services (many that are free). The fact that there are so many folks in video conferencing means that the market is growing.

This means that as a VoIP provider, you are losing ground if you are not providing your customers with video/audio/web conferencing. (Need a vendor, give me a call.)

Also, since most of you are not MVNO’s, how are you leveraging mobility?

Are you an agent for Sprint or T-Mobile, making a couple of bucks per activation?

Or are you just leaving it alone all together?

Are you supporting a softphone?

It isn’t enough to just release a product – like conferencing or softphone – and announce it once. The key to stickiness is usage. You need to get your users using the new service. First, you have to eat the dog food – are you using it internally?

Give classes, webinars, go to chamber events to demonstrate the new features. As usage increases, the stickier you get.

Why is sticky important? Churn is expensive. New Customer Acquisition is expensive. Do you even know what your acquisition costs are? How about the Lifetime Value of the Customer?

Just some things to think about this morning.  See you in Atlanta!

Saw this article in the Boise news about a caller ID being wrong for a month. (And it made the news?) T-Mobile was pointing fingers at the ILEC (C-Link), which pointed the finger back.

Just thought you would want to know, it is widespread.

In reading this article about building a better Google Voice, apparently no company provides everything a customer needs – and most of the needs are wrapped around mobile.

Cbeyond did a study that shows small business relies on mobile more and more – for working remotely; for working on the go.

“Cbeyond survey discovered that, in addition to mobile services, the two other most critical technologies for United States SMBs include network access and desktop/laptop management. 42 percent of the polled SMB leaders recognized that doing business operations without mobile services would be a major challenge, while 34 percent saw that survival for their businesses would not be possible without mobile services.” [ucstrategies]

The lifehacker article busts on voicemail transcription services. It reminds me of Louie CK: you are mad that this new AI tech is available for free (or near free) and it isn’t perfect yet?? That is what we face as technology marketers — it has to be cheap, perfect, and stylish and as easy as the iPhone.

The lesson for service providers is that you can put together a neat bundle still – despite a thousand people trying.

“The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) and NeoNova Holdings (NeoNova) today announced that NRTC has acquired 100% ownership of NeoNova,” according to the press release.

NeoNova started as an ISP in NC and recently became a Google Apps Partner. It signed a deal with a telecom master agency, Microcorp, to increase sales distribution. It must have worked because the NRTC came calling.

The NRTC is an association for 1500 rural telcos, some of whom were already customers of NeoNova.

“Today, the path to purchase is as complex as ever. Increasingly fragmented audiences. Shifting consumer behaviors and attitudes (many of them subconscious). Connected devices. The daunting task of creating content.” [from Digital CMO Summit]
“It can feel chaotic.”
Since the buyer has changed they way they buy, you have to alter the way you sell.
6 ways to do that from Cbeyond at HostingCon

1. Get addicted to data and metrics
2. Hire sales reps that fit your system
3. Pay well and pay for results
4. Sell different ways
5. Celebrate success
6. Consistency is key