Posted: 09/1997
Marketing Prepaid Wireless to The Credit-Challenged
By Mary E. Stanhope
Marketing to the credit-challenged is a key part of a successful prepaid cellular service offering. It is important to market prepaid cellular service as a standard service offering, as the credit-disadvantaged will not likely respond positively to a hidden service that makes them feel separated from the mainstream. In addition, the pricing and packaging of the new service must be simple, convenient and flexible.
Ease of Use
Prepaid services can and need to be designed to closely mimic a post-paid service. It must be simple to use. The subscriber must need only to dial the number and hit send. To the passerby on the street, there should be no apparent difference in service. Network-based platforms allow carriers and resellers to design such simple services and add features to help the credit-challenged know how they are spending their money. Prompts to the subscriber at the beginning, during and after the call tell them how they are spending their prepaid dollars.
Convenience
Convenience of the service is also important. Being able to recharge an account anywhere at any time is critical. Remember that the odds are that the credit-challenged do not have credit cards. Recharging with presold debit cards is the best solution.
In addition to being an easy way to recharge, these cards provide an additional marketing outlet. Cards often have logos, collector edition graphics or special promotions. Once they are used, they still retain their advertising function, whether passed on to a friend or cast aside.
Prepaid wireless service needs to be easy to ask for, easy to sign up for and easy to understand. Carriers are now offering prepaid cellular service without credit checks, contracts or large monthly fees. These potential subscribers will know that the service is available only if you execute the right marketing plan.
Targeting
It is quite easy to locate the credit-challenged through demographics and credit bureau reports. After you complete this quick research, start advertising in metropolitan areas, on bus lines and in establishments most likely to be frequented by this segment of new subscribers. Continue with the same advertising theme in store fronts, where people can easily apply for service and buy more minutes on a regular basis. Window posters and countertop displays are helpful to continue your marketing theme. Potential subscribers need to be able to walk into a store and point to a display, and not have to ask by name for prepaid service.
Flexibility
Another important principle is to plan for change. Do not plan on the fact that some change may occur; rather, plan that it will occur and consistently. When rolling out a new service, there are always hurdles to deal with the challenge of collecting enough features to address the market and the fact that change affects even those features assembled at the onset. Companies must be careful not to roll out a limited service with little flexibility for change in the future.
One way to plan for change and provide subscribers with the service options they want is to take a platform approach to the service. The platform solution is based on an initial deployment of a service across the network. Once this first service has been implemented, a platform solution allows for easy implementation of additional services at a low cost. In this way, all services on the platform are working to justify the same investment.
Mutuality
The most important fundamental marketing lesson to be learned is that services, including prepaid services, must benefit everybody. The industry often forgets this principle. Frequently, service designers think only of how the service will benefit their company. For a service to be successful, there has to be something in it for the caller, the subscriber and the service provider. The service provider receives increased revenue, new subscribers and some level of fraud protection to help meet their business goals. On the other hand, the subscriber must also perceive some benefit. The caller, the subscriber and the service provider all must be involved in this partnership. If it is not perceived as beneficial by all, then the measured level of success diminishes.
Mary E. Stanhope is director of Product Marketing for Priority Call Management, based in Wilmington, Mass. Priority develops and markets network-based platforms that enable telecommunications service providers and Fortune 1,000 companies to create and offer unique one- number, prepaid calling and enhanced messaging solutions. For more information, call (508) 658-4400.
