Ideas for Wireless Carriers

(guest blogged by Jim Chard)

An enormous opportunity awaits any wireless carrier who has the vision to see it. Wireless data currently comprises a relatively small portion of carrier revenues but could be so much more. The wireless data market has not been pursued with the aggressiveness that the opportunity demands. Rather than focus on this business market, far greater effort and investment has been devoted to voice, email, consumer, and teen age markets such as ring tones.

Most importantly a wireless data sale does not have to be deeply discounted to beat out a competitor because wireless data delivers a return on investment. This makes the wireless data sale much more profitable and “sticky” for the carrier.

Furthermore, a data sale to a business customer can be far easier than voice because the “prospect” is generally already a customer. The prospect already has accounts and devices. He does not have to be snatched away from a competitor. A bidding war does not have to be part of the closing process. And the sales staff has a good reason to be calling on the existing customer because they have something new and important to offer.

There are over 35 million mobile workers in the United State alone. This number is growing and doesn’t even include “dispersed” workers in warehouses, stay-out-home workers that need to stay in touch, and market niches such as consumer surveys or clinical trials. All or most would benefit from wireless applications which are far more efficient and time saving than voice or email. But wireless carriers are focusing almost exclusively on voice and consumer (and to a lesser extent email).

The carriers have not built the infrastructure necessary to reach and develop the wireless data market. For example, there are relatively few data sales engineers. Such professionals are necessary to craft wireless solutions for customers. Sales incentive plans are almost exclusively directed to voice and device activations. Data sales are treated as the poor step child of the organization. Most carriers do not have industry verticals or focus that enable the sales and support staff to deliver wireless applications that meet domain specific requirements.

Currently, sales incentive plans at wireless carriers work against data sales. These plans focus exclusively on voice, devices, and activations. There is a monthly quota imperative that works against data sales which tend to have a longer sales cycle and do not consist of simply activating accounts. However, the sales staff, if properly trained and supported for wireless sales, can sell a service that does not have to be deeply discounted to beat out a competitor. Properly incented sales staff can demonstrate to the prospect how wireless data generates hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings and pays for itself in 3 to 5 months. This “solutions sale” or “enterprise sale” demands more of the sales staff but positions the wireless carrier to build customer loyalty, reduce customer churn, and dramatically increase revenue per user. By selling added value not lowest price, the sales staff can enhance the relationship with the customer while at the same time boosting margin for the carrier.

To complete the picture of an aggressive wireless sales effort for carriers, it is critical to build a strong Independent Software Vendor (ISV) alliance program. ISVs are the catalysts that make the wireless sales program percolate. Without wireless applications, wireless carriers are just transporting bits of data, not answering to customer needs. In a truly aggressive program, a carrier would recruit ISVs, offer them incentives and co-marketing dollars, introduce them to potential customers, and help educate them on certain verticals and market niches. Something as simple as providing the organization chart for data sales engineers, marketing heads, and indirect channels to ISVs would provide a substantial boost to wireless data sales.

While such an aggressive wireless data sales and marketing program could represent a significant investment on the part of the carrier; capturing this huge market could lead to a significant return to the carrier both in increased revenue per user and reduced churn.