Everyone in South Africa is already on a cellphone network. Therefore to get customers, 8ta needs to take them away from the other networks. People aren’t going to move to another network if they are going to get exactly the same thing that they were originally getting. So 8ta has to be different in some way(s) to the other networks. MTN and Vodacom are identical – goodish coverage, average service, bureaucratic and inflexible, all for a premium. CellC is trying to give itself an image of better value for money than Voda and MTN, but people still think its coverage and network quality is poor (don’t know if this is true or not)
But what makes 8ta different? I don’t know? I don't even know what 8ta stands for - is it an upmarket network, a lower end network, does it compete on price or quality? All I know is that it is Telkom's mobile division (which isn't an inspiring image due to Telkoms image). As cheesy as it sounds, 8ta needs an exciting slogan – powered by Telkom doesn’t do much for me.
8ta can become 'different' by offering different things (although this is limited to a degree), excellent service (just good enough service doesn't differentiate it from the other networks), being more flexible (shorter contract terms) or significantly better prices and value for money (although being cheaper is the best way to get customers, I know management will never do that
]
I think 8ta should focus on offering different products and being more flexible than the other networks. Pricing is important but I know management love their margins. But by offering different products/services to other networks, it makes it harder for people to make direct comparisons between networks based solely on price thus avoiding this. Service is important so maintain an adequate level here, but this is trickier and more time and resource consuming than the other options. A quality network is a given – i.e. low dropped calls, good backhaul capacity, place more towers in areas with congestion etc.
Make it – 8ta is new (smaller coverage) and we approach things differently, so if you’re not smiling from your current network/setup, come to us and we’ll show you a different way of thinking. Break the mould. You actually need to advertise, I haven’t seen a single 8ta advertisement in months.
I think 8ta can very easily offer different data solutions, as their mindset is already that 3g is overpriced and the caps are far too small. For example:
-High cap data bundles (8ta already does this to a degree through the 60gb+60gb special and internet promo 5 bundles) – for individuals who can’t get ADSL (no lines) and need lots of data (provide more options – 10gb – 50gb a month from R200 a month to R500 a month etc.) – their primary connection
-Mid cap bundles – for people who use 3G already on other networks as a secondary/mobile connection, but who always run out of their 2gb and pay OOB rates/find it overpriced. Offer 5gb for R150.
-Low end bundles – for lower income users who want to experience the internet, but can’t afford any more than R50-R100 a month (incl. modem) on it. Could also offer cheap tablets (Like R1000 ones) with data. Obviously this targets lower income people, so 8ta needs to improve its coverage in the townships – currently quite poor as per the coverage maps (Soweto has 1 or 2 towers if I remember correctly.)
-Flexible ways to obtain these bundles – 24 month contract, 12 month contract, 12 month prepaid, 1 month prepaid etc. – obviously make it cheaper for people who sign 24 month contracts than for 1 month prepaid etc. – reward loyalty, decrease costs (from 8ta’s side).
For voice, this is trickier. 8ta’s voice packages are not cheap and they are no different to the other networks. 8ta needs things like 99c peak time rates, free calls to 2 other 8ta numbers, unlimited calls for business people and social tigers. Mobile operators are very inflexible when it comes to voice rates because these give them the best margins. So 8ta needs to change this significantly for there to be any uptake for their voice packages, but I am sure there would be strong resistance from management in this area.
Same thing for SMS as for voice. SMS’s out of bundle should be 10c max if that…
Coverage
Finish covering the major cities in their entirety - can't have parts of Johannesburg northern suburbs with vast gaps of coverage. Identify outlying areas and smaller towns without adequate telkom lines and other cell network coverage - someone has to give those people good telecommunications - for example in Pretoria East a lot of people struggle to get internet as there are no phone lines and poor coverage from all operators and people have to resort to expensive options like Amobia etc. Cover the townships.
Townships
8ta's coverage is poor in the townships (per the coverage map). People in the townships need affordable voice, sms and data, and largely are willing to pay for it. Many don't have computers, so rely on their phones for internet access, but R2/mb is too expensive. MTN and Vodas R30 - R100 bundles are the right price range, but for only up to 200mb or so - this is pathetic. Maybe offer like an Mzanzi one month prepaid package – R60 you get 10 min of peak calls, 1 hour off peak calls, 300mb data, 20sms’s. This would also help bring up your revenue per sim, as people in the townships might only spend R20 a month on airtime, but at R60 getting so much more might be worth it to them. Make it limited to one recharge per month to put off cheapskate wealthier users, and perhaps only offer it as a voucher only available from shops in lower income areas.
Distribution
Very limited. Having 8ta shops latched onto the already limited Telkom shops is not ideal (and unprofessional). Obviously you need more 8ta shops, but this is verrrryyy expensive and time consuming. So maybe in the interim partner with Pick ‘n Pay or CNA or something and have small pre fab but professional looking and attention capturing counters/stands with 1 or 2 tills, full printed advertisements and limited stock on hand that gets delivered often (2 or 3 times per week) in these stores near the entrance/tills. Most MTN and Vodacom shops don’t have stock of the things you want anyways, so maybe make it if someone requests something stock will be delivered the next day. The staff here can RICA and invoice prepaid services and phones easily, but contracts should maybe be done online through tablets at the counter – as the documentation with contracts is more sensitive and complicated. Maybe connect scanners so all the documents get sent off to head office straight away without any potential security/privacy issues i.t.o. theft of documents etc.
8ta needs to look at how the other networks are operating… and not operate like them
(I would have made a more profound conclusion, but my lunch break is over now!).
