To borrow an adage from the real estate business, the most important rule in the wireless communications industry is going to be brand name, brand name, brand name.
In the quick aftermath of President Clinton’s signing the Telecommunications Act of 1996, telecommunications giants are moving quickly to reach out and touch potential new customers.
While the Baby Bells are looking long term to offer long-distance service, immediate plans include offering long-distance cellular service and marketing strategies that combine wireless and wireline offerings. And of course, long-distance carriers are equally impatient to get into local telephone service.
And the success of all these companies will hinge largely on their name recognition.
A few years ago, I was talking to an independent cellular operator who was frustrated because he was losing market share to PacTel, who was the other carrier in his market at the time. It wasn’t that PacTel had better quality service. After all, both companies had good systems, he pointed out. But he was having a heck of a time competing on price and was losing the brand name battle-he just didn’t have PacTel’s marketing resources and he couldn’t find a way to distinguish his service from PacTel’s.
Southern Co., a public utility provider, is planning to go head-to-head in competition for specialized mobile radio customers with Nextel Communications Inc. Along with faith in its network, Southern management points out the company has a well-respected brand name.
Southern has a point.
Utility companies have a presence. So do cable operators. And Bell companies. And long-distance operators.
Do C-block bidders?
In every wireless business, whether cellular, paging, SMR or personal communications services, there will always be a few operators who have enough local brand name recognition to be able to successfully compete head-to-head with companies with a better known brand name. But they will be the exceptions.
People may not necessarily like their local phone company, or long-distance operator, or utility provider, but they know them. And in today’s hectic society, will people take the time to compare service offerings and quality, or will it be easier to simply go with a name that they already know?
Forget the potential mergers and alliances that eventually will come with telecom reform, look for companies to immediately sell their brand names. Brands will be important to existing companies and crucial to new ones.
Will the wireless industry soon be a plethora of companies using AT&T, MCI and Ameritech brand names?
I think so.
