(This is a repost of a blog I wrote for Agent Associates in October 2013.) Recently I had coffee with a contact who is an Integra Telecom channel manager. Listening to him describe their new product offerings, I could not help but remember a book called To Catch a Mouse, Make a Noise Like a Cheese by Lewis Kronfield of RadioShack fame.
The book was given to me years ago by my friend and mentor Michael Flink, former President of Honeywell-ADI Americas and a RadioShack alum, and is a treasured favorite in my business library. Though the content is a little dated it remains a vital walkthrough of how to communicate the value your company and products in a way that is meaningful and actionable to your target markets. The premise of the book is that your most recent customer is your next best customer and this is something that most of the major carriers seem to miss.
The services offered by the top traditional carriers are evolving in ways driven by new technologies such as cloud services that drive the need for bigger bandwidth and competitive pressure from the cablecos; not by the growing or changing needs of their customer base. The problem is the majority of businesses in America are less than 20 people and their needs are most often solved by smaller solutions, not by big cloud services and fat pipes.
As telecom marketers we are ultimately the face of the brand we present to our customers. Offerings like this make it easier to present the services on the strength of their benefits, not just the lowest price. We so often catch carriers doing wrong; it is good to see a carrier doing right. That has the golden sound of cheddar to me.