How to create new customers

28-01-2009

by Ralph Averbuch

What do you do when the economy's on the rocks and you have shareholders to keep happy? If you're a mobile network where you're already at saturation point, you invent new customers! But how? Well in Vodafone's case they sold this blogger a new package – more minutes, more features, et cetera. However, with the new deal, you can't throw away your old mobile contract. Instead, you buy a new package on top of the old one as this has all the calling benefits. You might then ask, why should you keep the old mobile deal, which has no benefits? For the simple reason that the new deal is a separate (therefore 'new') contract that runs in addition to the old one. If you decide to end your existing contract, the new deal is off. So, from Vodafone's point of view, an existing customer can suddenly become two customers! Full marks go to the bean-counters who worked out this particular wheeze. Now the tech industry just has to work out how it can pull the same trick... or will that be Windows 7 plus an XP 'downgrade' option?

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