Find a League of Your Own

One lesson I learned early in my journalism education was to use words carefully. Some powerful words lose their meaning if used too loosely. Take the word "unique." It often is used as an adjective, but rarely is something truly unique. The same is happening with the wireless industry's term of the moment, "differentiate." It comes up in almost all discussions about competition, so much so that it has lost its meaning. Have carriers forgotten what it truly means to differentiate their services?

Often when carriers want to make their offerings stand out, they are turning to enhanced services such as voice-activated dialing, voice-mail notification, short messaging service, prepaid and caller ID -- even wireless office solutions. The problem is that most of your competitors are purchasing the same type of platforms and implementing the same services. These features no longer differentiate you; they just become a necessary value-added service.

Rate adjusting is another way that carriers are trying to differentiate themselves. Every day, carriers come up with new ways to make their service pricing look more attractive through unlimited-minutes rate plans, low monthly rates, nationwide 1-rate plans and per-second billing. But for every new idea, another carrier soon will follow in your footsteps. These may seem like unique characteristics today, but tomorrow they will blend in with those that have followed you.

These are short-term fixes. What carriers need to be looking at is how they will survive over the long haul in this market. Enhanced services and rate variation are critical aspects to wireless service. However, they soon will blend in as basic service. Eventually, all services will look alike: low prices with advanced features.

Although these areas are necessary for advancement and improving wireless services, as carriers move forward, they may be neglecting the obvious things that truly could set them apart in the marketplace. It's time to re-evaluate three fundamental issues.

Don't forget to fine-tune the basics. Despite the move toward advanced features, something still is missing. After all, wireless still penetrates only 1% of the population. Carriers should put more efforts on the basics of their networks. Although technology advancements are sexy, 99% of Americans still haven't been convinced they need to purchase wireless service. I doubt they all are waiting for voice-activated dialing, short message service or high-speed data. Rather, they probably are waiting for the reliable, high-quality network they are accustomed to with wireline. Push vendors to focus on ways to help you improve current networks. After all, what good are feature-rich services when customers continue to receive low-quality voice service and dropped calls?

Customer service is yet another basic concept that many carriers have yet to really invest in. No matter how little your service costs or how many advanced features you offer, if customers can't come to you with concerns, they will go somewhere else. As you implement advanced features and technologies, it is more important than ever that you advance customer service alongside those efforts.

Once you've done that, take risks. Many carriers are taking a wait-and-see approach to the market. If you are a follower, become a leader in the marketplace. Find your own ways to set yourself apart; look inside the company for innovative solutions, or look outside of the wireless industry. Implementing new ideas shouldn't be limited to lowering prices or adding the latest and greatest features. Carriers need to be searching for that one thing that no one else has thought of.

These key issues may seem basic, but if you can offer a new idea, high-quality service and customer service all in one package, that surely will set you apart from the competition. Going back to the basics just may be what this competitive marketplace needs.