Roll Over, Beethoven

Last month, BellSouth introduced its airtime rollover plan. Like other precedent-setting plans such as One Rate and No Roaming before it, the rollover plan will be infectious and force other service providers to follow suit. The reason? Plain and simple. Economics and competition. Telecommunications today is defined by how few pennies a long-distance or wireless call costs. The addition of the rollover effect smoothes out some of wireless' more brittle and rough edges.

Consider this: For my monthly charge of $49.99, I receive 250 minutes of airtime. That comes out to 5 cents a minute. However, in months in which I only use 100 minutes, I'm actually paying nearly 50 cents a minute. With the introduction of this plan, other use-it-or-lose-it plans suddenly will be forced to answer the question, "Why don't you do roll-overs?" (See Mystery Caller.)

A rollover plan guarantees a customer a consistent price on his airtime, not one fluctuating on his usage. It also provides one more inducement for that customer to stay loyal to the provider. "I have 300 extra minutes I've accumulated. I can't (read: won't) switch service providers or I'll lose them."

The inevitable next step will be for providers to then offer a program to encourage people to use all of their allocated minutes every month, rather than squirrel them away. One way to induce usage would be to develop frequent-caller programs.

They could be modeled after the S&H Green Stamps program of yesteryear. When I was a kid, every time my mom shopped at certain grocery stores, she would receive green stamps in denominations commensurate with her spending. My sisters and I would lick those stamps and affix them in the books. Once we completed enough books, we could turn them in for actual merchandise.

Imagine that customers who use their allotments receive a credit. Those who use more than their allotments might receive additional credits. Once they accumulate enough credits, they could turn them in for merchandise.

The simple merchandise exchange could be easy hits for the service providers. They could offer hardware upgrades, free service registration for family members or accessories.

That's the simplest vision. However, as service providers cement relationships with portals and other e-commerce agents, I envision a day when customers will be able to turn in those credits for actual merchandise ý la S&H Green Stamps.

Tracking and crediting this type of loyal subscriber usage would be a simple addition to the billing and customer-care systems. It also would develop a bountiful list of potential customers for your sales associates to upsell.

In my current wireless plan, imagine if I had an inducement to use my 250 minutes every month, consistently and religiously. And what if over six to 12 months, I go over that amount by 50 to 100 minutes regularly? You could target me and tell me about your new Plutonium-Medallion-level plan for high-usage subscribers. Not only could I receive 100 more minutes a month, but I'd move up to the next level of awards possibilities.

It's natural progression. Offer a rollover account. Induce customers to use all of those minutes anyway. Then help them move up to the next level of service. Everyone working in concert to make everyone happy. It's a happy tune to beat your drum to.