About Broadband Marketing

Marketing 101: Benefits not features

Good marketing always has been and always will be about promoting benefits. Speed and price are features, and concurrently, replicable and/or beatable.

Broadband marketing isn’t really a ‘thing’ unless you count the drumbeat of (over) promoting speed and price. By overemphasizing ‘how fast’ and ‘how much’ there service is, ISPs are commoditizing their internet service and not really marketing at all.

When Apple introduced its original iPod, it could have launched it as “a robust handheld device that includes 5 GB storage for MP3s.”
Instead, the iPod’s introduction was marked by promoting the benefit it would deliver consumers: 1,000 songs in your pocket.

Simple. Elegant. And feature focused. 

Just like broadband marketing should be.

Marketing 101: Benefits not features

Broadband marketing isn’t really a ‘thing’ unless you count the drumbeat of (over)promoting speed and price. By overemphasizing ‘how fast’ and how much’ there service is, ISPs are commoditizing their internet service and not really marketing at all.
Good marketing always has been and always will be about promoting benefits. Speed and price are features, and concurrently, replicable and/or beatable.
When Apple introduced its original iPod, it could have launched it as “a robust handheld device that includes 5 GB storage for MP3s.”
Instead, the iPod’s introduction was marked by promoting the benefit it would deliver consumers: 1,000 songs in your pocket.
Simple. Elegant. And feature focused.

Broadband is More than Speed/Price

Jitter, latency, availability, and customer service are all part of what may make one ISP’s services better than others, but ultimately each are features that rarely drive purchasing decisions.

Low latency is almost as important as fast speeds. Reducing jitter is critical for high performing internet service. Who cares! Yes, you and your engineering team but ultimately, tell your consumers what this means. Play games online. Win! 

And availability is critical – but does your target audience internalize what an unavailable network means to their life and/or business?

Talk to your customers and prospects about what your ‘better’ means for them versus just saying… ‘look at my feature, it makes me better.” Tell them why! 

That’s what we do – we make your service meaningful to your market.  

Broadband is More than Speed/Price

Jitter, latency, availability, and customer service are all part of what may make one ISP’s services better than others, but ultimately each are features that rarely drive purchasing decisions.

Low latency is almost as important as fast speeds. But does telling someone that you deliver low latency inspire action from a consumer?

Reducing jitter is critical for high performing internet service – but do consumers understand it as a feature?

It’s widely accepted that consumers buy benefits, not features. 1,000 songs in my pocket versus a 5 GB hard drive. Or, for our purposes…
  • Always available means your business is always online, never losing money.
  • Better jitter and lower latency mean better gaming, gain an edge and win!
  • Faster downloads to get streaming right away and no interruptions from buffering.
  • Clearer connections for better quality phone calls and video sessions.
  • Transparent connection to the cloud for easy backups.
What does better broadband allow consumers and businesses to do? After all, speed on its own is meaningless. But the benefits and the transformational power of a better, more robust broadband service is what ISPs should be selling. The promise of a better life through better broadband.

Utilities Don’t Need Marketing...

But broadband does!

One challenge with broadband that ISPs often face is they get caught up in the ‘religion’ of connectivity and default to broadband being a utility.
In 2024, the argument can and is being made that broadband, just like water and electricity before it, should be provided to US citizens universally.
It’s the tenant of the BEAD program and the $42.5 billion investment, to achieve universal connectivity amongst the unserved and underserved populations.
The challenge isn’t whether broadband is a utility and/or a basic right. We’re not legislating that. But in marketing, we need to meet consumers where their mindset is, and in 2024, consumers still view broadband as a ‘technology’ purchase for their individual household.

A ‘decision’ for connecting water or electricity is either a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. Conversely, broadband providers typically provide different service levels, revealing that there is a decision to be made.

Why subscribe to faster speeds? Why select a provider with lower latency? Why would a consumer care about “jitter?”

READY TO WORK WITH THE BROADBAND MARKETERS TEAM?

We would love to hear from you about how we can help you drive take rates with benefits-centric broadband marketing. 

Reach out and we will get right back to you. 

Contact Us Today

READY TO WORK WITH THE BROADBAND MARKETERS TEAM?

We would love to hear from you about how we can help you drive take rates with benefits-centric broadband marketing. 

Reach out and we will get right back to you. 

Contact Us Today
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