What should VOOM do to attract more customers?

They should send me a tshirt. Black or white with the voom logo and it should say HDTV delivered. Anybody know if they have such a thing? That would be cool.

Seriously though, they have got to get into Best Buy. They do that - they will be set.
 
I voted "other".
I think that if it isn't illegal Voom should pay the cancellation fees imposed by a potential customers current DBS provider. I strongly feel that Voom's subscriber numbers are very slow to increase mainly due to the fact that current D* and E* HD customers are most likely stuck in a contract and are unwilling to pay for two services.
 
As I've mentioned in other threads, I think that the average Joe in the US doesn't know what the heck VOOM is. VOOM needs to be in retailers such as BestBuy and Circuit city where Joe is buying his 1st HDTV set and trusting what the saleman says. After investing a lot of $$$ in HDTV, Joe will find very attractive the $0 down offer from VOOM. As others have suggested, VOOM can even be bundled with the purchase of a new HDTV set (something like giving 2 mos. free).
 
Many consumers are unaware of VOOM. I never knew about it until a coworker mentioned it. Advertising in Sears isn't going to cut it. Who goes in Sears these days? The only time I go there is for car batteries and maybe to look at home appliances and that is rare. Most people go to BB, CC or a local electronics shop.
 
Beautiful women. I don't know exactly how V* could go about it, but beautiful women have a way of making men buy things. Perhaps hot infobabes in Voom's TV spots and infomercials. We have to stop thinking like rational, informed consumers. Most consumers don't make purchases based on logic or research, but on PERCEIVED qualities. So in the commercials pair rich guys with pretty girls. People will think, "Oh he's rich, he's gotta hot girl, and he likes V*. If someone that cool likes V*, then so should I." And I'm not making fun of people. Most don't have time to fully research every purchase they make. And for every product you can name that succeeded b/c of sound design, I can name you 20 products that failed despite sound design or very flawed products that succeeded b/c of excellent marketing. For instance, Sony is usually rated as having a top rated brand name by consumers in terms of value and quality. But Sony hasn't been what it once was for about 5 years. Ever tried calling Sony for customer support? The GW3 bulb problem, that would have never happened 5 years ago. But people still love Sony. Long rant, but the point is Voom must market itself much better, and not with fliers at Sears and infomercials at 3:30 a.m. Gotta make Voom cool, and Sears ain't cool.
 
Please check out the thread I started at: http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=13725

I think this is a good start. The Voom CSR told me that this kind of promotion is occurring in different regions throughout the country. If you read some of my posts there, you will also see that there are still very weak Voom reps (outsourced firm) that are not doing the company justice. It also seems that the salespeople are not very well trained. New subscribership will increase, but maximum yield will not be realized due to these circumstances, plus unhappy customers will be generated since there expectation levels are unrealistic. Remember, one bad experience and you tell 10 people, one good experience and you tell 2 people.

I have worked in both advertising and technology, and have seen many of the issues Voom is dealing with. They need to do some market analysis, and depending on the research and cost analysis, need to break up the market into 2 to 3 target markets for advertising and marketing. Please keep in mind I a do not have any figures or analysis, so I do not have any empirical data to backup my suggestions.

Each target market/audience will need its own approach, with overlaps in some instances. For example, the $500 rebate on HDTV's will get new HDTV buyers, as well as former HDTV subscribers.

The Voom infomercials are very useful as well, but must have a strong call to action. I have not seen any of these infomercials, but would love to watch one. I have used this technique for many clients and have realized 50% to 300% increase in inquiries depending on the message being sent.

You also have to consider that the best advertising and marketing in the world does not guarantee sales. When launching new products we have spent hours holding sales training and seminars for the sales staff. I have also monitored number of opportunities against closing ratios, and tweak sales methods and advertising accordingly.

Too many companies launch advertising and do not follow up to the sales floor level. That is the major difference between growing fast, and growing slow. Brand marketing vs. direct marketing. Voom needs a 3o% brand vs 70% direct mix of advertising based on the limited information that I've read.

At a basic level, Voom needs to maximize their opportunities by using more techniques and strategies. They are many potential customers out there, so map out a strong strategy and see it through fruition. This allows maximum bang for your buck. It does not take more advertising dollars to do this, just more focus and increased statistical analysis.

At a minimum, Voom needs to get VOOM users in these stores to move their service and increase the number of subscribers. No one can sell a service or product better, than a loyal user of those services, and a devoted fan. I have used this technique several times and the results are amazing. Think about it. . . would you buy an Audi from a salesman that only has a Mercedes. You would wonder about that. I had a Voom rep admit about being a E* customer, rather than Voom. That is horrible!

Also, as we know from participating in these forums, the system has hiccups as does any new technology. You increase retention if you are able to level set expectations at the time of purchase. These hiccups will be seen with a live feed in the store, and people are not stupid. I saw the hiccups myself this weekend. You have to work to make these mountains into mole hills, by making sure you show the positives well exceed the negatives, and discuss the company's dedication to service and quality.

I notice I am getting a little long winded. I love this stuff, so I apologize in advance. I could right a whole marketing strategy right now. LOL! Bottom line I think some positive steps are being made, but even with the best advertising in the world, sales are made in the stores. You need to get the right representatives in the stores and the proper training and incentives for the sales staff. If anyone would like to hear more ideas, please let me know. I would love to discuss this topic further.

By the way, if anyone in this forum has a Voom contact, perhaps we can get some of the forum members to represent Voom at a local store. Testimonials move products and services at an amazing rate. I have some ideas on things that can be done for that as well. I would love to do it myself, and think it would be fun.
 
Better marketing...

A few of the choices can fall under better marketing but this is basically what they need to do. Whether it's getting into the larger distributors or running more advertisements, it's all marketing at the end of the day.

Not enough people (interested in HD) know about Voom. Not enough people who have thought about HD but held off due to the lack of HD programming available know about Voom either. It's all about getting the word out.

The Rickster
 
My problem with Voom and i'm sure the main thing with many others is that it does not have everything to act as a primary subscriber. Things that are missing for me are a bunch of more SD channels, A more reliable back up of my SD locals when I have trouble getting the HD signals OTA, and HDNet. If voom offered something cheaper of just their 21 HD channels and their HD Marquee pack for like 19.99 then maybe it would be something I'd like to add on. But a base price of 39.90 is too much to add on to my bill, when I'd still need another provider to fulfill those needs mentioned above.
 
BFG said:
My problem with Voom and i'm sure the main thing with many others is that it does not have everything to act as a primary subscriber. Things that are missing for me are a bunch of more SD channels, A more reliable back up of my SD locals when I have trouble getting the HD signals OTA, and HDNet. If voom offered something cheaper of just their 21 HD channels and their HD Marquee pack for like 19.99 then maybe it would be something I'd like to add on. But a base price of 39.90 is too much to add on to my bill, when I'd still need another provider to fulfill those needs mentioned above.

Ditto. I'm paying $40 for cable so I can get my RSN. It'd be nice if V* could be the sole provider by next year.
 
Even though I'm not rich by any means...I have no problem having VOOM and another service in the house. VOOM is mine...its for me and my HDTV. Its not my wifes or my kids...its just mine. Its my present to myself....I only have the standard package so its costing me 52 bucks a mth.... if I had no VOOm I would be paying for the HD pack on Directv for far less HD programming. So intotal VOOM makes me spend 40 bucks more a month. Not bad. I blow alot more than that on my kids and my wife and whatever everyone elses needs are. And I have to worry about 40 bucks a mth? Hell if it gets to much for me to handle i will cancel. I just think that I spent all this money on a HDTV...why not use it? Voom doesnt meet the needs of a sole provider yet...but until that time, Im going to look at VOOM as a way to give back to me.
Also, whenever I mention VOOM to anyone...they look at me and say ...what the hell is that. Most people have no clue what VOOm is. Dear VOOM get the hell out of Sears and get into any serious electrioncs store...CC BB or even PC richards. Anywhere is better than Sears. They are clueless.
 
Three things would be very attractive to potential subscribers:
1. Add a new tier of programming with just HD exclusives for $20-$25 price point.
2. Add HD network feeds of the major networks(ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, PBS) for
subscribers who cannot recieve accteptable OTA reception...........though they
may need help from congress with this one!
3. Stop charging state sales tax to customers who don't live in cablevision/rainbow
home state.
 
Voom needs to get their priorities in order. Nobody joins Voom because they have Moov and the Auction channel. These channels take up perfectly good bandwidth for channels that would attract customers, like their local RSN. If Voom is serious about making money, they need to focus on money-making channels.

Don't get me wrong, i love as much HD as I can get, but as far as Voom being successful they really need to get channels people will want. Ice cream melting in a continuous all-day loop does not draw in subs.

Let the flaming begin about how cool the ice cream thing is. :p
 
stucky_boss said:
They should send me a tshirt. Black or white with the voom logo and it should say HDTV delivered. Anybody know if they have such a thing? That would be cool.

Seriously though, they have got to get into Best Buy. They do that - they will be set.


This is easy and cheap to do. T-Shirts cost nothing and are great promos. You would be surprised how cheap it is to get brand name polos with a full color logo.

Even though I cancelled my Tivo HD order, I still got a complimentary shirt with the TivoHD logo. :)
 
The poll is two pronged question. What can Voom do to attract customers? 1) one way to answer relates to marketing, distribution, sales, and promos 2) second way to answer relates to programming and channel line-ups.

If people do not know what or who Voom is, then the programming line-up is irrelevant. Once you have the interest and brand knowledge, then channel programming and line-up becomes the major concern.

One deals with attracting the customer, and the other retention. Programming and channel line-up become the next question in the consumer's mind after they are aware of the brand. SInce I do not have Voom I have yet to fully experience the Voom channels and Cinema 10. My attention was grabbed by the high number of HD, as well as teh premium movie HD offering such as HBO, Starz, etc. I cannot get some of thos premium HD movie channels at D* or E*. I also am keeping D* for the otehr channels, but would love to have them on Voom and keep one service.

Maybe we can split this thread? One about marketing, advertising, and promos and teh othe rabout channels and programming. . . Thoughts?
 
VOOM needs to do what Dish/Direct do... Give you up to 4 free recievers and charge you $0 for the first one and $5/month for the extra ones. This will put their prices in line with Dish/Direct...
 
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