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One
of the topics I have wanted to expand on for a while is how customers
choose their broadband supplier and how the free hosting feature plays
into their decision mix. Based on a number of reasons I will expand on
I feel that Blogware will come to play in a large way for some of these
suppliers to differentiate their offerings in this highly competitive
market, and how this decision proves that they are thought leaders in
their space.

With most broadband
packages there are all sorts of free tools and features, and next to email the largest
and most common is some free hosting space. When you look at
the customer segment for broadband you see allot of Internet surfers,
and although the free hosting is eye candy and one of the reasons why a
customer chooses a certain supplier over another, it's rarely used. If
any broadband supplier ever checked the #'s, they would more than
likely see that less than 2-5% of their customers use this space, and
from the supplier’s standpoint that is a good thing. Why? It's a cost center for them on a few fronts.

Now, how does Blogware fit into all of this? It lowers the bar to web
publishing, but how? Well there is no need for FTPing, understanding
HTML or web pages, no software to install, they can upload and share
their photos in an easy to use intuitive interface, and overall they derive a
hell of a lot more value than 5-50 megs of free hosting space alone.
Can they still host their web pages off of a Blogware account? Yes!
With the robust file manager they have the ability to serve web pages
and HTML for those more advanced applications. They still have FTP
access so a broadband supplier will not alienate their existing 2-5% of
users from what they were doing already.

Now, what are the benefits other than the fact that a higher percentage
of users will acquire utility out of the feature? Well first of all the
biggest benefit is lower attrition rates. It has been shown that
globally we are seeing attrition rates less than 3% for the service.
That is almost 2/3 of standard hosting, and much lower than broadband.
A blog publisher becomes personally attached to their presence. They
are uploading pictures of their loved ones, tracking special moments
whether that be the holidays or travel, using the tool as a podium for
their beliefs, profession, or hobbies. It provides immediate gratification that addresses the
common surfers 3-second attention span that I explored in a previous
article. Overall it provides an experience that a customer has a hard
time to let go of.

Another benefit? This service creates the excellent potential for
further revenue opportunities. Creating a “mini-blog” that is limited
on storage, bandwidth, and certain features allows a reseller to have a
compelling proposition to upgrade to a pay-for package. Uploading a
dozen or so mega pixel photos or a couple of videos would have any user
hitting their limits based on the smallest package type and
this could add dollars per account per month average in upgrades
further increasing
the benefits to the supplier.

Thirdly, they enter the world of being a thought leader in showing
their differentiation in providing a tool their customers can actually
use. This is not just about having a personal journal; this is
empowering your customers with their own easy to use Content Management
tool that only requires the most basic of experience with a computer
operating system and a word based document tool. They offer a freebie
that their customers will actually use.