Like many of you, I have been following the IPL for several weeks now and given how fast paced the matches are, you aren't always sure who will be declared Man of the Match or, in American Lingo, Most Valuable Player (MVP). Just this morning they talked about the "best buys" of the IPL and it's great to see that ROI is coming into play in cricket, not just crazy money being spent through auctions. ROI has been a critical measurement for marketing initiatives too, but there is still a long way to go on how we or whether we measure the success of new product launches and campaigns.
Let's take the mobile number portability (MNP) campaigns that the telcos spent billions on earlier this year. I have to say, as an observer of the campaign, I was pretty excited about the promise of MNP. In fact, when my mom was looking to replace an old phone, I suggested she move to a new service at the same time because, according to all the advertising, it was as simple as an SMS. I completed the requisite paperwork and paid the fees to someone who even came to my office and gave me a receipt. I was promised that my new SIM card would be delivered in days. It has been over 2 months now and there is no SIM card in sight. I have visited 3 different stores and spoken to about 4 customer service reps - some can see my request in the system other can't, some say they have put in a new request and give me a commitment on a delivery date -which comes and goes. And the saga goes on...In the meantime, I bought a brand new connection from a 3rd provider. Of course I have no hope to recoup the fees I paid either.
I've given up on promise on MNP - but that is not the reason why I tell this story. It's more from the perspective that its easy for companies to spend billions on "cute marketing" isn't "smarter commerce" what is more important? I think most people would agree that we need to be able to FULFILL on the demand we create through campaigns quickly and effectively to result in revenue and ROI from the campaigns.
But fulfillment is like a "best buy" of the IPL - few seem to think of it as a strategic asset until people start complaining! Its time to give fulfillment it due and its rightful place as "MVP", especially for MNP! How would you do it?
you might have seen that Vodafone - one of the biggest beneficiaries of MNP - is suing one of their unhappy customers. so perhaps they aren't that interested in maximizing value :)
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