Sticky Like Honey and Just as Yummy!

CBeyond, a US-based CLEC with presence in 13 cities, is one of the most interesting companies when it comes to creative bundles. The following table summarizes their offers in 2003 vs. 2009.  This is Cbeyond's BASE offer and you cannot be a customer of CBeyond's without purchasing at least this base offer.

2003

2009

3 Yr Contract Pricing

$495 /mth

$495 /mth

Broadband Internet (T1)

1.5 Mbps

1.5 Mbps

Voice Lines

5 lines

4-6 lines

Long Distance Minutes

1,500

1,500

Mobile Minutes

-

Mobile Lines

-

0-2 lines

Web Hosting

-

5 GB

Basic Email (Microsoft Exchange)

-

unlimited

Voicemail

-

1 group

Fax-to-Email

-

1 user

Secure Desktop

-

1 user

Secure Backup

-

2 GB

Managed Firewall

-

included

Conference Calling

-

60 minutes

VPN Remote User

-

1 user

Their prices have not dropped in 6 years - that's amazing!   They measure their sales people and report to Wall Street on activated applications per customer, which at the time of this presentation grew to 7.1 applications per customer!  Now imagine if you were their customer.  How likely would you be to switch to someone else?  They spread a sticky web of services that create a rich experience for their customers.  This is a brilliant strategy not only to differentiate vs. any other typical service provider, but also to retain their existing customer base.  

Does it work?  Yes!  They are growing share and are expanding to more cities.  Watch Jon Harmer from CBeyond discuss their strategy at DigitalWPC

Congratulations CBeyond. 

Alex Danyluk, industry marketing director, Microsoft Communications Sector