If I were the CEO of O2...

If I were the CEO of O2 (or insert name of any other UK telecommunications company here), I would recognise that the technological industry moves at an astonishing pace.

I would understand that people really care about getting their hands on the latest tech, and I would make it easy for them.

But wait, don't the latest 'must-have' gadgets come at a fairly hefty price? Yes. Yes they do. If I were the CEO of O2, I would get rid of the ridiculous and archaic pricing structures that are not well suited to modern smartphones. I would make it easier for the consumer to see exactly how much they're spending over the course of the contract. I would even change the pricing model so that customers wouldn't necessarily have to tie themselves in to a ridiculously long contract in order to get a competitive deal. I would make it easy and flexible for customers to get exactly the right deal they want, but without impacting the profit of the business in a negative way.

But if there's no rigidly watertight contract to tie them in, won't they just go to another network provider? Possibly. To prevent this, I would always ensure the pricing structure is competitive with the market. I would improve the customer service, so that even on the busiest day of the year my customers would definitely not be waiting for TWO HOURS just to speak to a real person. (Because when they finally get through after enduring such a ridiculous length of time listening to a loop of 3 songs by Take That, I know that they'll already be pissed off). I would improve the business to make sure that a customer has a really hard time thinking of a reason to leave. However if they did want to leave, I wouldn't make it hard for them. Competition is a good thing.

If a customer wants to upgrade, I would get rid of all the ridiculous loops that they have to jump through. I would get rid of the astonishing sums of money that have to be paid even if it's just a few days before they're 'due' to. In fact, I would even get rid of the dates that upgrades are due. If people want to shell out for the latest smartphone then they'll still be paying O2 every month... won't they?

I would make my customers feel valued. If there's a rewards scheme in place, I would make sure the rewards are worth being excited about. In determining the greatness of the award which a customer deserves I wouldn't just factor in the size of the monthly direct debit, I would factor in the length of time a customer has been with O2.

I would do all of this because I understand that unhappy customers will go elsewhere. They'll jump ship to another network who can give them what they want, when they want it, and for less money. What's better, 5 customers paying £25 a month or 3 customers paying £30 a month?

-------------

Alas, I'm not the CEO of O2. Ronan Dunne, I think you've got a few things wrong with your business model. Why is this post aimed at O2, you ask? It's because I've just broken off our relationship of 5 years. It wasn't working for me.