Archive for March, 2007  Though on the outside the boxes may
look different, inside all washing powders are the same. It
makes customers think they have a lot more choice than they
really do. Increasingly it is the same with telecommunications.
A few special additives may lead some customers to pay a
premium, but the average customer just wants the basic no-frills
product, at the best price. So it comes as no surprise that
Vodafone UK, has turned to two of the most straightforward
marketing methods long used to sell washing powders and the
like. Sales flagging? Cut the price to encourage some new
customers. The brand fails to attract a certain share of the
market? Put the same product in someone else’s box, with someone
else’s brand on it. Neither tactic is new, but it is fascinating
that even Vodafone UK is now being forced to use them, and is
eroding margins in the process. Read the story here. So the only
way to boost those margins will be to squeeze costs and to grab
every penny available. Which should ma