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How much do you charge your customers? |
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Written by cowsgonemadd
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Monday, 05 March 2007 |
" I have several ideas on what to charge customers for internet if I start a WISP but I wanted to know what you all charge yours.
Do you offer incentives? Like sign up a neighbor and get money back whatever way(free install,cheaper for so many months....)"
John Galt:
Since no one else seems to be willing to answer...
This is a very "difficult" question. In many respects it depends on you own individual circumstances.
Do you face competition? Are there other providers in your area? How much are you paying for your connection? How much money do you need to keep operating?
Blah, blah, and blah...!
There are many different circumstances and the one that fits your circumstance is dependant on your particular situation and your cost structure.
Bottom line...if it works, it works. If not, I guess you are out of the WISP business.
One can only do what one can do, Grasshopper.
slipstream1:
I would say, charge what the market will bear. You will know if it is right.
RockyBB:
my 2¢ ... money back if not delighted....
assuming you are "near" an area where DSL or cable is available -- an area where the residents are aware of that pricing -- price your service at $5 higher than the other providers for comparable speeds, but offer an "introductory" discount of $10 per month for "charter" subscribers who enroll within the first 60 days. to prime the pump, you might also consider discounting the install a little bit for "group" signups -- when neighbors order together, necessitating only a single dispatch for several locations -- let them do the marketing work for you.... Be sure to offer to set up a wireless network for their multiple PCs (it will be a new concept for them as they don't now have broadband), including selling the wireless router...
cmaenginsb:
Firstly you need to get an idea of your operating costs, no sense in charging less than what it costs you to provide service. Almost everyone will have varying operating costs based on equipment, bandwidth costs, tower rental etc.
Once you know what that is, you have many other factors. Like availability of alternatives. Whether you are selling to business or residential. The technical savy of your user base. In our area for example we have a lot of engineers etc who are willing to pay more for service than an average user because internet access is more of a priority for them. Also in terms of userbase, how many are vacation homes vs not, in areas with a lot of vacation homes you'll find people less likely to want to pay high rates.
Finally incentives are great, just make sure they don't void what I said in the first paragraph.
superdog:
You really are not higher than the others. Go back and re-read what he said. 
If the local telco is at $40 a month, and You are at $50, but then you run a special for the first 60 people to sign up that they all get service for $35, you are now cheaper. This is called a sales gimmick, as it creates a perception of value because it creates an "early bird gets the worm" sort of deal. Not everyone associates low price with value and/or service. There are quite a few people that would pay an extra few bucks to get service from a local provider, as the service level is generally much high than a large CO and they are supporting the local guy. It is all a game, and the one who plays it the best wins!. 
LLigetfa:
He also said "assuming you are "near" an area where DSL or cable is available". You can charge more because the competition is out of reach but since the customer knows they are out of reach, they may get the perception you have them over a barrel and would resent it. That is where you make concessions. If you price yourself too cheap, you won't have the resource to support the users and to grow the business so it would be a never ending hand-to-mouth existence.
Don't try to compete on price with the big boys because they have deeper pockets and can play the game better than you.
Don't underestimate incentives. Everyone loves a bargain. Refer-a-friend deals where you give a free month of service to someone that brings in a new customer, not only stops them from bad-mouthing you, it brings you new customers and keeps existing customers happy.
gpilot:
Remember also it not comparable to DSL at 40 bucks because i personally use DSL at home (i live no where near my towers) but my phone bill still averages 120 bucks a month and i never use my phone. Once the customer looks at the dsl / telephone / services / tax and what ever else the telco wants to charge suddenly that 50-80 bucks for service is a good deal.
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