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