How Do You Combat Consumer Confusion at Retail?
Charter has figured out how to offer HD in a way that makes subs' jaws drop...literally.
By John P. Ourand
The first things Mark Guberman noticed were the dropped jaws and looks of awe.
That was a typical reaction when people would drop by one of Charter's "test-drive centers" to check out HD demos. From a windowless room inside a St. Louis mall earlier this year, Guberman, Charter's director, retail and channel development, carefully studied the expressions of consumers as they got their first glimpse of HDTV.
"At that point you almost feel chills going down your spine," Guberman says. "It's fascinating to watch when customers can actually see the difference side by side."
Watching consumers in retail stores react to their first glimpse of HD rivets Charter's Mark Guberman.
These centers are part of Charter's retail effort to better educate consumers about its services, from HD to telephony to broadband. While the MSO does not have specific statistics from these centers, Guberman says they helped St. Louis register a "significant bump in customers signing up across the board."
Charter plans to roll out these demonstrations in several more markets, tucking them away in the back of various retail stores within shopping malls. The HD aspect features demos with two TVs. One shows traditional digital pictures; the other shows HD. Charter, which is getting TV manufacturers to sponsor the demo, will be able to sign up subscribers in stores, right afterwards.
"These are not intended to compete with retail," Guberman says. "We're finding there's a strong block of customers that know what HD is. But they haven't really been able to connect the dots in terms of what it is and how it could be meaningful to their lifestyle. They've got a fair amount of confusion and intimidation."
As part of its plan to beef up its retail presence, Charter has created training programs for retail employees; early-morning retail meetings are held before stores open. These sessions also serve as forums in which Charter can gauge consumer reaction to its HD offering.
Charter also is establishing partnerships with TV manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Philips to develop a simple and consistent HD marketing message. "There's been an attempt to sell cable as a stand-alone and TV as a stand-alone," Guberman says. "In the consumers' mind, it's really all the same."
Going Beyond Retail
Beyond its retail push, Charter's marketing team is trying to educate its existing subscriber base as well. It has produced a cross-channel spot to emphasize the basics of HD (step 1--buy an HD set; step 2--get HD service from Charter; and step 3: order the HD tier).
The MSO has set up a related educational component on its charter.com website, and it has produced eight-page technology buyers guides that get mailed to a targeted list and are turned into free-standing newspaper inserts, says Barbara Hedges, Charter's VP, broadband marketing.
Of course, Charter still is relying heavily on traditional marketing tools like direct mail to get the HD message out to the masses. In April, it plans to roll out a marketing message that compares Charter's HD package with the DBS HD offering.
Charter also has found that it needs to create a marketing message for its existing HD subscribers, says Rachael Hokanson, Charter's director, advanced broadband marketing. One of the biggest complaints Charter hears from its HD subscribers is that there is a lack of information about specific HD programs. Charter will be running cross-channel spots in the coming months informing viewers of programs that will be featured on various HD channels later in the evening. "That's going to be a big driver for us," says Hokanson.
http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=032105&file=howdoyou.htm
Charter has figured out how to offer HD in a way that makes subs' jaws drop...literally.
By John P. Ourand
The first things Mark Guberman noticed were the dropped jaws and looks of awe.
That was a typical reaction when people would drop by one of Charter's "test-drive centers" to check out HD demos. From a windowless room inside a St. Louis mall earlier this year, Guberman, Charter's director, retail and channel development, carefully studied the expressions of consumers as they got their first glimpse of HDTV.
"At that point you almost feel chills going down your spine," Guberman says. "It's fascinating to watch when customers can actually see the difference side by side."
Watching consumers in retail stores react to their first glimpse of HD rivets Charter's Mark Guberman.
These centers are part of Charter's retail effort to better educate consumers about its services, from HD to telephony to broadband. While the MSO does not have specific statistics from these centers, Guberman says they helped St. Louis register a "significant bump in customers signing up across the board."
Charter plans to roll out these demonstrations in several more markets, tucking them away in the back of various retail stores within shopping malls. The HD aspect features demos with two TVs. One shows traditional digital pictures; the other shows HD. Charter, which is getting TV manufacturers to sponsor the demo, will be able to sign up subscribers in stores, right afterwards.
"These are not intended to compete with retail," Guberman says. "We're finding there's a strong block of customers that know what HD is. But they haven't really been able to connect the dots in terms of what it is and how it could be meaningful to their lifestyle. They've got a fair amount of confusion and intimidation."
As part of its plan to beef up its retail presence, Charter has created training programs for retail employees; early-morning retail meetings are held before stores open. These sessions also serve as forums in which Charter can gauge consumer reaction to its HD offering.
Charter also is establishing partnerships with TV manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Philips to develop a simple and consistent HD marketing message. "There's been an attempt to sell cable as a stand-alone and TV as a stand-alone," Guberman says. "In the consumers' mind, it's really all the same."
Going Beyond Retail
Beyond its retail push, Charter's marketing team is trying to educate its existing subscriber base as well. It has produced a cross-channel spot to emphasize the basics of HD (step 1--buy an HD set; step 2--get HD service from Charter; and step 3: order the HD tier).
The MSO has set up a related educational component on its charter.com website, and it has produced eight-page technology buyers guides that get mailed to a targeted list and are turned into free-standing newspaper inserts, says Barbara Hedges, Charter's VP, broadband marketing.
Of course, Charter still is relying heavily on traditional marketing tools like direct mail to get the HD message out to the masses. In April, it plans to roll out a marketing message that compares Charter's HD package with the DBS HD offering.
Charter also has found that it needs to create a marketing message for its existing HD subscribers, says Rachael Hokanson, Charter's director, advanced broadband marketing. One of the biggest complaints Charter hears from its HD subscribers is that there is a lack of information about specific HD programs. Charter will be running cross-channel spots in the coming months informing viewers of programs that will be featured on various HD channels later in the evening. "That's going to be a big driver for us," says Hokanson.
http://www.cableworld.com/cgi/cw/show_mag.cgi?pub=cw&mon=032105&file=howdoyou.htm
