Internet Service Provider Marketing Plan. Internet marketing plan: formulate marketing strategies. Running costs of an ISP business plan

Attention! The free business plan provided for download below is an example. The business plan that best suits the conditions of your business must be created with the help of specialists.

How to become an Internet provider through a business plan?

The Internet provider company provides services for providing access to the network broadband internet for the population, enterprises and organizations.

General requirements for office space and its equipment

For the office of such a company, it is preferable to choose densely populated areas of the city. In addition to registering a private enterprise, in order to carry out this type of activity, it is necessary to obtain a conclusion on the compliance of the premises with sanitary standards and on compliance with fire safety.

The contractor must carry out quality installation local network. This complex process begins with network design, installation, testing, and documentation.

Necessary equipment

There are several options for laying the network: country road, highway, freeway. Many start with the bare minimum of the highway, creating a small network for their neighbors. apartment building or business center.

For this it is enough:

own apartment or office;
average performance computer;
cables for laying a local network;
network card;
high-speed modem and adapter.

All these devices will fit on one desktop. You can also save money on software if you start from the bottom.

At the same time, the functions of supporting network servers are shifted to the top-level provider.

The size of the client base in this case will not be able to exceed 30 subscribers.

To create a wide client base, higher-level networks will be required that require significant financial investments, the help of signalmen and a lot of equipment: computers for installing a router server, a domain name server, a billing system, other servers (mail, proxy, WWW), a modem rack, switches and other. Be sure to purchase an uninterruptible power supply.

Connection to a digital exchange with a four-wire digital line E1 is necessary condition minimum input lines with which you can hope for serious business.

Recruitment and organization of work with clients

It is more convenient to make settlements with clients through bank branches. You can, of course, buy cash register and hire a cashier. For starters, you can get by with one advanced programmer with network administration skills.

When working on remote access schemes, 3-5 employees will be required (system administrator, technical support specialist, cashier accountant, account manager).

Payback period

When organizing a medium-sized network, your investment will pay off in about a year.

Table number 1. Potential of consumers of services of Internet providers in Russia

Marketing program and customer search

It will not be difficult for the organizer of a low-end provider company in some remote area to create a client base for himself. In densely populated areas, there is a lot of competition among providers, so customers will have to be poached.

To do this, you need to find the weaknesses of competitors, acquire high-quality equipment, set adequate payment and provide yourself with advertising. Advertisements can be placed in the local newspaper, in city educational institutions, on buses and subways, on websites and social networks.

How to choose an ISP

NON-STATE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Department of “Production technologies

and entrepreneurship”

COURSE WORK

Provider - provision of connection services

to the global computer network INTERNET.

Completed by: student of ______ course,

Groups, faculty __________

_________ _______________

(date) (signature)
(FULL NAME.)

Scientific
supervisor:

_______________________________

(degree, rank, position)

_________ _______________
_______________________________

(date) (signature)
(FULL NAME.)

Bobruisk 2000

Summary (explanatory note)……………………………… 3

Characteristics of the proposed product……………………. 7

Evaluation of the sales market ................................................................... 16

Competitiveness………………………………………. eighteen

Marketing strategy…………………………………………. twenty

Production plan…………………………………………….. 22

Organizational plan……………………………………….. 24

Legal plan……………………………………………. 26

Financial plan………………………………………………… 29

Funding strategy…………………………………… 35

1. Summary (explanatory note).

The main goal of our company is to provide everyone with access to
v global network Internet, and of course getting the most
profit at the lowest cost. The main strategy of the project is
creating conditions for providing access to the Internet with knowingly
the best technical specifications, compared to competitors
(higher connection speed, lower cost of the service).

An analysis of the market situation showed that the main customers are currently
moment are individuals working from home. Also
a large proportion of customers are enterprises and organizations that are forced to
use the Internet in daily work to improve efficiency
activities (advertising, search for new suppliers, markets, new
technologies, etc.). The number of potential customers is growing every
afternoon.

We are going to respond clearly enough to all changes in the line-up.
our consumers, by introducing additional resources, and attracting
additional investment to meet the needs of an increased number
consumers. One of our main goals will be to continuously improve
the quality of services provided by introducing new capacities.

In the proposed project, attracting clients can be carried out for
account, significantly, more high speed connections (56K v.90),
providing online Email and hosting (disk
space), various tariff plans, among which the potential
the customer will be able to choose what is most beneficial for him. A
the most important thing is the cost of the service, which will be much lower
existing at the moment, at a higher access speed.
It is precisely this moment that will be the main argument in the "struggle" for
client. The cost of our services will reflect the competitiveness
of our services, and it is precisely thanks to the rather low prices that we
we hope to control a significant part of the Belarusian market.

Everyone knows that UCHNPP “Vector” is famous for its rather high
prices for computer equipment and component materials. way
provision of provider services at the lowest prices in Belarus
we: first, greatly facilitate computer users
the possibility of obtaining information from the global computer network;
secondly, we will significantly increase the profit of our enterprise, which
will allow us to expand the range of services provided and thirdly, we will be able to
significantly increase the prestige of our company in the eyes of our customers.

The main direction of the marketing policy of the enterprise is
attracting a wide range of clients, both individuals and legal entities.
The work will take into account various factors of market conditions, such as
solvency of customers, contingent of customers, competitiveness
services, a flexible approach to setting prices and tariffs, and
many other factors.

Technological potential this project very high from the first
stage it is supposed to use only the most modern and
high-tech equipment of leading telephony manufacturers,
network and switching equipment. such as Intel Corporation,
Lucent Technologies, AMP, PairGain, Ericsson. Initially, in the project
the capacity of the equipment is laid, significantly higher than necessary for
the first stage, in order to minimize further expansion costs
bandwidth equipment and attract more
clients.

Today, an Internet provider is understood as an organization that carries out intermediary activities between providers that have a higher level and direct users of the Internet. In fact, such a company is a wholesale buyer of traffic, which is subsequently resold at retail to end users.

In Russia, the provision of Internet access today is classified as a communication service, which entails such difficulties associated with obligatory receipt licenses from the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation, coordination of projects and certification of the equipment used. The specificity of the activity also implies the implementation of such activities only in the status of a legal entity, that is, LLC, CJSC or OJSC. Self-registration of a legal entity and obtaining the appropriate license may take up to long term therefore it is recommended to contact consulting company, whose specialists will provide support services in the preparation of all necessary documentation.

In general, the range of services provided by ISPs is quite wide and may include:

Provision of broadband, dial-up and wireless access to the Internet;
Formation of private corporate networks;
Provision of services cellular communication;
Connection digital television;
Placement of the client's equipment on its own territory;
Providing servers for rent.

Initially, Internet providers in Russia provided many related services that are more typical for companies developing websites and online stores. Often, providers also provided hosting for developed sites, but today the main trend is the provision of cellular services, digital television and, of course, the provision of wireless access to the network.

It is worth noting that previously a good option for doing business was to create a local network within an apartment building. However, this option with the popularization of wireless access has become less interesting for users and, of course, for companies. The technical problem of home local area networks was the speed limit when connecting a large number of users. Also, this business had little opportunity to scale and compete with large companies that offered more profitable options for connecting to the Internet.

To the risks this business should be attributed to a strong dependence on the following factors:

Power outage;
Channel failure;
Changes in legislation, in particular regarding the processing of personal data.

I talked about the marketing mix that ISPs are currently using. Now I want to focus on the individual parts of the mix that can give you a competitive edge on this moment and tomorrow will be the norm.

It's no secret that what was a competitive advantage yesterday is taken for granted today. In the same way, what gives a competitive advantage today will be in the order of things tomorrow. The market is constantly evolving. User needs are growing. Technological progress is relentless. Therefore, the sooner the campaign starts preparing for the reality of tomorrow, the more successful it will be not only tomorrow, but also today.

In the article, each item is divided into two parts - today and tomorrow. Today, as you know, this is how things are today. Tomorrow is today's competitive advantages, as well as tomorrow's reality.

At the end of the article is a table with the possibilities and disadvantages of each item I have covered.

1 Product

1.1 Driving the last mile.

1.1.1 Gaining access.

Today in order to gain access to the attic or basement, providers ask the subscriber prepare the keys for the arrival of the installation team.

Tomorrow, this will no longer be acceptable. Why should the subscriber worry and help in the performance of the work for which he pays money? The section from the TKD (collective access point) to the door of the subscriber's apartment is the provider's concern, and if the provider cannot resolve the issue of gaining access to the technical floors, this is completely his problem.

Tomorrow, providers must provide access to technical floors on their own.

1.1.2 Conducting a cable around the apartment.

Today assembly teams nail the cable to the baseboard in the subscriber's apartment and conduct it, trying to minimize the length of the cable.

Tomorrow, subscribers will need the cable to go through cable channel. At the same time, not just through the cable channel - its color and laying path must correspond to the subscriber's requests. Of course, installers must clean up after themselves all garbage.

1.1.3 Appearance and behavior of the brigade.

Today it is considered normal if the installation team looks sloppy and talks to the subscriber through his teeth - they are not rude, it's already good. Not many people have uniforms.

Tomorrow this behavior is no longer acceptable. Assembly teams must have Not only uniform, but also replacement shoes. For the subscriber, the uniform means that the installation team belongs to the company and reflects how seriously the company takes the appearance of its employees. In order for the installation teams to look decent, it is necessary to provide them with 2 types of uniforms - one for working on technical floors, the other for visiting the subscriber. Also, in order to leave no traces of shoes in the apartment, the brigades must be provided with shoe covers. I note that you should not rely on the fact that workers will take off their shoes in the apartment. There were very funny incidents - subscribers called and said that they were not satisfied with the quality of the connection. During the conversation, it turned out that the dirty socks of the assembler left more of an impression than the quick and accurate installation of the cable.

Apart from appearance, it is necessary to pay Special attention demeanor assembly teams. Politeness, friendliness, interest and openness. Installers must not only be courteous, but they must know the product in detail, answer all subscriber questions and be able to give specific recommendations.

Assembly teams are one of those people who are at the forefront and by which subscribers draw conclusions about the entire company as a whole. It is necessary to understand that for the subscriber, the company is not something ephemeral - these are the people, employees of the company with whom he deals.

1.2 Time and terms of connection.

Today, providers make connections based on the work schedules of installation teams. At the same time, they try to optimize the load in such a way as to maintain a balance between the connection period and the number of installation teams. It is certainly justified. Although, in my opinion, boot optimization is far from being the best way, rather by eye.

Tomorrow will be necessary connect a subscriber exclusively in convenient time for him. This means that if the subscriber asks to connect it in an hour, then this will need to be done. Achieving such a result is possible by dividing the city into districts, assigning installation teams to districts, as well as through the interaction of marketing and maintenance services. For example, you can start with the introduction of an additional service on a paid basis - "Emergency Connection". Tomorrow, a separate manager will be assigned to each district, who will be responsible not only for the connection process in this district, but also for network work, etc.

1.3 Speed.

Today maximum speed is set by the provider, breaking down the options for the provided Internet access speed into tariff plans. Some tariff plans suggest an increase in the maximum speed of Internet access at night. The subscriber can decrease or increase the constant speed only by changing his tariff plan, which is often associated with unnecessary inconvenience. For example, switching to another tariff plan may cost extra money.

Tomorrow, providers will allow subscribers to independently regulate the access speed in Internet. Subscribers will be able not only to set a speed limit, but also change it at any time, as well as set various top speed at different times of the day.

1.4 Speed guarantee.

Today, providers cannot guarantee the speed of Internet access.

Tomorrow lack of speed guarantees will no longer suit subscribers. Providers will have to guarantee minimum and maximum access speed. Thus, when presenting a tariff plan, providers will name not only the maximum possible speed, but also the minimum guaranteed one. In this case, the subscriber will be able to regulate the guaranteed speed.

1.5 Additional Services.

Today value-added services are the main means of increasing revenue per subscriber. At the same time, providers develop services to the extent of their technical capabilities and not from the principle of demand for services.

Tomorrow the demand for additional services will only grow, while the demand will be for services that solve specific and sometimes narrow problems of subscribers. Services that ensure computer security and fast operation will be in demand, as they are today. All services that help subscribers in their daily activities will be in demand. The competitive advantage will have the company that can understand the needs of subscribers and implement their satisfaction in its additional services Oh. As a small example, I will give such a service as providing video surveillance inside the apartment through web cameras.

Tomorrow, companies that focus on the development and implementation of value-added services will have a competitive advantage.

1.6 IPTV.

In the last article, I already talked about the current disadvantages of IP TV. Now I want to point out the following - today providers provide fixed channel packages and set to box for one TV.

Tomorrow, subscribers will create their own channels and set the cost for them. Set to box will need to allow independent viewing on multiple TVs. In addition, in the very near future, all subscriber equipment will be provided by providers free of charge.

1.7 Packaging of the contract.

Already today giving tangibility to services is of high importance in the sales process.

Tomorrow, the purchase of services will be associated not only with obtaining benefits from the services themselves, but also with obtaining certain emotions. One of the factors for obtaining emotions will be the packaging, or material embodiment, of the services provided. In order to demonstrate the importance of packaging, I recommend paying attention to Apple. The company attaches great importance to product packaging. You can find thousands of videos on YouTube that demonstrate the process of opening the packaging of an iPhone, iPad or MacBook. For consumers, this process is associated with receiving emotions. Thus, the translation of services into a tangible channel allows you to add value to the services for the client and create added value.

1.8 Contract basis for the provision of services.

Today for individuals Only one form of payment for services is available - prepayment.

Tomorrow subscribers will be able to enter into a contract for the provision of services and pay for them upon delivery. contract basis it is possible to use it as part of a loyalty program - postpaid services for the most loyal subscribers with a long history of consumption.

2 Pricing

2.1 Additional Services.

Today, a small part of additional services is provided to subscribers free of charge.. At the same time, the logic of provision is not based on value for the client. This means that, as a rule, services become free, which cease to bring the desired income to the provider.

Tomorrow, all services related to informing the subscriber, computer security and stability of the use of the main service will be provided free of charge. First of all, this is due to the desire to improve the quality and reliability of the main service - in fact, the subscriber does not care how the quality of the main service will be ensured, if this requires connecting an additional free option - so be it. The best way would be to provide this set of services by default, and in such a way that the subscriber does not have to do anything to activate / install them. As well as setting up a computer should occur automatically so that the subscriber does not need to perform additional actions for this.

2.2 The total cost of services.

Tomorrow, the total amount that the subscriber must pay monthly will depend on the amount of all services consumed by him.

2.3 Offering additional services.

Today providers combine additional services into packages to increase their attractiveness by discounting the package.

Tomorrow, subscribers will decide for themselves what additional services will be included in their package.

3 Sales

3.1 Sellers.

Today, sales agents mostly go door-to-door and simply offer to connect to an ISP.. At the same time, they operate only with publicly available information - price, speed, additional services. Training of agents is either completely absent or is at an extremely low level. Thus, agents do not know how to work with objections or with a potential client in general. Already today, subscribers are extremely reluctant to respond to the offers of agents.

Tomorrow, however, always effective sellers will be one of the competitive advantages of the company. An effective salesperson doesn't sell a product, rather he makes you believe potential client that this product will be the solution to his, the client's problems. An effective salesperson is polite, personable, and knows their company, product, and customer needs in-depth. Undoubtedly, The key to the effectiveness of salespeople is the system of training and motivation.

3.2 Express Service Points

I talked about how things are today with distribution channels in a previous article.

In my opinion, it will not be possible to completely switch to remote service in Russia. This is due to the mentality of people - in order to solve some problems, it is necessary to communicate with a "living" person. This is especially true for the regions.

That is why tomorrow the main sales channel requiring physical maintenance will be express service counters- small racks in large shopping malls and others passable places. This format allows you to significantly reduce the cost of expensive offices, but at the same time retain all the benefits of personal service.

3.3 Connecting is as easy as buying bread.

Today, for subscribers, there are a number of factors complicating the connection process, eg:

Conclusion of an agreement for each type of service (Internet, television, etc.)
The need to take the keys to the attic or basement in order to let the installation team in there
Etc.

Tomorrow, the competitive advantage will be with those who remove all these obstacles and make the process of connecting to the Internet as easy as buying a loaf of bread.

4 Promotion

4.1 Promotion channels.

Tomorrow providers will enter a completely different stage of confrontation. At this stage, the battle is no longer at the level of products, but at the level of perception. This means that new, bold and non-standard promotion channels will be used. The main role of support and long-term formation public opinion will be given PR and guerrilla marketing. Internet marketing, in turn, is a platform for the competition of high professionals, which is associated with simple consumer access to information.

4.2 Advertising.

Hint for ISP employees - you are not selling Internet access, but something else.

Today providers have not yet mastered the tools that allow you to influence such a promotion channel as recommendations. At the same time, at least 50% of subscribers decide to connect based on the recommendations of acquaintances and friends.

Tomorrow, the work aimed at developing the recommendation tool will become one of the main competitive advantages. Of course, people give good recommendations based on their experience, i.e. how better quality product and service, the better and more recommendations. But active recommendations, ie. promotion of services by the subscribers themselves are not involved. At the same time, this tool is the most efficient and sustainable in the long run.

4.4 Narrow segmentation

Today, both the product offer and communications of Internet providers aimed at a wide audience and resembles rather shooting from a cannon at sparrows.

Tomorrow narrow segmentation will be the key to success. It is necessary to develop products taking into account the specifics target audience. Do not be afraid to narrowly define the target audience. Communications must also be oriented specifically to the target audience, and not to the whole mass. For example, if a company is introducing a product aimed at students, then the essence of the product offer should not be limited to lowering the price and increasing the speed. It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of consumption - different speed at different times of the day, access to certain Internet resources, the necessary set of additional services, etc. As for communications, it makes no sense to promote the tariff for students through direct mail.

5 After-sales service

5.1 Loyalty Program.

Loyalty programs today have as their goal not to develop the loyalty and profitability of subscribers, but attract new subscribers. Like - “Look how cool we are! Come to us!". At the same time, the loyalty program means the provision of a small discount on the payment for the service and / or the provision of free additional services. Joining a loyalty program usually requires certain conditions to be met.

Tomorrow loyalty programs will only work if they are of real value to subscribers. And for this it is necessary that, first of all, they develop loyalty and present valuable offers to current subscribers. For example, it has long been proven that in the sector of consumer goods, a discount of 5% is not valuable. Discounts from 15% are valuable. In addition, the loyalty program should form emotional relationships with consumers and move away from commodity-money relations. Tomorrow, loyalty programs will by default cover the entire subscriber base. To connect to the loyalty program, there will be no need to perform any actions.

Tomorrow, loyalty programs will form emotional relationships with subscribers and focus on developing subscribers.

5.2 Technical and information support.

Today providers can't guarantee troubleshooting when it comes to individuals. In practice, the elimination of the incident can take 15 minutes or 3 weeks. Of course, these are extreme cases. The average time to resolve an incident varies greatly.

Even today, this state of affairs does not suit subscribers. Least 50% of the churn is due to subscribers' dissatisfaction with the quality of technical support. I focus on this - not the quality of the network, but the quality of technical support.

Tomorrow, the quality of technical and information support will be one of the main criteria for making a decision on choosing a provider. This means that the competitive advantage will be guarantee of elimination of the incident in a strictly specified time.

5.3 Retention of subscribers.

Today, only a small number of providers are purposefully working to retain subscribers. While this work allows not only to reduce the level of outflow, but also to increase customer loyalty.

Tomorrow, due to the increase in the level of competition, the work of retaining subscribers will become as necessary as promotion today. This work should be based on the analysis of a complex of factors such as:

Availability of traffic
Number of support calls in the last month and quarter.
The number of requests due to reasons for not providing the service.
Support call frequency.
The total time the service was not provided.
The time when the service is not provided during peak hours.
Activity on the use of additional services.
Subscriber lifetime.

5.4 Development of subscribers.

Today, work on the development of subscribers is practically not carried out. However, this is one of the main ways to increase ARPU - the average return per subscriber.

Tomorrow the question of increasing profitability will stand in a completely different light and will it is necessary to have subscriber development programs. At the same time, the development of subscribers should be based on an analysis of needs and potential demand. The basis for increasing the cost of services is to increase the value for subscribers. At the same time, you should not try to sell this or that service to a subscriber at a retail price. It is necessary to form in the understanding of the consumer the complexity of services.

5.5 Account management.

Today, some providers establish one single account for subscribers, while others break bills by service.

Tomorrow the subscriber himself will manage his account. If necessary, break it down so that, for example, a shortage of funds in the Internet account does not lead to the television being turned off. Or vice versa, it will combine all accounts into one, in order to simply deposit money into the account, and from this account distribute funds for services.

6 Strategy

6.1 Interior orientation

Today, providers, in making strategic and tactical decisions, are guided by competitors. This means that the principle of "do as everyone else" works in matters of:

Pricing
Launch of new services
Promotions
Sales

Tomorrow such a strategy will lead to a stable degradation of income. In order to have a competitive advantage must first of all focus on the company's customers. It means that:

Prices should be set based on the value of the product to the consumer. And for this, in turn, it is necessary to understand what constitutes the value system of consumers.
Products must be developed based on customer requirements, but at the same time develop new and unique products, the demand for which has not yet been formed due to the lack of supply.
Promotion should take place not on the basis of cost reduction, but on the basis of the effectiveness of reaching and impact on the target audience.
Sales and service should be as convenient as possible for subscribers - within walking distance + solution of the issue in one call.

6.2 Service focus

Tomorrow providers will focus on the quality of customer service and service. At the same time, it will be necessary to receive constant feedback from subscribers in order to eliminate shortcomings. Service quality not a product will become the field where competition will unfold.

Strengths and weaknesses of the components of the marketing mix.

	Strengths	Weaknesses
Independent provision of access to technical floors	Subscribers worry less about connectivity	You must have your own keys to all technical floors, which requires establishing relationships with management companies at a new level.
Laying the cable along the cable channel	It's more aesthetic	Additional costs for the cable channel
Garbage collection after installation work	The less a subscriber has to do to connect, the better	No
2 uniforms for each installer	When visiting the subscriber, the installers have a neat and clean appearance	Additional costs for uniforms
Shoe covers	No need to take off your shoes in the apartment, demonstrative care for subscribers	Additional costs for shoe covers
Polite and professional behavior of installation crews	Good impression of the company, easier interaction with subscribers, opportunity to sell additional services
Connection at any time set by the subscriber	Point of differentiation	Additional costs associated with an increase in the resources of installation teams
Implementation of district (city) managers	More flexible management of work in the area, quick response to events	Additional costs for area managers and distribution centers
Subscribers control the access speed themselves	Point of differentiation, the ability to increase ARPU	Appropriate equipment and a certain reserve for trunk channels are required
Internet speed guarantee	Point of differentiation, image of a reliable service provider	It is necessary to have a permanent reserve for the main channels
Investments in the development of additional services	Increase in ARPU, increase in image, increase in attractiveness for subscribers	Linking capital in the form of investments
Subscribers themselves choose a set of TV channels in the package		With the correct distribution of channel costs weaknesses No
Set to box For multiple TVs		Higher hardware costs
Free provision of subscriber equipment	Increasing the attractiveness of the offer	Increased payback period
Physical packaging service	Increasing the attractiveness of the offer, the offer is easier to accept and harder to refuse	Additional packaging costs
Contract basis for the provision of services	ARPU increase	Increase in receivables
Information, security and stability services for the use of the main service - free of charge	Improving the image of a reliable company	Maintenance costs for these services
Automatic computer settings	The subscriber does not need to contact the support service in case of a computer breakdown, etc.	No
Automatic settings for additional services	The easier it is to connect certain services, the more willingly they are connected.	Costs for developing scheme customization
The subscription fee depends on the amount of consumed services.	Increased control over the range of services and their cost by the subscriber increases the attractiveness of the company	Portfolio management costs
Professional Sellers	Increasing the shaft and sales efficiency	Requires training and careful selection of personnel
Express Service Desks	Reduces the cost of personal service, improves the quality of service, increases the availability of the company	Rack manufacturing and space rental costs
Connecting is as simple as buying bread	The easier the connection, the more connected	All the cons are worth all the pros
Use of PR, guerrilla marketing	Increases communication efficiency, reduces promotion costs	Professionals in these areas are not cheap.
Emphasis on Internet communications	The cost and quality of contact is lower than offline advertising	Investment in intelligence
Advertising in the contexts of everyday life	Improving the effectiveness of advertising	Sometimes higher implementation costs, investment in finding new ways to advertise
Emotion-driven communication	An emotionally interested subscriber is more loyal, which means he is ready to spend more money	delayed effect
Professional Visualization	Increasing the effectiveness of advertising, a point of differentiation	Advertising production costs
Development of recommendations	Ability to manage the strongest acquisition channel	High implementation and development costs
Narrow segmentation	Increases the effectiveness of communications and sales	No
Extensive loyalty programs	Reduces churn, increases the attractiveness of the company	Program implementation costs
Guaranteed troubleshooting in a strictly allotted time	Improving the image of a reliable company, reducing churn, increasing the attractiveness of the company and offers	Additional costs for human resources, the need for ongoing audit and Maintenance networks
Subscriber retention work	Reducing churn and increasing loyalty	Subscriber retention program costs
Work on the development of subscribers	Increase ARPU and loyalty	Development program cost
Subscribers manage their own accounts	Increased control by the subscriber increases the attractiveness of the company	May need investment in equipment and billing
Customer Orientation
Service Level Concentration	Sustainable competitive advantage	Over a certain period, the rate of return on investment falls

Summing up, I want to note the following - at the current time, the basis for obtaining sustainable competitive advantage is a complete customer orientation. This means that ISPs need to find answers to the following questions:

What products will be the most attractive for subscribers today?
What products can we surprise them with tomorrow?
What is important for subscribers?
What is the best way to convey information to subscribers?
How to make connection and maintenance simple and convenient for subscribers?
· How to transform value into price?

I have suggested the most obvious set of marketing mixes. You can start with it. But if companies do not start changing in the very near future, the market will react in its own way and will simply start squeezing out non-viable companies.

The market is currently in the process of large companies unite smaller ones under one brand. But at the same time, apart from the name, nothing changes. In this case, the crowding out will occur in the opposite direction - the development of a large number of small companies with a high level of service will again begin.

The options I have proposed for changing the marketing mix, for the most part, do not require high investments, but changes in service delivery policies. And understanding simple marketing basics - happy customer brings in more income. The cost of improving service and product is an investment in customer happiness.

The Internet has taken over our homes as widely as it could. However, there are still apartments where the worldwide network has not penetrated. In addition, given the current pace of urban development, we can conclude that there is still grandiose work to connect new buildings. Therefore, the Internet provider business is relevant now and will remain so for a long time to come.

To begin with, it is worth defining an Internet provider. This is an organization that provides the market with access to the World Wide Web and other related services. From a legal point of view, an Internet provider is a telecom operator that has a license for one of these types of services:

Communication service for providing communication channels.
Communication service in the information transmission network, except for the transmission of voice data.
Communication service for the transmission of voice data in the information transmission network.

Anyone who wants to start a business in this area sooner or later asks himself a logical question - how to become an Internet provider? A huge number of people, including experienced businessmen, believe that organizing the work of an Internet provider is incredibly difficult from a technical point of view. This explains not too many entrepreneurs who have entered the telecommunications market. However, not everything is as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Speaking at all in simple words, the ISP's business is to buy internet in bulk and sell it to end users at retail.

According to Forbes magazine, in 2013 the Internet access market in Russia grew by 28% in six months, and Comstar-OTS still occupies the position of the largest operator.

VimpelCom-Beeline occupies 8% of the market, and ER-Telecom closes the top three with 7.1%.

Other ISPs fell far behind in the rankings, with the top three trailing the bottom slightly in market share. VolgaTelecom serves only 6.5% of users, North-West Telecom - 6.1%, and Uralsvyazinform - 5.2%.

The top 10 largest Russian providers are closed by Akado, Sibirtelecom, YuTK with market shares in the range of 4-3%, the rest received 38.4% of the market.

What are internet providers

Internet service providers may federal level, which distribute the Internet at the level of the whole city, and local. In an average regional center, there can be dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of local providers. In accordance with the services provided to subscribers, Internet providers can be divided into the following types:

hosting providers;
access providers;
backbone Internet providers;
channel providers;
last mile providers;
mobile commerce service providers;
others.

Access providers are primary (trunk) - having their own backbone communication channels - and secondary (city), which rent communication channels from primary providers. Primary ones sell traffic exclusively in large volumes and provide their services to other providers, although it doesn’t happen once in a while, and there are exceptions.

How to become an internet service provider

Before starting an activity, you need to register a legal entity and obtain a license to provide communication channels for use by contacting one of the law firms. After that, you need to deal with equipment: protective cabinets that store all equipment, switches, servers, several types of cable (optical fiber and copper) and much more. Only after installing, configuring and thoroughly testing the equipment, you can become a full-fledged Internet provider and move on to attracting customers.

In addition to sales, you need to take care of the user experience. technical support. Ideally, it is round-the-clock and multi-channel. A long wait for an operator's response and inefficient technical support is often the decisive factor in a client's decision to change their provider.

Internet provider activities

The list of services provided by the provider includes:

broadband access to the worldwide network;
dial-up access to the Internet;
wireless Internet access;
hosting (allocation of a certain space on the disk to ensure the operation of sites), support for the operation of a virtual mail server and mailboxes;
collocation (placement of client equipment on the territory of the provider);
rent of virtual and dedicated servers (VPS and VDS).

Internet provider for legal entities

For manufacturing enterprises, financial institutions, offices, telecom operators and other legal entities ISP provides the following services:

ensuring uninterrupted high-speed access to the Internet;
lease of communication channels with high performance for any client purposes;
a range of multimedia services: video conferencing, video surveillance systems, broadcasting of television, radio, etc.;
e-mail services, hosting and location of data blocks on the Internet;
creation, support and configuration of information security systems.

ISP business plan

The Internet provider market has one peculiarity - its state support is completely absent, and this direction developed through private organizations. So, quality services provided in places of accumulation of the solvent population, which in most cases are separate areas of large cities. In this regard, the regional market of Internet services, not having full access to the network, is open to new names. Consider all possible options for implementing the provider's business plan.

The local network

The easiest and cheapest way to start your business is to provide Internet access to the residents of your apartment building. The launch of this project does not require a large technical base and large financial investments. Necessary:

productive Personal Computer ($ 600−1000);
network card ($25-30);
network cable ($ 0.2 per 1 meter);
switch ($15−20).

To connect a client, you only need a network card. This cannot be a problem, since modern motherboards have an integrated network card. If we take into account the use of a UNIX system for the server, the cost of software not to be. Considering all costs, including the purchase of an external unlimited channel with unlimited access ($ 140-180), the required start-up capital does not exceed the amount of $ 1500. The only disadvantage of the local network is that the speed of Internet access is divided equally among all participants, so the number of subscribers is strictly limited. If such a business is not for you, then you should read about.

Analogue access to PBX

A greater field for action is given by close cooperation with companies providing telephone services. However, if in the previous case it was possible to work "in the shadows", then this will have to be completely legalized and it will not work with just one computer. 2-3 needed powerful machines in order to host the router server. They must have high-capacity hard drives (from 2 TB). Equipment you will need:

server computers (from $4000);
PC for office tasks (from $ 450);
modem rack (from $1300);
adapter board with many ports (from $ 900);
switch (from $ 300);
cable equipment (from $ 300);
uninterruptible power supplies (from $ 150).

To implement such a project, an Internet provider will need at least $ 8,500. The next step is to obtain telephone channels, one for each modem available. Practice shows that it is sometimes very problematic to negotiate with the local telephone service, since a frequent response to a request is the refusal “There are no free capacities”. The best option would be to contact a private telephone company, where a similar issue can be resolved for $ 2,000. An external digital channel will cost $ 400, and a monthly fee is about $ 1,500.

Digital access to PBX

The main disadvantage of the previous scheme is the limitation on access speed and audience coverage. In order to increase the performance, you need to install special equipment that operates on the basis of digital access to the network. This will combine the access lines into one digital then transmitted to the provider.

A server designed for the required minimum of 30 telephone channels costs about $ 6,000, and a router that allows subscribers to connect via a leased line costs $ 2,200. Thus, the cost of all equipment for a provider that works on digital technology- at least $ 12,000, a monthly fee for an external channel is about $ 2,500, and renting 30 telephone channels is $ 1,000 per month.

The business plan of an Internet provider is a complex document from an economic and technical point of view, because there are a considerable number of small expenses, the satisfaction of which is simply a necessity, but at the same time a very difficult point in terms of miscalculation. However, the careful study of small details will definitely pay off with profitability.

Another important point is the level of user service, because hardly anyone will be satisfied with the “hanging” and “flying out” Internet. such a business starts at 60%, but when additional services are provided to subscribers, such as interactive television, free hosting under certain conditions, it increases proportionally.

ISP license

Providers operate on the basis of an agreement concluded with a telecommunications operator and a copy of the license given operator, according to the Law "On Communications". A certified copy of the license is a document that confirms the right of an Internet provider to carry out its activities for the provision of telecommunications services.

Internet provider equipment

A more generalized list of the minimum necessary equipment, which is required to organize an Internet provider:

web servers;
ftp servers (often combined with web servers);
mail servers (combined on small systems with web servers);
terminal and identification servers;
secondary servers;
servers for development, control, and news servers;
registration and settlement servers;
network switches;
control equipment, tools, cables;
administrative panel, printer;
uninterruptible power supply units;

The main costs are associated with the equipment, therefore the best way– ask for help from special consultants who will help you avoid unnecessary and wrong purchases.

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