By Matt Milford and Rob Malnati

What killed off the VCR? Was it the much higher picture quality of the DVD? Well, to some degree, yes. But judging by the common sight of the flashing 12:00 on the vintage VCRs in many homes, the more likely death knell for the videotape players was the extremely cumbersome set-up and function menus that frustrated the average consumer. No wonder the DVD, with its easy point and click, visual menu, won immediate favor with the masses, relegating the VCR to gather dust, used only on rare occasions to view vintage movies or old family videos. And now, with the advent of video on demand, even the DVD is under threat of being surpassed with the convenience of VoD.

There's no underestimating the fickleness of consumers, who would ditch you the minute they perceive that your competitor is offering the same product as yours at a cheaper price – especially when what you have is deemed dated or harder to use.

When it comes to providing web, video and other content, the same holds true. Keep your product portfolio fresh, competitively priced, and easy to use, or be relegated to the scrapheap of supplanted technology.

You have the opportunity to maintain favor with your customers by anticipating their expectation of "the next big thing." What is now clear is that in the age of Web and TV 2.0, it is all about "me" – that is, a desire for a contextual and personalized user experience. Give the customer what he or she wants, when it's needed, and in a format appropriate to the user device, and you'll win their allegiance and deepen your relationship.

Sophistication = Complexity

The challenge confronting the service provider who is attuned to customer whims is the explosive growth in OSS complexity. It's simple math: customized options yield unprecedented numbers of possible record and service permutations. With increasing customer-driven preferences to access and customize blended services at Internet speed, comes the impetus for a unified and streamlined content management and service delivery mechanism able to efficiently feed mobile, web and TV portals for services and self-care.  Providers that attain these goals at lower cost will benefit from reduced churn and improved agility in servicing niche markets and exploiting fads for increased revenue as well. 

As we learned from the VCR example, the user interface holds the key to customer satisfaction and directly impacts churn. In current parlance, this means that the “digital storefront” must be simple to stock with attractive and customized content that will move off the virtual shelf, and the purchasing process must be intuitive and straightforward.