original strategy for what phone

Strictly confidential

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A New Australian Mobile Postpaid Telco Affiliate

( The original strategy for WhatPhone.com.au )


Summary : There is a >$750k a year gap in the AU market for a new Postpaid Mobile Comparison Site ( Affiliate ) – with unique site elements shown to raise conversion

What’s the idea ?

• An AU comparison site targeted at the largest growing segment - mobile• • Site will not hold stock – only refer customers to the telcos• It will only cover postpaid mobile – not broadband etc

• NOTE : THIS IS A STARTING POINT FOR DISCUSSON

How is it different ?

• It will be focussed on mobile• Content will be unique, more social , offering informed, personal points of view• The site has better capability than other comparison sites – e.g. Chat

• Functionality has been prioritised according to impact on conversion• It’s simple to use – e.g. has only the top 10 devices to choose from

• Customers will genuinely be able to choose within 5 minutes• There are maybe 4 decent affiliates in Australia for mobiles right now

Why will customers use

it ?

• They can find the best deal ( save money ) • They can save time – be in land out in ess than 5 minutes• It’s easy to get the impartial information and they need to decide• The site has the tools they need to be able to answer all their questions

What’s it worth ?

( Realistically ) •


Business Case 1 : BasicWorthwhile hobby income starts to develop after a year

Apr

-12

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12

Jul-1

2

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Jan-

13

Feb-

13

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-$60,000.00-$50,000.00-$40,000.00-$30,000.00-$20,000.00-$10,000.00

$0.00$10,000.00$20,000.00$30,000.00 Realistic Business Case : $45k links. $15k build site, $1k per month enhance : 1% conversion by

month 6, $64 affiliate fee, 2% Monthly UV Growth = 27k after 3 years, 2% conversionGrowth per month = 1.81% k after 3 years

Monthly Profit Cost Per Month Cumulative Profit

Y1 Net Profit Y2 Net Profit Y3 Net Profit$0.00

$50,000.00

$100,000.00

$150,000.00

$200,000.00

$250,000.00

$300,000.00

$1,730.47

$77,597.38$134,046.59

$865.24

$38,798.69

$67,023.30

$865.24

$38,798.69

$67,023.30

RikardKymNeil

Link Cost $ 45,307.50 Site Build $ 15,000.00 Monthly Site Enhance $ 1,000.00 Total Site Spend 3 years $ 50,000.00 Affiliate Fee $ 64.00 Conversion 6 months 1.00%Monthly Conversion Growth 2.00%Conversion 3 years 1.81%Uvs 6 months 14590Monthly UV Increase 2.00%Uvs 3 years 26428


Business Case 2: OptimisticRaising Conversion to 3% per month growth and UV per month growth to 5%, resulting stats after 3 years are realistic and income supports replacing current jobs

Y1 Net Profit Y2 Net Profit Y3 Net Profit$0.00

$100,000.00

$200,000.00

$300,000.00

$400,000.00

$500,000.00

$600,000.00

$700,000.00

$800,000.00

$900,000.00

$6,660.67 $143,518.62

$384,919.90$3,330.33 $71,759.31

$192,459.95

$3,330.33 $71,759.31

$192,459.95

RikardKymNeil

Link Cost $ 45,307.50 Site Build $ 15,000.00

Monthly Site Enhance $ 1,000.00 Total Site Spend 3 years $ 50,000.00

Affiliate Fee $ 64.00 Conversion 6 months 1.00%

Monthly Conversion Growth 3.00%Conversion 3 years 2.43%

Uvs 6 months 14590Monthly UV Increase 5.00%

Uvs 3 years 63057

Apr

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-$80,000.00

-$60,000.00

-$40,000.00

-$20,000.00

$0.00

$20,000.00

$40,000.00

$60,000.00 Optimistic Business Case : $45k links. $15k build site, $1k per month enhance : 1% conversion by month 6, $64 affiliate fee,5% Monthly UV Growth = 63k UVs after 3 years, 3% Conversion Growth per month = 2.43%

after 3 year : Sell $1k per month of content t

Profit Cost Cumulative Profit


Insights Overview : A lack of competition means even market leading affiliates in Australia lack cutting edge site capabilities – an opportunity for competitive advantage

Video

• Video is a key ecommerce trend AU has largely ignored

• Consistent insights show video can raise sales 30%• Site will include personal video review videos of key

service aspects : Delivery, network quality, un-boxing• Video will be used to inform the buying process and

will be available on mobile devices

Video makes people 30%

more likely to buy

Chat

• Instant messaging is the primary sales conversion tool for high value purchases including telecommunications contracts

• It can be efficiently implemented with a PAYG model• With forecast volumes, one person will be able to cover

the service within the affiliate

7x more likely to buy

No

No

USP Insight On Competitor sites ?

Key Fact

Mobile First

• This site will be designed for mobile devices first• Mobile is the fastest growing technical trend in history• 15% of telco sales already come from mobile devices • Affiliates stand to benefit disproportionately, from mobile –

there is no checkout process to work through – just referrals

15% of sales are already from mobile

No

Any Question Answered

• Questions arising in the chat conversations will be put in to a database which customers can then search creating a growing database of useful content

AQA can raise sales 30%No

No competitive advantage can be sustained indefinitely – as with all enterprises, we will have to evolve.

Email deal of the month

• While in the research phase customers will be able to sign up to the deal of the month. In the final week of the month, this database will be sold to telcos under pressure to meet their monthly sales target

Email marketing is the fastest growing acquisition channel

No


Insights : Why do people shop online in Australia ?These drivers will infleunce the site build and on page marketing

‘Why Australians Buy Online’EConsultancy ANZ Internet Statistics

Compendium Jan 2012

Across all research processes, the internet is preferred : EConsultancy ANZ Internet

Statitics Compendium Jan 2012

I trust them

They’re easy to use

They help save time

They help me Save Money

Reasons Consumers Use Comparison Sites

( Juniper Reearch Jan 2011 )

What do customers

want from an affiliate ?

• For years, convenience and the best price have been the primary reasons customers have bought online rather than in a retail store

• Consumers prefer online for research and almost all of them use online as a component of their research for electronic products and purchases as expensive as a mobile phone commitment : Reviews are the most influential research components

• They like comparison sites because they’re credible, easy to use and because comparison sites will save them time / money


Insights : Online Trends in 2011 : Smartphones are is increasingly important in the buying processes but Australian Retailers have been left behind by the speed of adoption creating an opportunity

Right :Mobile is the biggest growth technology in history

But : In Australia :

• 85% of the top 100 retailers are not smart phone friendly • 6% are not tablet friendly

Below : The Mobile Internet and the Deciion Making Process

• Left : Mobile is an increasing component of the consideration process.

• People take photos, compare prices watch online video and read reviews on mobile devices while in the store


Insights : Online Trends in 2011 : Customers are using smartphones to buy things. Social Media has humanised the tone of online conversations

Channel Diversification

(Mobile – with Connected TV coming )

• More than 47% of Smartphone owners use their handsets to buy products & services• 12% of Telco site page views are on mobile devices

• Almost all of those are on iPhone and Android• 15% of Vodafone’s sales are already on mobile platforms

• Mobile is “ The single most important trend affecting digital marketers “ • An Optimised mobile site will convert at 3 to 4 times better than not building one

• Don’t be swayed by fancy graphics or pages that take a long time to download. • Page load Speed is absolutely vital

• Even Whistleout doesn’t have a mobile site or a strategy to build one !

Insights from a variety of current Econsultancy reference documents

Customer Centricity

• Humanisation, driven by the web becoming more social causing the adoption of ‘social values’ including openness, the ability to conect to real people : Humanised technology includes chat, the use of touch sensitive technologies, live onsite chat, deeper personalisation • Conversion goes up 66% when there are bad reviews – because the site becomes more believable• Competition is driving an increasing focus on User Experience but larger companies, including telcos find it difficult to evolve their site quickly• The digital environment has become more ‘human’ as companies appreciate the opportunities available to bring the experiential power of offline to online•Gamification is a key buzz phrase representing elements of this trend • Key to success is knowing why people have dropped out of the funnel ( 74% of companies don’t)


Insights : Online Trends in 2011 : Good content is required to win customer visits and stay Google friendly. Video is key.

Source : Econsultancy 1 Online Video A Best Practice Guide July 2011 2 : All other facts from Internet Marketing Strategy Briefing : Key Trends in online July 2011

Content( & Video especially )

• With PVRs & fragmented, online offering comes a mvmt from bought media to earned media • Earned media is cheaper to make and word of mouth is the most effective tool• Online video is one of Gartner’s top 10 technology trends for 2011• Video content assists with search rankings, links, visitor engagement, informing people to sell

to them and leveraging the long tail of visitors - video is driving sales in every regard• For most large companies, on average, content is now 33% of marketing spend• But big brands find it expensive to make and get signed off • People are watching social videos on mobile devices1 : 10% of You Tube views are on mobiles• The rise of the ‘second screen – watching TV while people interact with a computing device including a mobile phone or a tablet .• There is a greater convergence between mobile, online and video• Video is rising in particular this year on the back of social media. It is already an expected part of the user experience and is fast becoming the most powerful way to reach new audiences.• Barriers to entry are low – but, when you try, you’re competing with the world’s best entertainment in a world where people will leave you quickly when they’re not interested• Video is the biggest competitor to shopping in the store itself• These days :

• You need to write video with the customer in mind• You’ve got to know who you’re targeting,

• find out where online they’re likely to be • Ensure content is the start of the conversation

• You need to think about the lifestyles of the people in your target audience• Content must be relevant and useful

• More than 75% of Australians watch video on their computers.• 66% have done it in the last month

• 26% watch video on their mobile phones

“The great thing about video is the sheer amount of

information you can get across in a short

space of time”


Insights : Online Trends in 2011 : Mining data is now accepted as a way to drive sales. Convergence just means that all of these trends impact customers at the same time

Data

• Data usage is probably the best known trend :• Personalisation can raise conversion 30%• Merchandising can raise it 20%• Email marketing / remarketing can raise sales 10-35% • The biggest barrier to the utilisation of data is access to the right people, skills + commercial sense

Social Media• Social Media is really too broad a term to mean anything on its own• Recent developments in Google ( including Panda / Farmer updates ) hint at a desire within the major search engines to reward pages with the most ‘unique’ content

Convergence : This is all one thing

• People sit at home in front of the TV with their Smartphone or tablet in their hand • Videos and purchases are shared socially and viewed on mobile devices• Any aspect of online – including mobile, social and content needs to be measured o the data can be used for optimisation• ‘Humanisation’ is reflected in the videos that people want to watch

Insights from a variety of current Econsultancy reference documents


Insights : Affiliate Trends : UK – the market is mature and still growing - there are many affiliates and payments to them are increasing

• Industry has been hit by recession but is still growing• Currently drives 8% of all online retail sales • There has been a shift to online and performance based marketing

coupled with increased consumer demand for bargains• Industry is marked with relatively low barriers to entry meaning it can be easy

for new ( and sometimes untrustworthy ) affiliates to sprin gup• However, with new levels of accountability brought on by social media,

unscrupulous affiliates will be successful only in the short term• Affiliate marketing is an innovative sector – affiliates are always finding new

ways to engage with customers – • Video is another important new category of content

From UK Affiliate Census 2011

How does the UK affiliate market work ?

• 46% now work full time in the industry• 48% make more than $10k per month• Only 22% have only indirect contact with telcos through a network • More than half of affiliates say their commissions have improves in the last year

• 20% growing 100% in the last year• 50% are Very / quite optimistic about the year ahead• Content i still the most important affiliate category

Benefit to Telcos( Stats from Affiliates Buyer’s

guide )

• Sales increases• Transparency of ROI – through ability to track origin of sales• Ability to pay commissions to affiliates based on performance


Insights : Range : The Paradox of Choice versus the Long Tail – why we should focus on the top 7(+/-2) devices to maximise conversion

The Paradox of choice : Barry Schwarz TED talk

• The central tenant of all of Western world is to maximise choice to allowing freedom leading to almost unlimited choice : All of this choice has 2 effects. • It produces paralysis instead of liberation

• People find it very difficult to choose at all.”• For every 10 financial funds, participation goes down 2%.

• Have 50 funds, sales go down 10%. - When you choose wrong, ( or right ) , you IMAGINE that you could have chosen better which distracts from your utility outcome ( makes you feel sad )- With all that choice – FOMO means you waste time worrying about the others – and who is responsible ? You are !- Escalation of expectations from the choice goes up

- Happiness is a function of low expectations- “There is some magic level of choice – and I don’t know what it is.”

• The Long Tail involves : Selling a large number of unique items with small quantities sold of each

• Requires negligible stocking and distribution cost – typical of online businesses especially warehouse ( Amazon ) / digital only businesses ( iTunes )

• In a typical distribution 80% of things sold are 20% of the product range (green area to left of the page )

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar 2010

• Jam example underpins much of the research which has been done on choice – it was conducted by Ms. Ivengatr.• They had 2 tables of Jam samples.

• One table with 24 jars, one table with 6 and encouraged people • 30% of people who had seen the small assortment bought.

• 3% of those who had seen the bigger assortment bought• Proctor and Gamble reduced the 26 varieties of head and shoulders to 15 and sales jumped 15%. A cat litter provider got rid of it’s 10 worst selling.

The significance of this comes up again in the Arto of choosing. George Miller professor of psycology at Princeton looked at the data in a 1956 research paper “The Magical Number Seven, plus or minus two” : Some Limits on our capacity for processing information. Studies have shown ability to recall sizes, orders, positions, curvature, telephone numbers, sounds, dots flashed on a screen – up to 7, people are fine. Beyond that, they’re not.

From ‘Wikipedia’ and Chris Anderson’s 2004 Wired article from which a book was derives


Why only the top 7 devices ? Almost everyone buys one of the top 7 devices – site messaging will include explanation of that from an ‘insider’s point of view’ and stay in line with Making it easy messagingThere are a small number of devices which constitute almost the whole market :

1 ) iPhone, ( In all it’s flavours with commentary on the extra memory’s benefits )

2 ) Galaxy SII, 3)Nokia X3, 4)Nexus, 5)Incredible S and 6) HTC Rhyme

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Top Selling Australian Mobiles 21.12.11

Top 7 device types cover 91% of sales

Number Device Cumulative Device Totals

1 Apple iPhone4S 16GBW 15%1 Apple iPhone4S 16GBB 30%1 Apple iPhone4S 32GBB 41%2 Samsg Galaxy S II 49% SIM BYO 58%3 Nokia X3 02 Xbox 65% SIM Replacement 72%4 Samsg Galaxy Nexus 78%5 HTC Incredible XBox 83%1 Apple iPhone4S 64GBW 86%6 HTC Incredible S 89%7 Samsg Galaxy S II Wh 91% Apple iPhone4S 32GBW 94% Garmin A50 Online 96% HTC Rhyme Promo 98% Moto Razr 99% Apple iPhone4S 64GBB 100%


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Top Selling Optus Plans 21.12.11

Top 7 plans are 88% of sales Number Plan Cumulative Plans Totla

1 $59 Optus Cap (Nov 2011 Prem H/set) 42%2 $49 Optus Cap (Nov 2011 Prem H/set) 56%3 $29 Optus Cap (Oct 2010) 69%4 $59 Optus Cap (May 2011) 78%5 $19 Optus BYO Plan (Dec 2011) 84%6 $34 Optus BYO Plan (Dec 2011) 86%7 $19 Optus Cap (Oct 2010) 88%8 $29 Optus Cap for iPhone (Oct 2010) 91%9 $79 Optus Cap (Nov 2011 Prem H/set) 93%

10 $19 Optus Cap for iPhone (Oct 2010) 95%11 $49 Optus Cap (May 2011) 96%12 $79 Optus Cap (Oct 2010) 98%

13$99 Timeless Extreme Plan (Nov 2011

Prem H/set) 99%14 $59 Optus Cap (Oct 2010) 99%15 $69 Timeless BYO Plan (Dec 2011) 100%

There are a small number of plans which constitute almost all of those sold.


Insights : Competitor Review : High CredibilityWhistleout.com.au

• Whistleout is the market leader• Operates under white label with SMH /

Compare Mpobile Plan, Captain Compare• Their strategy suggests that they get

around • 370k users in AU each month, • 90,000 referrals • ( that’s a 24% conversion rate ! ) • Or a 1.5% TO BUY ratio !

• They plan to move in to holding stock over time and are trying to develop exclusive offers with telcos

• Also adding an in store voucher code• No discussion anywhere of a mobile version of their site• Mobile page load times are pretty slow. Pages look good but

operating the solution chooser is not easy from a mobile device

Mobile No

Video No

Chat No

AQA No

Email Deal No


Insights : Competitor Review : High CredibilityPhonesandPlans.com.au ( beta )

• This is a well executed site – nice, simple and clear

• It’s probably the nearest competitor to the idea proposed here

• It does drawn in to focus the fact that I need to reassure people about the full range of phones by explaining the 90% thing

• Their ‘Smart tips’ content seems very easy for us but offers a hint at some of the content we could create to show people how to do things – like check their account on line

Mobile No

Video No

Chat No

AQA No

Email Deal No


Insights : Competitor Review : High CredibilityIselect.com.au

• This is a credible brand with a poorly executes site

• Broad range with good ATL TV support• No reviews• Clunky solution finder in mobiles section• Looks like mobile phones is a bit of a bolt

on to the primary comparison services they offer – could mean they are not a competitor now but will grow to be later

• Site has a mobile component for some services but when you approach the mobile section it says “We haven’t quite optimised this for mobile yet’

Mobile Yes

Video No

Chat No

AQA No

Email Deal No

• Mobile phones is marked as a ‘new’ offering

• Solution finder takes 10 seconds to load and is difficult to use


Insights : Competitor Review : High Credibility

• It does have the videos but they haven’t been touched since I was at Vodafone !

• Not limited to just mobile phones.• Nice execution of the compare with star

review shown as hero, intelligent review and deals shown in bottom right

• I’d say our original design specifications could come from a review of this – with JBA

• We could take content titles from the other sites and develop our own articles

Mobile No

Video Kind of

Chat No

AQA No

Email Deal No


Key Competitors : Medium credibility

Mobile No

Video No

Chat No

AQA No

Email Deal No

• Well delivered site which nails the simplicity factor• Would have been easy to put together but seems quite

effective• Some simplicity components we can learn from


Insights : Key Competitors

• Industry benchmark• Will compete with them on ‘simplicity’• Interesting conversion stats !• Avoid slow mobile page load times

• ‘Leverage’ simplicity in designs

• Use as baseline for IA

• Leverage mobile implementation ideas for health• Avoid mistakes of the comparison tool – clunky and slow to load

• ‘Leverage’ tip of the day content ideas and title


Minimum Viable Product – Commercials and other important work components

Commercial :Start a company

• DGM Commercial Terms• Sign up with an affiliate aggregator

SEO• Link building• Build the content

Legals • I have a draft understanding of the structure I’d need

Technical Parsing • Need to investigate

Actions required

• Flesh out the idea with me – tell me what you like and what you don’t• All – define requirements for the site• Rikard – lead the design of the site starting with mobile• Kym, help with a content project plan• Neil : Start a company and find someone to build the site – initiate links


Risks

Google

Changing the search algorithm Mitigation : Google are likely to continue to reward pages with unique content

Google Investing in the area : Google announced in July 2010 that it wa buying flight information software company ITA Software for $700m in cash. ITA’s software is used for comparing prices at ‘a billion combinations per query’

Mitigation : None

Company set upNeeds to be set up while we’re working for Optus – this could be a bit sticky ! Mitigation : TBD


A possible exit strategy : Selling the site we build to the telcos : Australian Insurance Holdings which owns BudgetDirect started CaptainCompare.com.au

original strategy for what phone

Technology