IVR: business models. Helen Papchenko IVR Services Group Head, i FREE

Transcription

1 IVR: business models Helen Papchenko IVR Services Group Head, i FREE

2 Agenda About IVR IVR Services Today: Key Market Trends In Retrospect: IVR Services in Russia Segments and case studies Strategic Positioning: Market Players Strategic Positioning: Business models Product & Promotion Price: Pricing practices Price: Cost management IVR business models: i FREE Experience Resume: Factors, stimulating emerging of new business models

3 About IVR R (Interactive Voice Response) is a service where user queries generate an interactive voice response using DTMF dial or ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition). An IVR system responds with a synthesized or prerecorded voice message. nefits: The IVR interface is easy and user friendly No calls waiting (for business solutions) Voice is a better medium to convey emotion A voice message carries more information 1 2 many cases, it is a much better idea to use IVR hat IVR systems can do: Callback: the system returns subscribers calls at no cost to subscriber Call transfer to another number Integrate with other technology: SMS, WAP, etc. Integrate with databases Conferencing: chat rooms, multi user chats Automatic speech recognition (at present, there is no effective solution for this in Russia) Online access to statistics Programmable scenarios Sending content to an outside number

4 Segments and case studies B2B IVR automatic answerers (customer service) Technical launch pad IVR toolkit (OpenCOM) IVR aggregation and service providing B2C Customization segment Content sales Adult services Media content segment: the fastest growing VAS segment Voice portals of TV shows (Dom 2, Cadetstvo, etc.) Information services based on TV news shows: 24 portal (RenTV), Vesti portal (RTR), TV Center s news portal, Segodnya (NTV), DTV Interactive media segment Call TV, WEB integration Community Chat rooms, introductions LBS segment Autocompass, navigators Introductions Entertainment services Mobilу marketing Advertising at IVR portals Mobile commerce Micro payments for content and services Vending Banking UGC (User Generated Content) Information services

5 In Retrospect: IVR Services in Russia Before 2000: all voice services on the market were basic information directories 2000: in Russia, a market for mobile content and IVR emerged simultaneously. Summer 2000: Northwest GSM piloted the first IVR service in partnership with Open Technology Techniques: * : the market evolved along the B2C lines: no partnership programs, micro payments or mobile marketing yet. Feb 2005 plummeting customization market sparked IVR growth: entertainment (sale of ringtones after sampling) + adult services. Fall and winter 2005: IVR services boomed; aggressive advertising; Solvo, Mobile Answers, Delfi, Neritone; more ringtones for sale (two messages were particularly widespread: Sick of crappy ringtones? Call, sample, and download! and All ringtones free. Call and download as many as you want. ). Early 2006: the IVR reached its growth peak, commanding as much as 35% of the mobile entertainment market. May 2006: Call TV made an entrance. Interactive TV took over TNT, TV3 and Rambler TV. Content aggregation started to show signs of a trend. Summer 2006: Mega competition in IVR services, coupled with undermined consumer confidence (downloads for free, interactive TV), caused a market crash. The IVR segment shrank 50% from December : growth stagnated as the customization segment shrank; the need became apparent to search for new business paradigms

6 IVR Services Today: Key Market Trends IVR mobile commerce is growing: micro payments, online content payments, mobile vending «User Generated Content» has arrived Businesses warmed up to web and voice service integration. (Entertainment service «Voice» by Rambler, blog hosting portal by Livejournal Growth opportunities for the IVR segment lie in Web and TV integration. Convergence paves the way for new business paradigms Tougher operator policies increasingly dictate IVR service aggregation The entertainment IVR segment is past its growth period. The entertainment segment has dropped to 50% of the total IVR market, which is half the 2003 figure, when amusing content made up 80% to 90% of the market. Growth stagnation There is a need for new services and new business paradigms in the marketplace

7 Strategic Positioning: Market Players When the IVR market was in its infancy, interaction between the market players was extremely basic: The system of interfaces between players is more complex today: there are more players and numerous interface matrixes and business models. The roles may be divided even inside a business process: Copyright owner Service Provider Operator Subscriber Brand Provider Media Provider A viable business paradigm may involve outsourcing at different levels of this chain

8 Strategic Positioning: Business models Business model 1: complicated cooperation Business model 2 : aggregation Benefits: High product quality (professional development, transport and distribution) Risks and investment minimization Subscriber Minuses: Small profit (meaningful at high traffic volume) Value added chain extension Benefits: Mostly profitable sharing with operators Service provider can receive 2 3% of profit margin. At large traffic volumes a minimal margin becomes substantial. Higher margin can lead to risk and investment increase. Minuses: Prolongation of the chain

9 Product & Promotion Product positioning (open or not quite fair?) Message: «Download free» Call TV The rise of Сall TV is a worldwide trend in interactive media and mobile gambling. This business model is based on western prototypes. May 2006: TV channel TNT launched Money in the Pipeline show, created by SMS Media Solutions under a license using Neva Line equipment. In June 2006 alone, viewers spent over US $1 million on calls to the voice portal. June October 2006: a clone attack. Money in the Pipeline, Cinemania, Night Games, Money On Call on TNT, RenTV, Rambler TV, TV3 and other channels. Direct promotion (advertisement placement for money) Promotion based on income sharing (branded services) Business model 1: sharing with Media (Brand) providers Promo venues: Vendors Dealer channels Partnership programs Benefits: No charges for placement and marketing Minimal marketing risks Minuses: Ineffective usability (Subscriber must remember and use password) Plummeting customer retention, caused an aggressive advertising

10 Price: Pricing practices Metric model: charges per time unit Used in the IVR segment. Billing is based on a time unit: a second or a minute. Content linked model (payment for content): the subscriber pays different rates for different services, reflecting the value of, and demand for each service. Payment per fact. This practice gained wide circulation in text messaging: all SMS messages are charged at the same rate, except that some operators will charge the sender whenever a message is sent, while others will charge the recipient every time a message is received. Hybrid Business Model 1: Before 2005, IVR services in content sale used a business model where subscribers were charged per minute for listening + the charge for content download, meaning that the metric pricing model was merged with the payment per fact model (all downloads were the same price; integrated with SMS technology). IVR portal functioned as a promo venue for content. Metric Model: The basic rate for this service is $N. On top of that, the subscriber is charged for specific transactions: sending voice messages, transfers to call center, content ordering. This business practice welds the metric and content linked pricing models saw the emergence of a new business matrix, using exclusively the metric pricing model. The new message was: All downloads free! Call and download as much as you want! Hybrid Business Model 2: The basic rate for this service is $N. On top of that, the subscriber is charged for specific transactions: sending voice messages, transfers to call center, content ordering. This business practice welds the metric and content linked pricing models.

11 Price: Cost management Free services Usually, toll free numbers starting with Image service: free service for subscribers Revenue stream from clients (companies paying for IVR access) Example: Kangaroo Mobile, voice quiz to promote Voltaren and Emulgel Expensive numbers Standard solution for entertainment, information and adult services: $1 3per minute of connection. Cheap numbers Business model 1 Cheap numbers = huge traffic: extensive business model Business model 2 The money is made on content, while IVR serves as a promo venue. Example: RBT Business model 3 Low price + huge traffic = growing subscriber base, to be later shaped into a community or CRM. The gist of this business model are not once off purchases, but the continuous life cycle of a product

12 IVR business models: i-free Experience IVR was the second service launched by i Free (the first service was a call center). i Free currently operates the full range of IVR services. Business models: Actions with operators (Quiz with MTS) September 2006: the company switched to a new business matrix, charging for listening time only. User Generated Content, Web integration (Boltoonz) Branded promotions: income sharing with brand providers (promotions with Maksim and Dima Bilan). Partnership programs: income sharing with media providers.

13 Resume: Factors, stimulating emerging of new business models Complexity of infrastructure Value added chain extension 2008 trend: convergence with media IVR growth stagnation during decline of customization segment Interest to integration with Web and TV

14 Thank you for your attention! Helen Papchenko, IVR Services Group Head, i FREE +7 (911) epapchenko@i free.ru