Rogers falls short

The headline today: Weak subscriber growth hits Rogers.

The joke is that these results "sailed below analysts' expectations." It's funny, because the current results are merely the answers to questions we here at Non-techie Talk were asking six months ago.

What Rogers has failed to understand is that a company offers more than just product. Can anyone argue that a McDonald's hamburger is a better burger than a Harvey's hamburger? What does McDonald's do that makes it the largest fast food operation on earth? They understand product is only one part of the offering mix, and that other factors - price, service, what-have-you, can be even more important than product.

If "a phone is a phone" and the product is available somewhere other than Rogers, what will make someone either choose or stay with Rogers? Good service. What will make them leave or not try Rogers? Bad service. Which of these two would the average person say Rogers offers its customers?

Again, the answer is in the profit drop.

Sure, Rogers must charge less to compete with the new, cheaper competitor offerings. People wanted affordability all along, and now that it's more available, of course they are choosing affordability.

But dropping prices isn't stemming the flow of lost subscribers. So we're back to the other factors. Are competitors offering better phones? Or terms that are more comfortable for customers?

Whatever it is, as mentioned back in April, Rogers must work hard to make its offerings desirable in order to stay on top of its game.

Otherwise, it's game over.