Google's Free Internet. How free is it? My thoughts

I was at the recently concluded Google for Nigeria Conference organised by the tech Giant Google. There were a lot of Google products showcased during the event but what really caught my attention was Google Station, the web giant’s public wifi service, which has gone live in Nigeria

Before I go on, it must be stated explicitly that the views expressed in this article are solely that of the author, Joshua Ayo Omomia, in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of the company he works with or any other entity in Nigeria.

Let's go on, Google Station isn't the first internet focused initiative by Google, in fact, it is currently being done in four other countries— India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand. Nigeria will be the fifth country to launch Google station and the first on the African continent.

Google Station will be located in areas with a lot of people presence ( malls, airports and schools). The Station is already live in five locations in Lagos (Ikeja City mall, Computer Village, Domestic Airport, The Palms and Landmark Center). The plan is for the service to expand to 200 locations across five additional Nigerian cities—Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan—by the end of 2019.

But is Google just being unduly charitable at a great cost to give Internet to everyone? I don't think so.

Google understands the value of strategic marketing to remain relevant in any industry. Every adherent of strategic marketing understands the importance of the concept of the 3C's - Customers, Company and lastly your Competitors. The main aim of the 3C's concept is to emphasize the importance of devising strategies that affect all three – your customer, your competitor and yourself because if you don’t, someone else will capture your market audience. You may then ask how I think all these play behind Google's strategy in starting Google station. Let's break this down:

1) Customers:

Customer + Company = Low competition

The equation above shows a Perfect Customer Equation for any business.

How does the Google Station strategy affect its Customers? Well, Google's customers are divided into two groups which address its B2C market and B2B market.

I like to refer to Group 1 as The Regulars, these are the non-monetary but important regular people (like me and you) that use Google's web-based applications regularly.

Group 2 are Businesses and Entity's (B&E) that patronise Google's Ad services.

These 2 Groups are so interwoven that without the other Google wouldn't make its $110.85 billion revenue. This is how this strategy affects both groups;

Group 1:

The Goal: Create Positive affinity towards the brand ?

The Regulars power Google's business, they are the reason why Google keeps attracting patronage which smashes its previous financials. They are the sacred cows of Google's business and this is why Google always ensures this group has a great perception of the Brand and the whole Experience.

To many, the Google’s free Wi-Fi directly impacts Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which is increasing access to affordable Internet and ICT for more people in the poorest parts of the world. Google is seen as empowering millions of Nigerians with free Internet access which in reality, Google is.

Google would love to maintain this perception because this "act of kindness" and "don't be evil" attitude serves as a strong USP for them and reinforces peoples perception of Google as a brand for the people.

Group 2:

The Goal: Create enormous value for your customers ?

There is nothing more convincing to a customer than showing real value either current or foreseen on a purchase. Google understands this and how it impacts its business.

A company which makes its revenue from adverts on its web-based applications needs more usage of its application for it to remain profitable. Nigeria's internet penetration is still growing with data charges being a bottleneck. Businesses know this and would prefer to patronise a stand-alone billboard than the internet for its adverts, its all about ROI.

This is why Google Station will focus on major cities in locations mainly frequented by the middle class, serving as a great market for B&Es adverts. This would definitely attract more B&Es on their web based platforms because the value of this avenue is evident. The Google station would be key to attracting more B&Es.

2) Competitors:

Customer + Competitor = Low penetration for your company

The equation I deduced above shows a Poor Customer Equation for any business.

Google has a lot of competitors like every other company, so how does the Google Station strategy affect its Competitors?

The answer is simple. DIGITAL GOLD

When I refer to Digital Gold, I am referring to nothing else than your Data. The Google station works in a way that before you accessed, you must register some details. Google uses data collected from this initial process and what you browse on to show you useful ads. Useful data to google include your searches and location, websites and apps you would use, videos and ads you would see, and personal information you have given them, such as your age range, gender, and topics of interest.

This data is used to create targeted ads you see across your devices. So for instance, if you visit a travel website on your computer at work, you might see ads about airfares to Edo or somewhere else on your phone. Google uses this data to customize your experience. They also give B&E's data about their advert performance, though they do not reveal your personal information to them, it is usually kept protected and private.

The Google Station affords Google the avenue to get this important information ahead of its competitors in the search/online advert platforms/free wifi segment (Bing, Express Wi-Fi by facebook, flobyt etc).

The Goal Achieved: Mining Valuable Data that gives your business an edge over your competitors ?

3) The Company itself:

Customer = Competitor or Company

The equation above occurs when the difference between the company and competition is minimal. 

It is pertinent that every company always try to avoid being in the situation above. This is why every organisation must aim to create valuable USP's to offer its customers.

Google's USP has always been the deep understanding of the relationship between users and web content, whether this is search and results for The Regulars or targeted advertising for B&Es, Google is able to connect the two better than anyone else. 

This valuable USP lies in providing people exactly the information they were searching for, without having to seek through thousands of sites to find quality information they were searching for or having to pay for that kind of service. This differentiation is what Google wants to be known for and breaking the bank while doing this. This is how this strategy benefits the company. 

Goal Achieved: Establish your USP as a brand and make enormous revenue in the process ?

To round this up, these are the ways the strategy behind Google Station would benefit Google and its parent company Alphabet.

1) It would create a Positive affinity towards the Google brand which is predominantly targeted at it's Customers.

2) It would create enormous value for the customers,

3) Google would be able to mine valuable data that gives it an edge over its competitors,

4) And lastly, this idea would continually establish Googles USP while they make enormous revenue in the process.

So next time you are drafting your next product make sure your strategy aims to affect and connect the 3'Cs.

Terms

* USP - Unique Selling Proposition

* B2B - Business-to-business

*B2C - Business to consumer

*B&E - Business and Entity

*The Regulars - Googles users and online visitors on its web based application