Price Comparison Sites, If you pay peanuts you get monkeys

Are the Price Comparison Sites caught in a Time Warp : Will they evolve to better Pricing recommendations and holistic Personalised Value recommendations

Price comparison websites are here to stay and in their initial avatar are already benefiting millions across categories be it Utilities, Insurance, Credit cards, Telecoms. They save money comparing deals across service providers big or small. They save time, with a few clicks we can find out deals across categories in a convenient fashion.

Is this uni-dimensional approach helping customers holistically ? Is it scuttling competition, compromising customer experience by putting the fate of businesses that wish to invest to enhance value at stake ? Is it killing competition by making the one with the highest cost leverage survive ? Questions, Questions & even more questions which I am sure that the Industry pundits are asking.

Whilst Price is a very important decision variable but is it the only one ? These sites rank Telco offerings on price , even here too Non Data pricing elements namely Roaming (we all know what havoc these costs can create), International Voice among others are ignored. Should a plan with same allowances and price albeit with Contract be ranked higher vis-a vis a Non Contract option.

Data is the new Oxygen yet with so much variation in coverage and experience across any given market, at best there is very high level guidance and no recommendation basis experience. Also these Comparison sites seem to drive acquisitions rather than help retain.

It feels this channel whilst it empowers customers on Price , but the overarching value story is hurt. Telcos are forced to compete by lower prices and higher acquisition costs. This will eventually put pressure on bottom lines forcing Telcos to compete on Price alone and compromise on experience and transparency.  

The bad news for consumers is that even if one is hell bent on getting the very best price, they will need to work harder than before as there is variance across sites on the best offer from one brand.

The price comparison category needs to reinvent itself and needs to get its act right even on the price proposition first by ensuring that they capture all elements of pricing around Roaming, International Voice, OOB charges, contractual commitments as the first step to build trust through complete transparency.

Price without incorporating basic experiential elements is not of great value. Network is the core product and manifests itself in coverage and quality parameters. The variance across is chalk and cheese so we would do well to remind us of the old adage "you pay peanuts, you get monkeys". Data speeds vary by almost 100% within major Networks across many countries. No value to these is mentioned let alone be imputed into the ranking parameter which is singularly focussed on price. 

This is the experience economy age and what the customer seeks is not just holistic comparison on hygiene attributes but also personalisation to enable a holistic decision making process. Delivering great customer experience means handing over more power and control to customers at the key stages of journey in a relevant, contextual and timely manner. The third stage in this evolution will drive enhanced customisation enabled in a DIY approach and suggestions provided real time. 

The holy grail is to put complete control that empowers and enables that aids discovery, purchase, usage and change that the customer wishes at their fingertips. Customers will need to feel reassurance not just on price but the satisfaction that their decision is tailor made to their unique needs to create an impact on a deeper level.

Ultimately this evolution has to rest on the paradigm that the true network will be the social network of like minded customers, the network of your network wherein recommendations, sharing unadulterated experiences will be the a key motive force behind decision making besides personal preferences. 

The E SIM phenomenon will clearly wrest control away from Telcos. The stakeholder communities i.e Networks, Device manufacturers and comparison sites are well advised to stay true to the ultimate purpose of enabling and empowering by putting control in the hands of the customer as switching will be instant and seamless. Only then we would have come a full circle and attained the holy grail.

Brands that will empower will win in this world of creative destruction through increased retention and improved CLTV.