Additions to the Adopter Segments - Misers
MISERS
This segment is unwilling to pay for Wireless Data Services. However as someone somwhere somewhen must have said, there's no such thing as a free lunch. As such, WDS/MDS will always incur costs and will have to be paid for. As this segment is unwilling to pay for MDS, it is likely that they will not adopt MDS unless the need is really pressing.
However, from the earlier part of the article, socialites are also unwilling to pay for the services. Does this suggest that misers are present in every single segment? Perhaps in some more than others. For example I believe that there will be very few misers in the sophisticates segment. Sophisticates are influenced by status needs and probably will be willing to pay to boost their self status.
Also, there may be some very basic "human" issues in play here. Would people pay for something the wouldn't need? (Of course, its been said that a man will pay $100 for something he needs while the woman will pay $1 for 100 things she dosen't need). But generally I believe rational thinking suggests that people WILL NOT pay for things that they think they do not require. As such, the basic explanation that "They are misers, hence they are unwilling to pay" does not seem really acceptable. Could it be that they do not know what MDS has to offer them? In my first meeting with the Prof, I actually realised that there were many more applications to MDS than I initially thought possible. Rather, I never bothered that MDS could be helpful in so many instances.
Another thing is that people might CLAIM that they were unwilling to pay in the hope that they would not be charged for MDS. For example, if you asked somebody how much he was willing to pay in parking charges if you built a carpark in Orchard, he or she would probably give you a pretty low figure in the hope that future parking charges along Orchard Road would be much cheaper. Perhaps some research into SMS adoption after users claimed to be unwilling to pay for SMS is required. Misers MUST have some needs which can probably be fulfilled by MDS.
Also, perhaps the Product/Service Design is not good enough to stimulate adoption. Just because something is POSSIBLE dosen't mean that its available. Perhaps MDS should be better designed such that people are WILLING to pay for it! e.g. S*NY® which charges a premium for product design and packaging.
Commercial Possibility?
Perhaps since 3G is cheaper, MDS providers might want to bundle data services together with existing mobile plans and offer them for the same price. This way, creates a psychological "saving" among people in that "I'm paying the same price for more services!"
This segment is unwilling to pay for Wireless Data Services. However as someone somwhere somewhen must have said, there's no such thing as a free lunch. As such, WDS/MDS will always incur costs and will have to be paid for. As this segment is unwilling to pay for MDS, it is likely that they will not adopt MDS unless the need is really pressing.
However, from the earlier part of the article, socialites are also unwilling to pay for the services. Does this suggest that misers are present in every single segment? Perhaps in some more than others. For example I believe that there will be very few misers in the sophisticates segment. Sophisticates are influenced by status needs and probably will be willing to pay to boost their self status.
Also, there may be some very basic "human" issues in play here. Would people pay for something the wouldn't need? (Of course, its been said that a man will pay $100 for something he needs while the woman will pay $1 for 100 things she dosen't need). But generally I believe rational thinking suggests that people WILL NOT pay for things that they think they do not require. As such, the basic explanation that "They are misers, hence they are unwilling to pay" does not seem really acceptable. Could it be that they do not know what MDS has to offer them? In my first meeting with the Prof, I actually realised that there were many more applications to MDS than I initially thought possible. Rather, I never bothered that MDS could be helpful in so many instances.
Another thing is that people might CLAIM that they were unwilling to pay in the hope that they would not be charged for MDS. For example, if you asked somebody how much he was willing to pay in parking charges if you built a carpark in Orchard, he or she would probably give you a pretty low figure in the hope that future parking charges along Orchard Road would be much cheaper. Perhaps some research into SMS adoption after users claimed to be unwilling to pay for SMS is required. Misers MUST have some needs which can probably be fulfilled by MDS.
Also, perhaps the Product/Service Design is not good enough to stimulate adoption. Just because something is POSSIBLE dosen't mean that its available. Perhaps MDS should be better designed such that people are WILLING to pay for it! e.g. S*NY® which charges a premium for product design and packaging.
Commercial Possibility?
Perhaps since 3G is cheaper, MDS providers might want to bundle data services together with existing mobile plans and offer them for the same price. This way, creates a psychological "saving" among people in that "I'm paying the same price for more services!"
posted by ~Z~ | 4:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home