Verizon has a Messaging Problem

Verizon, we might note, has a bit of a messaging problem. Having always marketed itself as the “best” quality provider, if it cannot make that claim, there is a disconnect. That now seems the case for mobile services, where T-Mobile often leads. 

Verizon also faces the same problem in the fixed networks business. Despite Verizon’s decades-long positioning as the company that deployed the most fiber-to-home, it now ranks at the bottom of major internet service providers for median speeds. 

To be sure, the dispersion between best and last is arguably not so relevant, as all the leading ISPs sport median speeds high enough that few consumers could actually perceive the difference.  

source: Ookla

Still, that is a problem. Verizon’s messaging always has been about being “the best,” the “fastest,” the highest quality. That is not the case any longer. And Verizon’s pricing premium has been b on that claimed quality leadership. 

That puts the premium positioning at risk, along with the profit margins. 

Of course, one might argue the other leading contenders also have to work on their positioning. T-Mobile has been the feisty challenger, but now it also can claim to be the quality leader. T-Mobile perhaps has competed on “value,” but also now can compete on “quality.” 

AT&T has had a less-consistent message. Honestly, I have had a hard time figuring out how to position AT&T in the market. It hasn’t been the clear quality leader, nor the clear price or value leader. 

The cable companies somewhat predictably have focused on value and simplicity, so are closer to the T-Mobile pitch. 

But all three leading mobile service providers have opportunities or challenges around market positioning. Verizon has a disconnect. T-Mobile has opportunities to be both “best” and “value” at the same time, if it so chooses. It might also, despite the apparent contradiction, have pricing power upside. 

AT&T’s issue, it still seems, is that it is not clearly the “best” or the “most affordable,” which shapes the messaging opportunities. 

Everyone has work to do.