Cable TV is dying. Cable TV is increasing its revenue.

These two facts shouldn’t co-exist, yet they do. Even as cable subscription numbers drop, in a market being disrupted and overtaken by streaming services, cable companies report that revenues are on a slight rise. They achieve this by leaning more heavily on their declining userbase, confident that they will keep getting away with “the way things have always been done”. This is just one example of an industry lacking the foresight and agility to modernize their business model, but it’s an example we’re all familiar with. In the end, it’s likely that this entire product category—cable television—will lose out to more nimble and innovative competitors that offer clearer value to their customers.

Too many companies cling to the old ways of doing business, wringing out more profit before their entire business model implodes. The practice may never end, but billing people for things they don’t want or won’t use is a tactic that is as unnecessary as it is unfortunate for your business.

The implosion has already started. Companies that are too scared to evolve see the writing on the wall and are doing everything they can to pad their coffers in the short term, while their customer bases dwindle, and their long-term viability erodes.

When a company fails to understand customer empowerment, it misses out on one of the best and most effective ways to build customer loyalty and make money. Good (truly good) business is great for the bottom line.

LogiSense provides flexible billing options to leading global businesses such as Cisco, Garmin, Five9, and Vonage. Our subscription-based and usage-based billing models enable our clients to monetize any event in the connected world, in real-time. That makes for extraordinarily refined billing. But it also puts choice, control and power back in the end customer’s hands. That’s good for business because it leads to higher customer retention and better upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

Take Garmin, one of the most respected suppliers of GPS navigation and wearable technology in the global automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and fitness markets. Garmin rolled out our agile monetization capabilities in the US and around the world beginning in 2016. Its customers have come to appreciate the simplicity of dialing services up and down—and seeing their choices reflected precisely in their bills. The more agency these customers have, the more loyal they become.

For a company with a priceless reputation to uphold, the billing experience must be as satisfying as its product experience. Nothing less will inspire trust and confidence. 

The loss of trust

Ever since business stopped being a small, local, face-to-face proposition, the gap between customers and the companies they buy from has grown. And the connection between customers and the value they perceive has become more tenuous.

The recent movement towards more consumer-friendly subscription models is a step in the right direction. Netflix grew into the entertainment giant it is today by offering consumers a choice they desperately wanted but didn’t previously have—the ability to watch only what they wanted, when they wanted. But even this model has flaws. Streaming services regularly battle to carry the most popular classic shows or hottest new series, a practice that drives subscription fees ever upwards year after year and perfectly illustrates the limitations of a subscription model controlled by businesses and not by consumers.

Paying for what you want and use—and only that—should be the standard. Talk is cheap, and money walks. And that which empowers customers is also better for the vendor and their business. The technology is in place. We know. LogiSense builds and runs it. 

In a world with nearly unlimited choice available for almost any product or service, customer loyalty is increasingly valuable—and tougher to earn. That’s where agility comes in.

As the COVID-19 pandemic set in, our system gave clients the flexibility to act fast and in ways that built customer trust. Garmin adjusted swiftly by using LogiSense Billing, with a strategy to empower their customers during lockdowns around the world. In less than a week, the company reached out to customers to waive some usage and contract fees and suspend services without charge. Garmin was able to keep its customers in a non-cancelled state, maintain active accounts and subscriptions, and permit those customers to adjust the state of their billing and relationship with the company.

Garmin thought of their customers first. Our monetization platform made it possible. LogiSense can calculate many things, but the goodwill Garmin earned isn’t one of them.

Honesty wins. Empowerment sells. Always.

It’s possible to offer products fairly, in ways customers want. And it’s possible to measure, rate and price everything your company sells so that you can provide your offerings, operate profitably, retain customers, deliver value, and grow your business faster than the competition.

Customers who are dissatisfied will take their dollars (or Euros, or Won, or Rials) to competitors with one tap of their smartphones. 

Companies that commit themselves to offering what people want—and provide a way for people to pay how they want and for exactly what they use—will come out ahead.

LogiSense’s billing and rating platform is our solution to help businesses give power back to the consumer, win loyalty and trust, and create a profitable business model in this new usage-based economy. Give your customers what they want and show them value: No tricks. No hidden fees or bundling. Just clear, upfront billing.

More consumers than ever expect the companies with which they do business to stand for something. Regardless of what your company does, what you sell or who you serve, we believe the first thing you should stand for is your customers. They’ll be willing to give you more in return. 

A revolution is coming

More and more businesses are realizing that the balance of power is tilting back to the customer. In response, they are working overtime to rebuild trust. Even governments around the world are taking action, enacting laws that make practices like negative-option billing illegal.

Stop doing business with companies that refuse to respect their customers. 

Stop charging customers for things they don’t want in order to give them the things they do. 

Stop undervaluing what you offer and get paid so you can grow. 

Stop missing out on strong and distinctive revenue-generating opportunities.

Stop hiding costs in financial fakery. 

Be honest. Be clear. Be good. If you think your company isn’t charging what it should for its products—too much or too little—reach out to see how LogiSense can help.

This isn’t just where the world is going—it’s where the world already is. Give customers what they want. It’s time to change billing for good.