Verizon reviled, Vonage not
Seth Godin’s myth of the CMO, where he mentions Verizon as “a brand that is justifiably reviled by millions of people,” is dead on. It reminded me I promised an update a while ago, too.
It’s been about two months since we dropped Verizon and switched entirely to IP-based voice service through Vonage. Probably the most gratifying moment in the transition was telling Verizon they could simply disconnect everything.
Services such as those offered by Vonage are still low on the radar for Verizon. It’s what helps drive reform in one way or another. Either Verizon will be slow on the uptake and follow the path IBM took when they gave away the personal computer operating system market to Microsoft — or, they’ll start competing and perhaps acquiring the Vonage’s of the world. Personally I’m hoping it’s the former — we need some innovation in this industry. Verizon isn’t the only bloated, expensive telco offering poor customer service and limited options.
Vonage has been exceptional in the first few months since the transition. If anything, voice quality is often better than the quality of calls made with Verizon. And we have the benefits of services such as voicemail delivery to our email address and literally instantaneous service changes through our Vonage dashboard. Despite the considerably greater service offerings Vonage still beats Verizon on price as well — by more than half.
