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WLR stop sell: five key things you can do now

Zen Jun 7 2021

WLR stop sell: Five key things you can do now

With stop sell around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the end of old copper-based services. But how can you ensure you’re prepared for the big switch off, and how can you ensure that you take your customers on the journey with you?

1 – Know the key dates

Whether you’re thinking about your existing customers, prospects or both, it’s vital that you understand when stop sell will be taking place at each exchange.

The best way to do that is to visit our stop sell exchange list, so you’ll know which customers you need to start communicating with and when. It’s important to remember that none of these dates are set in stone. They are subject to change, so it really is worth checking back on a regular basis. We’ll keep the list updated, so you’ll always have access to the newest information.

Understanding which customers are going to be affected – and when – means you’ll be ready for the change. You’ll also be well equipped to communicate important information to existing customers, to get them upgraded to future-proof connections, and because you’re up to date with what’s going on you’ll be well placed to get an early advantage in targeting prospective customers too.

2 – Get on board with full fibre

In case you were in any doubt, let’s make one thing clear: full fibre is the future.

As a connectivity provider your options are to do nothing, to wait, or to make the most of that crucial early adopter advantage. We couldn’t recommend more strongly that you choose the last option.

Because of the performance and reliability of full fibre, we expect the switchers market to significantly reduce in the coming years. And that means if you don’t take advantage of all those upgrades from ADSL and FTTC (and even regrades from Ethernet), somebody else will, and there’s a real danger you’ll be left behind.

Of course, we don’t want to frame this in a negative way. The alternative is migrating your existing customers, and bringing in a raft of new customers, whose current providers are unwilling or unable to support them on their journey. It’ll help you create a long-term customer base that you’ll be able to upsell to and build loyalty with throughout their time with you.

3 – Educate

Education – of yourself and your end users – will be vital throughout the entire process.

It’s important that you have a comprehensive understanding of what’s happening, to make sure you’re fully equipped to respond to and make the most of the changes. That means familiarising yourself with the process, the key dates, and how to use that information to your advantage.

But it’s also vital that you keep your customers up to date on stop sell. What it is, why it’s happening and – crucially – the opportunities it provides.

This is more than just providing customers with dates. If all you do is tell them when order restrictions will be happening, you’re missing a key opportunity to sell them on the benefits of full fibre and SOGEA connections and convincing them to stick with (or move to) you.

4 – Do the right thing

This is really about ensuring that your customers (and potential customers) are given a positive experience. And that might mean prioritising what’s best for them over what suits you best in the short term.

It might be easy – or tempting – to continue to encourage uptake of copper services. But you should ask yourself whether that’s really the right thing to do. Given that those connections will only have a limited lifespan, are you really providing the best possible service?

Then again, you might be tempted to dissuade customers who are currently on expensive Ethernet connections from making the switch to full fibre – despite the fact that it might be a better option for them.

Aside from the self-sacrificial stuff though, doing the right thing also means ensuring that you’re properly prepared for warming up customers in full fibre areas, and using your knowledge of the industry – and the challenges that your customers might face – to attract prospects.

It ties in with the above point about education, and also ensuring that your customers are truly valued. It’ll be worth your while when they see you as a provider they can trust.

5 – The right provider

We hesitate to say ‘find the right provider’, and then explain all the reasons why you should choose Zen.

Of course, we think we’re the obvious partner of choice. With our firm B Corp and people-first commitments, we’re as dedicated to the ethical and environmental side of things as we are to being a top-class connectivity provider.

And make no mistake, with our long history of full fibre provision, our year or more of providing SOGEA connections, as well as the white labelled marketing material and first-class data we provide, we know what we’re doing, and we can be trusted to support you.

But this is also about being the right provider yourself. It’s about playing on your strengths: your local knowledge, being on the doorstep of your customers, being approachable to customers and non-customers alike.

When you equip yourself with the fantastic connectivity and support that Zen provides, you’re then free to be yourself, to attract and delight customers in equal measure, and build your brand as a trusted provider, able to guide your own end users through the potentially confusing stop sell journey.

And that’s it for now. In our next blog we’ll be talking about why you need to get on the FTTP wagon.