Introduction
The business that has been chosen for the purpose of this report is called AT&T. It is situated in the United States. The company is a digital media giant, especially in America, where it widely provides mobile, telephone, and television services all across the country. The company is also a manufacturer of technological gadgets and telecommunication devices. It is prominent not only in America but around the rest of the world as well. The full form of AT&T is American Telephone and Telegraph Company, and it was founded in 1885. The company is related to Alexander Graham Bell himself, who invented the telephone. Today AT&T has made its position at the top of the Fortune 500 list of companies in the world. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, United States(Cleverism).
Customer Segment
As discussed above, AT&T is a giant telephone, mobile, and television services providers in the United States. So, it deals with mass markets and has a vast customer base. It provides different packages that offer a different combination of these services. The company also offers wireless network services such as the internet. The customer base has reached and surpassed 100 million people. There is a wide range of customer groups that avail AT&T services, which include private subscribers to retailers to government organizations as well. AT&T uses demographic and psychographic strategies to reach more people(Bhasin, 2018).
Value Propositions
The services that AT&T provides are well established and reliable. Their plans and packages are also attractive to customers as they fit different customer demands, such as affordability ranges. The support network of the company is also quite durable and is accessible online as well, apart from the stores and over phones. AT&T is also attractive for business owners precisely as well because, for them, AT&T offers services that have higher efficiency and provide more security to them as well. Hence, overall, it generates a lot of value for its customers. However, there is rising competition for the company as well. Many domestic companies offer the same services for cheaper rates and may be more attractive to consumers in that regard(Cleverism).
Channels
The company is widespread throughout the United States and various spots around the world as well. In America, there are a total of 2200 stores and many other retailers. Another approachable network is the company sales team and the website, both of which are easily accessible. The sales team can be contacted through phones or online. Subscribers can also manage their accounts and adjust changes by logging into the website. The app for AT&T is also available on android and iOS both. Personal statements and apps are the most convenient for users(Cleverism).
Customer relationships
As discussed above, customers can directly contact the supports team of AT&T via stores or phones. Other than that, they can manage their accounts either on the website or the app. Closer relationshipsare needed by the customers that are businesses because they have specific requirements that need to be met so, they are in more frequent contact with the sales and marketing team. Apart from all this, the company also maintains a presence on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, where it posts updates and other important news(Cleverism).
Revenue streams
Revenue is generated through the mobile, telephone, television, wireless services that the company provides to private users and businesses. The business solutions that AT&T offers are especially fruitful for the company and earned them an annual revenue of 71 billion dollars in 2015. Business solutions include a wireless network, security services, and speedy broadbands. The second place is secured by entertainment services, which include television services, and thirdly, revenue is generated by mobile and other wireless services (Cleverism).
According to the 2018 annual report, the overall revenues for AT&T were 170.8 billion dollars. This was a 6.8% increase from the previous year. The revenue segmentation seems to be different here, though. “The Communications segment can further be divided into Mobility, making up 39% of revenues; Entertainment Group, making up 25%; and Business Wireline, accounting for 14%.” (McFarlane, 2018).
Key resources
As digital service providers, the critical resources for AT&T are its workers, suppliers, and cell towers and cables. The working team includes its sales team and marketing team, and also workers who take over the installations for customers. If these critical resources were to be segmented, then the cables and cell towers are resources for value propositions. The sales and marketing team is required for revenue streaming and customer relationships. The middlemen or retailers are also a vast resource as they help in integrating luring in more customers for the company(Cleverism).
Key activities
Critical activities for AT&T include providing mobile, telephone, television, and wireless broadband services for customers in America. A unique combination of these services, including security, is offered to business owners as well. As technology is advancing day by day, the company also remains up to date. It continues to come up with more innovative ways to provide their services, which make things easier for their customers. They also build trust in their customers through an energized team of workers (Mccorcle, n.d).
Key Partnerships
AT&T has numerous partnerships with many businesses, both big and small. The selection of partners is made based on the advantages the organization would provide the company, such as enhance its services or products. The partnership contracts are mostly structured in a way that the partner is authorized or has to provide AT&T services to its customer base and clients. In return, the partner company receives bonuses, discounts, funds, or other support from the company. Some partner companies include “IT solutions company Merrill Hill Lynch, mobile data service provider DatXoom and IT infrastructure firm Alliant Technologies.” AT&T also has supplier partners who are again both big and small. Technology partners are also present that provide computer and network devices.
Cost Structure
AT&T incurs a lot of cost by providing its services as they have to be installed and maintained via various channels and networks. So, support services take in a lot of expenses. Costs for employees are also skyrocketing. Being such a large company, AT&T has over 10000 employees, so their salaries incur a lot of costs as well. Moreover, expanding and maintaining the business across the entire country takes a lot of operations and marketing costs.
Business model pattern
There are five distinct business models, which include unbundled business models, extended tail business models, multi-sided business models, free business models, and open business models. The business model that most resembles AT&T is the unbundles business model.
The unbundled business is which groups several models into one. The three main parts of an unbundled business model are customer relationships, product innovation, and infrastructure management. It is apparent why this is the best fit for AT&T. The company also focuses on building relations with customers as only then will they be able to convince them to acquire their digital services. A huge focus in AT&T is on innovation when it comes to the services they provide. The aim is to make things simpler and more accessible for the customer base, whether it be private consumers or business owners. Infrastructure management includes tasks related to “building and managing facilities for high-volume, repetitive operational tasks.” Since these three conditions satisfy for AT&T, we can conclude that it follows an unbundled business model. The company has to continuously work towards bettering customer relationships, coming up with updated services that are also cost-effective, and they also have to face competition as well. Plus, telecommunication or mobile communication companies generally do follow an unbundled business model (Yatskevich, Matyunina, 2018).
(Mousavi, 2020)
References
Yatskevich, O., and Matyunina, J., 2020. Five Business Model Patterns For Online Enterprise. [online] Web and Mobile Development Company – CodeTiburon. Available at: <https://codetiburon.com/business-model-patterns-online-enterprise/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
Salesforce.com. 2020. How AT&T Successfully Maximized Revenue Through Indirect Channels. [online] Available at: <https://www.salesforce.com/quotable/articles/successfully-maximizing-revenue-through-indirect-channels/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
McFarlane, G., 2020. How AT&T Makes Money: Mobility, Video, Broadband, And More. [online] Investopedia. Available at: <https://www.investopedia.com/insights/how-att-makes-money/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
Bhasin, H., 2020. Marketing Strategy Of AT & T – AT & T Marketing Strategy. [online] Marketing91. Available at: <https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-att/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
Cleverism. 2020. AT&T. [online] Available at: <https://www.cleverism.com/company/att/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
Cathy Mousavi. 2020. AT&T Business Model. [online] Available at: <https://catmousavi.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/att-business-model/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].
