Newspapers meet the web

November 30, 2004 Graeme Codrington Articles, The Quick and the Dead - case studies No Comments

So, there I was… wondering whether I was in a well known daily newspaper or not (a friend said he swore he had seen me in the Workplace section on Wednesday). So I went online to the newspaperâ€™s online website (they all have one) and did a search. Lo and behold, I found the article first time, using their advanced search facility.

Very excited, I clicked on the link. It asked for a subscriber number. Very nicely. But it wasn’t about to let me read this article if I wasn’t a subscriber. Damn. But, OK, I can understand that. And there was a gentle link saying, “why not subscribe right now?”. Ok, I said to myself, I have wanted to subscribe to the weekend edition of this paper anyway, might as well do it now. So, I did. Entered all my info, even put my credit card details in. Went through the whole process (twice in fact, as the first time the credit card didn’t process properly – but that’s my bankâ€™s fault, not the newspaperâ€™s). The website congratulated me, told me it would be 5 days before delivery began (no problem – that’s next Sunday anyway).

But then, NOTHING. No subscriber number! How the hell do you log in without a subscriber number? Nice one. Theyâ€™ve just got me to subscribe, but still wonâ€™t let me into their website. OK, breaking the first rule of e-commerce-ness, I actually picked up a phone and dialled the subscriber line. Amazingly, the call was answered within 30 seconds. Great. Or not.

Very excited, I clicked on the link. It asked for a subscriber number. Very nicely. But it wasn’t about to let me read this article if I wasn’t a subscriber. Damn. But, OK, I can understand that. And there was a gentle link saying, “why not subscribe right now”. Ok, I said to myself, I have wanted to subscribe to the weekend edition of this paper anyway, might as well do it now. So, I did. Entered all my info, even put my credit card details in. Went through the whole process (twice in fact, as the first time the credit card didn’t process properly – but that’s my bankâ€™s fault, not the newspaperâ€™s). The website congratulated me, told me it would be 5 days before delivery began (no problem – that’s next Sunday anyway).

Them: “What is your subscriber number, sir?”.
Me: “I don’t have one”.
Them: “Are you a subscriber?â€›
Me: “Yes.”
Them: “Oh. Didn’t you ask for a subscriber number when you subscribed?”
Me: “No.”
Them: “When did you subscribe?”
Me: “Ten minutes ago. Online.”
Them: “On where?”
Me: “On the Internet.”
Them: “Oh. I don’t deal with that, my manager does. Can I have your phone number and we’ll get back to you.”
Me: “When?”
Them: “Within 5-6 hours.”

(Its now 16:30 on a Friday – I’m thinking that I ain’t going to see this subscriber number before next week. If I had just phoned to subscribe, I think I might have got my subscriber number immediately. Damn.)

So, I try another tack.

Me: “Can I get a temporary subscriber number so I can log into the website, I am urgently trying to get some information?”
Them: “No.”
Me: “Can I speak to your manager?”
Them: “No. She’s not here.”

I resist the urge to ask her how the manager is going to check my online subscription and get back to me if she’s not there… I give my phone number and say “Thanks. Goodbye”.

I smile as I think about the topic of the article – and understand why not too many of the bright young things I know read newspapers anymore. I’m also very glad I don’t work for a paper churner in the digital age.

By Monday I was still waiting for a subscriber number, but decided to go and raid my neighbourâ€™s dustbins, to see if he has last Wednesday’s newspaper.

The next Thursday, I receive in the post a renewal notice, requesting me to renew my subscription to the newspaper (I still had received neither a newspaper nor a subscriber number). But, I cunningly discovered that there was a subscriber number on the renewal notice. At last, I could read the article about me. It was quite good, actually. I immediately copied and pasted it to all my friends (why should they have to go through the pain and agony of getting a subscriber number).

But now, the dilemma. Should I worry about the subscription, or just ignore it, given that I had a subscriber number (even though I had no phone call or newspapers to show for my efforts)? I decide to ignore it.

That weekend, I receive my first paper delivery (Saturday), but not the Sunday edition (I had ordered both). After specifying that it be thrown â€šthrough the gate under the carportâ€›, it is just thrown onto my driveway and gets all soggy in the automatic sprinkler system. I clear out my post box on Monday, and find two more renewal notices for my account. I also receive Mondayâ€™s paper â€? strange that, I only ordered the weekend editions. I also receive papers on Tuesday, Wednesday (not Thursday) and Friday, and the weekend editions again (most get soggy before I can retrieve them). The following week I get all 7 papers â€? one every day. I also get another renewal notice.

I also now check my credit card statement and see that the amount for 3 months weekend editions (what I actually ordered online) has been charged to my account. Another dilemma. Do I phone them and tell them Iâ€™m getting daily deliveries, or do I just ignore it? I choose to ignore it, and see if it will go away.

I go away for 2 weeks. During that time, I receive all weekend editions, plus some random weekday editions. I also receive two more renewal notices. Iâ€™d better do something about this now. But there are no email addresses listed on the renewal notices. Only postal addresses and telephone numbers. I remember what happened last time I phoned. I go online to see if I can send an email. I canâ€™t. I can only fill out an online form (and the subscription department isnâ€™t listed in the list of departments to send an email to). I just send a note explaining my situation to â€šwebsite feedbackâ€›. Letâ€™s wait and see what happens.

I have not mentioned the paperâ€™s name (although astute readers can work it out, I am sure), largely because this story seems to ring true with other experiences I have heard of with other newspapers.

Newspapers need to wake up to the needs of online users. For the first decade of the Internet, so much information was provided for free, that many young Internet users have become used to getting everything for nothing on the Net. One can understand that newspapers and magazines, both in the business of selling information, would be wary of the Net as a business model. Advertising on the Net has not yet taken off enough (generally) to provide a good enough revenue stream for newspapers to give everything away for free.

All this, I understand. And I am one of the new generation of Net users who is becoming more comfortable to pay for proven content on the Net. But if this is how newspapers are going to treat their online readers, they can forget it. No wonder their readership is falling dramatically.

An e-commerce strategy is not something you can just tag onto your existing business. The Internet has fundamentally changed the shape of the world, especially for those businesses engaged in the selling of information. Youâ€™d think theyâ€™d have worked that one out, and developed an integrated and holistic e-commerce solution and strategy. But that appears to have been completely missed. Very few information websites, linked to existing newspapers and magazines, seem to be doing anything fresh and exciting. Youâ€™d think this was a no-brainer.

It serves as a warning and example to other businesses â€? get your e-commerce strategy in place, and do it now. Your customers are walking away. And your competitors are loving it.