So why are we doing this?
A group of us who felt we were getting ripped off by our mobile and broadband suppliers decided to launch an initiative to see if we could change this.
We decided to pool the amount we were spending individually over the life-time of a contract and use this collective amount to try to bargain for better deals.
As individuals we were thinking about service contracts as a per month expenditure rather than what we spend in the long term. So for example, if you are spending £50 a month on mobile and broadband together, this amounts to £6,000 over ten years. Add 1000 other people, and between you you're worth £6,000,000 over ten years! We realised that between us there is a huge amount of spending power AND therefore bargaining power.
With a large group, our collective bargaining power would rise as the community grew and we could use this to negotiate better deals with providers - longer-term value for money service agreements. (The terms of these deals will be negotiated over shorter to medium periods - the ten year figure is merely illustrative of the potential marketing power we can muster. It will also be used to demonstrate to the service providers that they should start valuing their customers as life-time customers, not short-term revenue generators).
This is what vlume is all about and we would like you to join us.
vlume stands for 'Value Me' and is part of an experiment to see if we can create a community that can take control of its collective value and use this to improve the terms of consumption contracts we enter into. vlume is founded on the belief that consumers acting collectively can develop the power to influence markets and thus gain real value for the money they spend.
Because we are all professionals with a Telco/Internet background, we thought we'd start in this sphere to see how far we could push this and build such a community. If this proves successful, vlume will build itself out as a collective consumer bargaining platform across a wide range of areas.
JOIN US AND START TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR VALUE!
Click here to register and let us know what services you would like us to negotiate on your behalf.
OUR AIMS:
To become the legitimate and authoritative champion and 'voice of the consumer'. vlume is about delivering value for money and that may take many forms, from cheaper or more expensive goods and services to vlume-approved service level agreements that deliver value over time. vlume's mission is not to wield this collective power merely to achieve free goods and services.
vlume is not a price comparison website - Nor is it a buyer's club.
It is a service that brokers the collective power of its members in the interests of delivering value for money - for its members and the companies that regard long-term customers as the key to their futures.
vlume saves its user's money and helps protect them for the lifetime of a contract, while providing long-term customers to service providers. Consumers can gain some control over their choices and spending while saving money as well as having recourse to service level agreements that will be monitored and honoured for the lifetime of a contract. (The specific terms of contracts will be subject to user's acceptance with clear choices regarding the time and terms and appropriate get-out clauses).