New Hartford and makes one or two trips a week to check in on the Port City location. Led by supervisor Kim Allen, the Oswego store features four employees. In terms of future expansion in Oswego County, DiBenedetto said he is always taking a look at markets and demographics to see what may be appealing. “There’s definitely some possibilities within the area and even beyond,” DiBenedetto said. DiBenedetto noted that Cricket’s demographic is in a state of flux. “Consumers see its value and realize they are paying a lot of money for cell phone service, which is kind of crazy when they can get a plan like we have, save a lot of money, and still have the same service as they had in the past.” “We want to appeal to anyone who has a cell phone,” he said. Cricket formerly marketed heavily in inner city markets, “and the service wasn’t all that great outside of the city,” DiBenedetto said. “Now there is much better service and we are on the AT&T network,” he said. The presence of SUNY Oswego
also presents a promising demographic. “That’s one thing that we saw as well. College students all have cell phones and need to get on their phones all the time,” he said. “Hopefully we can offer some of them a good value on our service as well.” Cricket specializes in cell phone service, and also sells cell phones and accessories. DiBenedetto said the emphasis is on “simple smart wireless.” Cricket offers three rate plans. Each plan has unlimited talk and text with data and no contract. Brand awareness key —DiBenedetto is focused on creating brand awareness, the first step toward attaining success. “I think a lot of people drive by and ask, ‘Cricket? What the heck is that?’ I think Cricket itself is doing a very good job in getting the word out. They have some really good national campaigns,” he said. “It’s important to let people know who we are, what we do and what we have to offer,” he said. Allen said word of mouth has been effective in spreading the word, particularly using the Cricket referral program. If a customer refers a friend
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and both register online, they will each earn a $25 account credit after three months of active service. DiBenedetto did not disclose the cost of investing in the new store, but did say it was a substantial investment given the build-out needed and amount of fixtures and inventory. He did not disclose projected annual revenues, but did say the store’s target is 100 activations per month. Because of the advantages the business features such as being on the AT&T network and featuring affordable rate plans, DiBenedetto said it oftentimes is a tough sell because customers think there is a “catch.” “They are getting more service than some of our competitors and paying less monthly,” he said. Another strategy on the “business-to-business” level is offering business owners five lines at its $40 rate plan on a group save discount. That amounts to 2.5 gigs of data per line with unlimited talk and text for $100 a month, again with no taxes or extra fees.“You’re going to be hard pressed to find that anywhere else,” he said.
By Lou Sorendo
SOLD
CNY Realty
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