AOL (NYSE: TWX)is doing away with their monthly service fees for their e-mail service. That's significant because for years they've resisted such a move, while rivals like Yahoo! (NasdaqDS: YHOO)and Google (NasdaqDS: GOOG)have enjoyed stealing away their customers and reaping revenues through online advertising.
Now, AOL is joining the club.
The problem I see here is that they're coming late to the party. They've been public in their resistence to giving up their monthly charges for years, and now that they've finally relented you have to wonder how their customers will react to it. Sure, most will be happy. But as they see their e-mail change to one full of online ads to make up for the lost subscription revenue, there are bound to be complaints.
This is a good lesson for sales professionals, and especially for business owners: Always look for new trends early on, and take action on them once you've confirmed their staying power. Doing so can keep you on the cutting edge of new sales opportunities, instead of playing catch-up with your competition.
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