Experts Recommend: Top Value-Added Services for Residential Customers
In their ISPCON session, Top 10 Managed/Value-Added Services of Today and Tomorrow, Doug McDonald of Branch Run Communications and Mike Cassidy of ISP-Market said what ISP-Planet and they have said so often over the years: ISPs need to offer value-added services.

"While consumer accounts dominate the revenue side of cash flow," McDonald said, "ISPs see that the real growth in the future will come from sales of services to the existing customer base (WISPs aside)."

The precondition
In order for an ISP to offer value-added services to its customers, the company must be trusted by potential buyers. It is important, therefore, to talk to customers about what they're happy with and what they're unhappy about.

One audience member recommended using polls on the ISP's custom start page.

Another pointed out that some services are offered for free to retain customers.

McDonald also said that ISPs should think very carefully about building their own value added services:

"If you cannot build it better, faster, and cheaper than you can buy it, do not build it."

He then repeated the recommendation.

The top five value-added services
The top five services, according to Cassidy and McDonald (Cassidy will be releasing research on this subject later this year):

PC check up and anti-phishing
Switching tools
Custom content
Accelerator
Data backup and recovery
If you offer PC check up services, McDonald said, you might want to have a service station. Allow customers to bring in their computers. You can fix their problems and upsell your latest value-added services.

Cassidy said that any ISP interested in acquiring ex-AOL customers should have switching tools, such as Esaya's TrueSwitch or Return Path's eponymous offering.