Users Will Not Pay For Most Online Content, Says Forrester

The research firm claims that the user’s experience of web-based content is complementary to other media, rather than as substitute to them. For this reason, only users who are ‘displaced’ from other media content would be likely to pay money for online content.

Forrester points to three types of web presence. The first, payment pushers, are ‘new media projects that can drive incremental user payments’. The second, relationship reapers, ‘deepen and extend user relationships, while producing ad revenues and low levels of incremental payments.’ The third, brand builders, are sites that ‘focus on ad revenues and brand awareness related returns only’.

Most online content providers are either brand builders or relationship reapers and television stations and local newspapers have the best opportunity to drive user payments, according to the report.

“Consumers access content when and where they need it, not when providers want to give it to them, and they won’t pay for new media content since it doesn’t eliminate their need for paid-for offline sources. Consolidation will reduce the number of players with this problem, not solve it,” says Forrester analyst Rebecca Ulph.

The report suggests companies adopt a ‘user payment potential’ assessment, which will measure the potential for incremental payments based on how functional the content is, to what extent it can be substituted and, similarly, how exclusive it is. Forrester used these measurements to discover the three types of online content approach.

“Content providers must adopt a consumer-centric content view, with only content directed at audiences displaced from other media sources likely to raise user revenues. They must tailor business goals to their new media strategies, recognising the different benefits of brand builders, relationship reapers, and payment pushers,” concludes Ulph.