The advent of increasingly sophisticated mobile devices makes anytime, anyplace, anywhere communications a practical reality. Rapid evolution has taken mobile devices from the realm of exotic business tool, accessible to an elite few, to a must-have appliance and integral part of the global streetscape. Expect the mobile adoption curve to accelerate once again, as devices add color imaging, improved resolution, extended battery life, respond to voice directions, simplify the user interface, learn to communicate with each other and accommodate personalization. The next generation of mobile appliances will serve as the customer relationship umbilical, connecting customers and businesses on a round-the-clock, always-on, one-to-one basis. Each interaction will become a system learning experience, enriching and updating the account profile. Customer care leaders like Schwab and Fidelity are already experimenting with the potential of eCare, emphasizing the convenience of wireless transactions and offering free mobile phones to new accounts. The Best Is Yet To Come Smaller. Faster. Smarter. Friendlier. That's the descriptive vocabulary for Third Generation (3G) mobile devices. Remember the second generation? Somewhat cumbersome, these snail-pace units (9.6,14.4, 19.2 kbps) featured tiny screens with low resolution black-and-white images and frustratingly small keypads. In the 3G world, speech recognition capabilities may eliminate the need for keypads altogether as smart units respond to voice commands. Screens are growing up and blossoming into full-color, high resolution displays with an unheard-of 300 hour battery life. A blazing 384 kbps with a final throughput speed of 2 mbps should sate even the largest appetite for transmission speed, once the 3G units go mainstream. It will, however, be a long wait for their commercial debut, since even the projected early adopter doesn't plan on bringing 3G appliances on line until the second quarter of 2001 at the earliest. Leader of the Pack(et) The Japanese marketplace will again fortify its first-mover position in the telecommunications category with the impending May 2001 launch of 3G mobile services by NTT DoCoMo. Europe is expected to follow suit in 2002, with the US trailing in 2003. Many analysts believe that Japan leads the US by a full two to four years in mobile technology adoption and application advancement. A major contributing factor: Japan is home to NTT DoCoMo's iMode, arguably the single most successful mobile services provider in the world, with more than US$4 billion in direct revenues, some 17 million subscribers (by end of December 2000) and a staggering portfolio of 25,000 services. Keys to iMode success include "always on" packet-switching technology that eliminates bothersome connection delays and user-friendly, large screen devices. Appliances with attractive color screens and the extremely rich content available also enhance the user experience. While iMode is recognized as a runaway success, it begs the question: why is iMode the only clear success? NTT DoCoMo has upped the global ante once again with its November 2000 investment of almost US$10 billion in AT&T Wireless tracking stock. In announcing the deal, the companies stated that the intent is to develop the next generation of mobile multimedia services on a global standard, high-speed wireless network. Fat or Thin, Both Are "In" The great debate rages on between advocates of fat and thin mobile devices. On the fat appliance front, these ever-more robust devices provide superior user control, data access and personalization without the reception issues of developing wireless systems. However, thin proponents like Sun Microsystems, tout the benefits of maintaining the intelligence on the network while the appliance (phone, refrigerator, car, television, personal computer, handheld device, billboard, watch or finger ring) accesses information when, where and as-needed from the network host. Regulatory Pressures Expanded capabilities such as global positioning (GPS) and voice recognition systems are rooted in public safety considerations. In the United States E911 legislation mandates that wireless carriers deploy emergency location capabilities, and that portable devices broadcast x,y coordinates for location purposes. Concern about highway safety has also prompted a number of U.S. municipalities to impose hands-free communication requirements on drivers, stimulating the development of voice recognition technology. Getting Personal Personalization issues run the gamut from enabling consumers to design their own screens and limit child access to content, to building stronger customer relationships in the business-to-consumer (B2C) setting, to sharpening supply chain efficiency in business-to-business (B2B) applications, to extending the desktop for employees in the business-to-enterprise (B2E) environment. For a real-world example, we need look no further than our own door. At Accenture, the mobile corporate portal interacts with users, creating a personal profile and building a query path unique to consultant needs. Visitors are asked if they'd like to reserve office space, schedule flights, access news, update benefits center information, look up stock quotes or even contact the corporate concierge using a wireless device. The Customer Factor Many financial services firms are embracing thin mobile devices as an integral component of their eCare and customer relationship management platforms. Their goal is to reduce customer churn and lower costs by capturing new customers and retaining old ones with more dynamic service and access options. Among these industry innovators are Fidelity and Schwab. Both provide new customers with free mobile phones to encourage wireless transactions. Many banks are also beginning to experiment with mobile devices. Internal bank data shows that some 92% of call center customer queries involve account balances and funds transfer. By encouraging customers to access account balances and transfer funds using wireless devices, the hope is that customer satisfaction will increase while resolution costs plummet. To make things even easier for customers, institutions are working with equipment manufacturers to develop one-button dialing and further personalize devices by bookmarking account information. Cutting the Cord Have your phone call my phone... Sound ludicrous? Not after Bluetooth short-range wireless technology bursts on the scene, enabling digital devices within a 10 meter radius to communicate seamlessly, without cables. In three to four years, experts predict that more than 600 million devices will contain a Bluetooth chip. The 2,000+ members of the Bluetooth consortium are banking on it. Practical applications include mobile micropayment frameworks like Qpass. Imagine this scenario. A pedestrian walks past a Bluetooth-enabled vending machine. The mobile device accesses the machine menu. The consumer codes in a selection. The machine dispenses requested merchandise. Qpass then aggregates all such charges into a single monthly invoice. Conclusion We sit precariously balanced at a unique technology and CRM decision point. It's a "use it or lose it" scenario. Use the technology or lose the customer. Deploy personalization and customization to convert visitors to customers and occasional buyers to loyal repeaters, or hand them off to the competition. Talk to someone about this topic  To Top
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