Mobile World Congress is all about new - here is a little about the old...
2012, Mobile World Congress. It's here. What an amazing time to be in technology, what an amazing time for mobile. Aside from this pesky transportation strike in Barcelona of course. Mobile has fast grown to become one of the largest technology verticals on the planet and the year past has seen the most dramatic change in the mobile eco-system's Landscape. One quick look at a stock value report of Apple and Nokia respectively demonstrates the huge shift in the mobile marketplace. What this demonstrates to me is that this is anyone's game and that for anyone even slightly interested in what’s coming, is exciting.
Technology dominators like Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola have since had their day in the sun. The advent of smart phones saw the rise of a new school of high powered devices and the game was forever changed, “Apple make computers?” is not such an absurd question with the prominence of the iPhone. So where does it go from here?
Nokia is talking (albeit hush hush) about their "next billion" program, the bridge between the emerging market and the smartphone consumer - the ability to empower low-end devices with now-as-standard tech such as email and social networking, enabling the next billion subscribers to be connected faster and cheaper than ever before, throw in some 4G and now you’re talking.
Whilst the focus is on enhancing the technology, many businesses are also seeing ways to leverage what is already in place; extending their mobility strategy today leveraging existing tech and implementing "mobile" as an intrinsic part of their communication plan. Making the way average people engage with things like the insurance provider, bank or utilities companies completely different, making it mobile centric.
Not a day goes by where I don't receive some kind of informative message to my mobile, the trend of mobile being for SPAM marketing is slowly wilting away as brands are seeing the potential to inform their customers with the same immediacy that they have come to expect in all facets of their tech-life. In India for example, every Rikshaw driver has a mobile, maybe even two. The interesting thing is that most would not have a fixed line internet connection. What this means is that for any brand looking forward at the best and most effective way to communicate with their audience, they needn't look to the next wave of technology or catch the rush for the next billion subscribers, rather use what's already at their disposal. Low-tech, highest penetration, lowest common denominator mobile. Simple mobile.
Nokia will drum up hype with NFC and high end devices such as the Windows Phone powered models, Apple's iPhone 5 and staggered releasing strategy will keep its name in the mobile media buzz as always and the rise of the Android marketplace and manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung continuing to pump out quality devices will prevail.
So amidst the buzz, the changing landscape and excitement surrounding the new, it’s hard for the lay-person to remember that they can still make an impact, leverage the power of the mobile and capitalise on its opportunity with what is ready today. Taken your business mobile, or planning to? There are a few points I think worth considering which can take advantage of the players already warmed-up and on field.
Here are some easy ways to use Mobile in your business today:
.Mobi or an app?
Yesterday if you didn’t have a website you didn’t exist. Now the marketeers will tell you it’s the same for Apps. This is actually not completely far off, however there is the simple alternative of “re-jigging” your site to be more “mobile friendly” – without having to invest in a new app. Speak to your web designer about ensuring that your website caters to all forms of mobile browser, including the expanding tablet sector.
3rd screen is green.
The mobile offers a rarely tapped advantage in that sending communication to it has a relatively low carbon footprint. Sending your customer pages and pages of banking statement or utility bill, or simple things like a marketing flyer can be done via the mobile. I look forward to the day where the only mailboxes I need to check are on my mobile. Brands should to. Not a news flash but a simple, market tested idea that has not quite got the push it needs. Positioning paperless billing via email (and the hesitation due to SPAM etc) can sometimes leave customers reluctant to flick the green switch – mobile can be a more trusted alternative, incentivise your customers to get on board with this "green" initiative and you will see a huge shift in your brands ongoing dialogue with its customer base and open up an additional communication channel.
Ask and you shall receive.
More and more customers are getting used to the idea of immediate nature of information availability, you could call it “the google effect”. Shopping for a entertainment unit the other day I needed to know the dimensions of my amplifier to ensure it would fit – however, on my blackberry at the time and in a crowded mall the idea of sifting through specifications pages on a tiny screen was not at all appealing. I instead shot a text to “4644” a UAE service provided by The Question Company (http://thequestioncompany.com/) with the model and my question – which was promptly responded to – (it wouldn't have fit) how handy! Seemingly low tech 2-way messaging can still be a useful medium to engage an audience with an immediate real-time, almost “personalised” experience. A more common example would be checking your account balance via SMS. The tech is here today and can be applied to many more businesses than just banks. SMS pizza-order anyone?
Thanks for reading, this is my first post so I am really interested in feedback and comments/questions – I will create another post from Barcelona next week.