While Qualcomm for many is synonymous with wireless, the company acquired Atlanta-based mobile banking startup Firethorn two years ago with an eye to also becoming a major player in the mobile payment space. More importantly, it acquired Firethorn founder Tripp Rackley — the man it hopes will make Qualcomm the Western Union of mobile.

An engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, Rackley first combined technology with banking in 1995 when as a 25-year-old he founded nFront, an Internet banking firm he took public in 1999. In 2002 Rackley founded Firethorn, for which Qualcomm paid $210 million five years later and made a standalone division. Firethorn has gained substantial traction in the space, inking partnerships with the three largest U.S. mobile carriers and compiling a list of more than a dozen banking partners.

Ask Rackley to describe Firethorn’s play in the mobile banking space, and he will talk about what he calls “the Costanza wallet,” that huge, leather-bound mass of stuff that Jerry Seinfeld’s pal notoriously lugged around in his back pocket. That scenario, according Rackley, now a Qualcomm senior vice president and division president of Firethorn, is what Qualcomm is trying to address as it vies for space in the ultra-competitive field. As he explained to me:

“Your phone has 30 different applications to mimic your wallet today, with different user names, passwords, UIs, and feature functionality. It’s really nothing more than a physical wallet that has a rubber band wrapped around it because it’s overloaded.”

Indeed, the mobile payment field today is a remarkably fragmented space, where apps and services vary from bank to bank and handset to handset. Rackley hopes to leverage Qualcomm’s deep pockets and strong relationships in mobile — along with his own financial background — as the segment slowly moves from one of novelty into the mainstream.

There’s no shortage of players in mobile payments, either, which has long been seen as a potential goldmine but has yet to gain much real traction. The tie-up with Qualcomm gives Firethorn substantial street cred in mobile, enabling the former startup to build an m-commerce ecosystem that eventually fuels Qualcomm’s silicon business. And Qualcomm’s massive bankroll can continue to fund Firethorn while the segment gets legs.

“We continue to invest heavily in the chip side of the business,” Rackley said. “We have something that I wouldn’t be able to say we had before with Firethorn. We were by far the best-capitalized private company in the mobile space, but we didn’t have billions of dollars of cash.”

That cash will be necessary to fulfill Qualcomm’s long-term vision of a thriving mobile payments space built on its chipsets. Mainstream consumers in the U.S. are beginning to embrace basic features like checking their accounts on the mobile web, but the industry has a long way to go before the mobile wallet becomes a reality through contactless payments and other apps. So Qualcomm is continuing to invest in a space that it hopes will become a pillar of its business several years down the road. As Rackley said:

“It’s going to be a long time before mobile payments take off; there will be a lot of people trying to make that happen. But until we go into a grocery store and see people pulling phones out to pay, we won’t be there.”

Firethorn faces stiff competition from Obopay and a host of other startups; meanwhile PayPal and Google (s goog) are both expanding their online payment businesses into mobile as well. And Mastercard (S ma) and Visa (S v) have competing programs, furthering splintering the market for mobile payments.

Just as importantly, it’s far from clear that consumers actually want their phones to do everything from conducting online transactions to paying for a soda at the convenience store. Sub-segments of the space seem to be getting legs, but an all-encompassing mobile-payment ecosystem seems far off indeed. So the patience of investors — including Qualcomm — may be needed for a very long time indeed.

Research concerning mobile phones and financial services in developing countries has undergone rapid growth in recent years.  This paper seeks to improve understanding of this expanding research area and in so doing consider the potential for mobile phone applications for the delivery of financial services for the poor.

The current state of knowledge is assessed by reviewing the content of 43 research articles drawn from both peer-reviewed academic journals and non-peer reviewed studies and other practitioner-orientated sources.  A framework is developed that categorises and analyses the research according to a socio-technical spectrum, identifying levels of analysis and differentiating research activity according to a lifecycle model that incorporates financial needs, design and applications, adoption and adaptation, and impact.

Positive aspects of research to-date are identified, most noticeably the high level of practitioner involvement in research publication and the strong links that have been forged between the mobile phone industry and the research community.  This, however, has also caused research to become too narrowly defined and largely a- theoretical.

Hence, research weaknesses and gaps are also identified suggesting that issues relating to financial needs and the measurement of impacts have been comparatively neglected, whilst application design and adoption have received greater attention.  Emphasis tends to be on devices and new ways to deliver services, but ignores the broader context of financial services for the poor and tends to be technology-led.  In order to correct this imbalance in research, the paper identifies key research gaps relating to concepts, methodologies, issues addressed and evidence presented and provides pointers to future research directions.

Educator’s guide to student questions for this paper.

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Using theories of technology acceptance and technology transfer, we identified factors affecting the use of mobile information and communication technology (mobile ICT) in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), specifically sub-Saharan Africa. From a literature review, we developed a research model to describe factors that impact mobile ICT use and formulated a series of hypotheses about them. We then surveyed mobile ICT users in Kenya and Nigeria and created a structural model to examine our hypothesized relationships. Our findings indicate that access to mobile ICT, and cultural influences on mobile ICT diffusion, strongly influence individuals’ perceptions of the usefulness and ease of use of mobile ICT. Individuals’ perceptions about the reliability of mobile ICT influence use of these technologies significantly. The results suggest that, although extensive ICT diffusion (high mobile ICT levels per capita) may be necessary for seeding commercial and economic initiatives that depend heavily on mobile ICT, such as m-commerce, it may not be sufficient. Firms conducting business in sub-Saharan Africa need to pay attention to the factors that explain individual mobile ICT use because these factors will most likely determine the optimal market segmentation, business development, and customer service strategies for leveraging m-commerce operations in that region. For government units, the understanding of such factors would also be beneficial in aiding economic planning and commerce.

Meso, P., Mbarika, V., & Musa, P. (2005). An empirical investigation of exploratory factors of consumer uses of mobile information and communications technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa: precursors to M-Commerce. Information Systems Journal (ISJ), 15, 119–146.

In this article, Teaching Markets New M-Commerce Tricks, some countries in Europe and Asia appear to have much more robust mobile commerce and mobile payment environments than in the U.S., where consumers are just beginning to use such services. Previous infrastructural and institutional development in the U.S. can make it harder to deploy new systems, though some e-commerce operations are making headway.

Back in 1999, national mobile payments systems were introduced in the Philippines, as Smart Money, and in Japan with the launch of the first mobile Internet platform, mobile carrier NTT Docomo’s i-Mode.

How is it these countries went ahead with m-commerce and m-payment systems a decade ago, whereas the U.S. is still limping toward those goals? “Japan is structured very differently from the U.S., with a single dominant carrier, NTT,” Conrad Sheehan, founder and CEO of mobile payments specialist mPayy, told the E-Commerce Times. “Developing nations, on the other hand, have the key advantage of having little to no legacy infrastructure, be it wireline phones, robust ubiquitous ATM networks; or POS terminals.” Sheehan should know — he was a senior vice president at JP Morgan Chase, where he headed its consumer payments business.

In other developed nations, mobile commerce, or m-commerce, starts with mobile banking, then is followed by mobile payments and finally by mobile remittance, Diarmuid Mallon, senior product marketing manager at Sybase (NYSE: SY) 365, told the E-Commerce Times. That’s the pattern evolving here. Lots of U.S. banks now allow their customers to do banking from their mobile devices.

“In both cases, the m-commerce services that are successful focus on the consumers’ immediate needs,” Mallon said. “In developed markets, the initial need is to manage your finances, while in developing markets, bill payments and transferring money are the focus.”

Only 7 percent of all mobile subscribers had engaged in any sort of m-commerce within the past 30 days in the second quarter of 2009, according to Nielsen Mobile. Of these, only 25 percent made a purchase through their smartphones.

“The implication of this is that m-commerce in the U.S. is still in the early days,” Chris Quick, mobile media analyst at Nielsen Mobile, told the E-Commerce Times. However, m-commerce can quickly gain momentum as consumers continue to adopt smartphones and subscribe more to data plans. How quickly networks and other providers can build out their infrastructures is another factor. “Carriers, retailers and financial institutions have to deliver payment systems that consumers believe are 100 percent secure and private,” Quick explained.

Two leading retailers, Amazon and PayPal, are launching projects that might speed up the development of m-commerce here in the U.S.

Earlier this month, PayPal opened up its global payments platform, PayPal X, to application developers. It unveiled new application programming interfaces (APIs) as well as a new developer portal. It also demonstrated a mobile payment software development kit (SDK) that lets developers embed payments directly into mobile applications, starting with iPhone apps.

At around the same time, Amazon.com announced Amazon Mobile Payments Service. This gives developers, merchants and distributors of mobile apps a way to process payments from mobile devices.

***

Good news to Filipinos, since we are being recognized as one of the few countries who are using m-commerce for payments; using it for banking would be certainly on its way. Perhaps, why the U.S is still on the verge of beginning its m-commerce industry, is because of its markets’ structure, as it  focused more on the banking sector to utilize m-commerce. But I’m pretty sure, that they’ll also catch up with the years ahead; the country should just have to clear things out and build its foundation on m-commerce suiting the nature and condition of its own economy.

On a second note, Amazon and Paypal are also doing a very splendid job for opening services which will enable countries, particularly the U.S, to tap the power of smartphones in doing business. Through the Paypal SDK, and Amazon’s payment service, businesses and individuals alike are surely going to experience the convenience of transacting using their mobile phones.

Posted by: Luigi Dollosa

Earlier today I picked up a copy of Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty. I’ve been so intrigued by this quarter’s readings on the use of digital technologies (primarily mobile) in the developing world that I wanted to read some more on my own. Of course,  I can and will apply some of the additional insights I gain into the writing of my final research paper, but on the whole I  bought the book because I genuinely want to know more.

I had just finished my readings for this week, and decided i would read a little Sachs before starting this entry. I went upstairs and settled myself on the couch. I thought for a moment about all the work (school and day job) that was piling up, stressed for a moment, took a deep breath, and then started reading. Less than a quarter of the way through the introduction my eyes started to squint, my teeth were clenched, and i’m sure my pulse rate had picked up. What struck me was the vast difference between how I was interpreting what I was reading at that moment, and what i had just read.

Let me stop here a moment, and first give you a little background.

This week’s reading came from Innovations, a quarterly journal focused on entrepreneurial solutions to global challenges. The first, Connecting a Nation: Roshan Brings Communication Services to Afghanistan, was by Karim Khoja, CEO of Roshan, a telecommunications operator in Afghanistan. Like many of the examples in Africa and India that we’d read about previously, Roshan, together with the Afghani government and the World Bank collaborated to expand the communications infrastructure within the country and pioneer new services and means of access. The second article, M-PESA: Mobile Money for the “Unbanked” Turning Cellphones into 24-Hour Tellers in Kenya, was by Nick Hughes, a Vodofone executive and Susie Lonie an m-commerce expert consulting with Vodofone, and detailed their experiences bringing mobile money to Kenya. Each article was a shining example of how commercial businesses (with help from the Public Sector, NGO’s and micro and commercial financial institutions) were able to create mutually beneficial opportunities for themselves and the respective countries in which they were operating. Each article spoke of all the benefits and new opportunities the citizens of Afghanistan and Kenya enjoyed as a result of their work. The Khoja article in particular articulated many of the social and charitable work Roshan was engaged in as part of their corporate social culture to give back to and help foster development in the country. Despite the “feel good” nature of the stories, what I appreciated was the fact that business can play a significant role in helping to improve the socio-economic situation of the world’s poorest countries simply by doing what they do: designing sound business practices to offer goods and services in return for profits. Its a common theme in all the cases we’ve read about thus far, communications infrastructures being established in some of the world’s poorest countries by for-profits working in conjunction with NFP’s and government, the enablement of services and the local populations using those services to realize positive impacts on their financial, social, health, educational and overall quality of life standards for themselves. One passage in particular from Hughes struck me regarding sustainable development: “access to finance facilitates entrepreneurial activity. In turn this creates wealth through economic activity, job creation, and trade.”

Back to Sachs.

In his introduction, Jeffrey Sachs tells us that our generation can choose to end poverty in our lifetime. If we, the developed world, and in particular the United States increase our financial assistance to the world’s poorest nations, we can create the means by which they can reach the bottom rung of the ladder of development. This implies to me that only we in the developed world can save these countries. Sachs tells us “collective action through effective government provision of health, education, infrastructure, as well as foreign assistance when needed, underpins economic success.” Don’t get me wrong, I do believe we, the developed world need to step up in a greater way to help those less fortunate, and I think government provision of essential services is mandatory. But those provisions must be made by the local governments, not foreign government in my opinion. Unfortunately, as we learned from Collier, poor governance is one of the traps with which many of these countries are burdened. Additionally, Collier showed us that often times, the aid that is provided very rarely fulfills its original intent due to all the corruption present in the developing world. So I question the validity of an approach the seems to suggest that foreign aid is the way out of this problem. I hope this isn’t what Sachs is suggesting. I did skim through sections of the book hoping to find some indication that Sachs will also speak to the role that business and entrepreneurship can play in helping locals reach and climb that ladder of development.

Perhaps I’m way off base, and those already familiar with Sachs’ positions will find my reflections uninformed. Perhaps I shouldn’t have written these words until after I’d gotten further into his book. But, these are my initial thoughts. so what can I say?

Have you read yet about Apple’s new tablet computer/phone/they-are-all-the-same-thing-now device? Yes, you touch the screen and it plays music and video and all the expected things. The difference is that it is always connected to the internet. For those who do have iPhones (and various other smartphones), they already have this. However, iPhones are still a very small percentage of the mobile handset market despite all the attention they receive.
With a device like Apple’s tablet, a business’ potential customers really will hear or see an ad and respond in real time to shop, research, or make a purchase. This won’t be like carrying a laptop around, but more like having a phone with all the capabilities of a computer. People will continue to text more than they make phone calls, as they did in 2008 and so far in 2009, and that means businesses need to speak their language.

Read the Newsweek article about Apple’s new device here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/217683

We love creating success for businesses and we can help you to! Visit us at www.LetsTextTogether.com or email us at Sales@LetsTextTogether.com for a free mobile marketing consultation.

A blog about text message advertising, sms marketing, mms marketing, mobile internet, methods for free marketing and free marketing consulting, and the evolution of the mobile marketing industry.

segunda-feira, 5 de outubro de 2009, 21h49

 
 
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Com investimento da ordem de US$ 20 milhões e dois anos de desenvolvimento da plataforma tecnológica, cujos códigos fontes foram adquiridos de uma empresa israelense, a MCash começa a colher frutos e expandir sua carteira de clientes.

Segundo a empresa, trata-se de uma plataforma universal que permite o uso de telefones celulares para autenticar informações, efetuar compras e pagamentos em qualquer tipo de estabelecimento comercial, seja em lojas eletrônicas ou físicas. Ela pode ser usada por qualquer telefone celular, de todas as marcas, modelos e operadoras. O sistema funciona em aparelhos pós-pagos e pré-pagos e tem como principal característica o sigilo das informações referentes à compra. O usuário não divulga o número de cartão ou qualquer informação pessoal, apenas o número do celular.

A expectativa da Mcash é de ampliar o número de empresas usuárias e alcançar 300 mil transações por mês até o fim de 2010

m-Fidelização

Um dos clientes que está usando a plataforma para fidelização é a Bagaggio, rede de lojas do segmento de bolsas e acessórios para viagem do Rio de Janeiro, que acaba de completar a instalação em suas 25 unidades da promoção Bônus Bagaggio, que é uma experiência de uso do telefone celular em programas de fidelidade. Por meio dela, as pessoas que fazem compras acima de R$ 50 em produtos como malas, pastas, carteiras e outros itens recebem créditos nos seus celulares, que darão direito a 10% de desconto em futuras transações nas lojas da rede. A iniciativa tem o objetivo de fidelizar a base de clientes e aumentar a freqüência de compras.

Com base nos resultados dos meses de julho e agosto, quando a plataforma ainda estava em fase de implantação e testes, é possível projetar um volume superior a 30 mil transações por mês.

O diretor da Bagaggio, Antonio Vilarejo explica que ao efetuar o pagamento da primeira compra a informação sobre o benefício fica armazenada no celular do cliente que poderá resgatá-lo em qualquer uma das lojas da rede com o simples fornecimento do número da linha. “O uso do celular para este tipo de ação é um grande avanço, pois elimina a necessidade da pessoa carregar mais um cartão, papel ou outro material. As pessoas costumam não sair de casa sem o celular e assim não terão o problema de esquecer ou perder o comprovante na hora de resgatar o vale. Estamos orgulhosos pelo pioneirismo na tecnologia e esperamos uma grande adesão de nossos clientes já nos primeiros meses do novo produto”, afirma Vilarejo.

Mattos ressalta que o m-voucher permite à loja ofertante controlar a efetividade das campanhas em tempo real e fazer mudanças nas regras a qualquer momento. “O celular se torna um instrumento de fidelização com grande apelo junto à base de clientes”, diz.

Ao contratar o serviço a loja precisa apenas capturar os números dos telefones celulares de seus clientes e definir as regras de resgate da promoção como prazo, possibilidades de resgates parciais e outros parâmetros.

Para resgatar os créditos recebidos basta ir a um dos 25 pontos-de-venda da Bagaggio.

Inicialmente, o programa é específico para as lojas físicas, mas nos próximos 60 dias também estará disponível na internet. Neste caso, ao acessar o site www.bagaggio.com.br o beneficiado poderá escolher o item desejado. É possível, ainda, complementar o benefício recebido para adquirir produtos que possuem valor mais alto ou, no caso de itens mais baratos, acumular o saldo para novas compras.

O resgate é totalmente vinculado ao número da linha, o que possibilita a segurança do sistema. Em caso de roubo do aparelho, assim que a linha volta a ser restaurada em outro modelo o mvouchers volta a ser validado sem a necessidade de nenhuma ligação para reativar.

Novo conceito

O presidente da Mcash, Gastão Mattos explica que o Bônus Bagaggio representa a estréia de um novo conceito de produtos desenvolvidos pela empresa: o m-voucher. Ele lembra que antes desta modalidade a empresa já havia lançado um sistema que permite o envio de vales presentes em parceria com a Livraria Cultura, batizado de m-gift.

Outra iniciativa da companhia é o Mobility Pass, oferecido pela Sodexo, que autoriza o pagamento de corridas de táxi. Todos estes serviços são feitos por meio do celular.

Here is a fun, interesting, and surprising statistic about the growth of mobile marketing many may not be aware of: Nearly half of Americans sleep with their cell phone nearby. Superficially, this statistic likely makes sense. After all, many mobile devices do have an alarm clock, right? But, the research study, conducted by Synovate out of Chicago, also identified that 82 percent of Americans "never leave home" without bringing their mobile device along. While research shows that the mobile device is growing in adoption and usage of other functions besides voice, the point is that consumers are becoming increasingly reliant on their mobile device now more than ever before.

Interestingly, according to the survey 68 percent of Americans use their mobile device for taking pictures. As the camera in every “next” iteration of a smart phone improves, consumer adoption increases as well. Also interesting, consumers are looking for the most improvement out of phone manufacturers in the camera department. Over 30 percent of survey respondents identified camera improvements as something they were looking for in upcoming years.

The camera usage data point is especially good news for the adoption and proliferation of MS Tags and QR codes. Behind voice and SMS text messaging, consumers are using their cameras with the most frequency. As Microsoft ramps up the adoption of MS Tags by including the software necessary in their mobile Windows updates, consumers will likely be more inclined to use the technology while they are out and about. Removing the download barrier for technology that allows consumers to take a picture of something and get information about it immediately is vital for increasing consumer comfort with adopting new technology.

Adoption of new technology is interesting and important because nearly a third of survey respondents also indicated they did not know how to use many of the features on their mobile device. The mobile device is dependable and necessary for surviving the digital climate, but not every capability is important. These survey results showcase a new mobile mindshare battle – the battle over which features consumers are willing to learn, and which features are deemed unnecessary. Text messaging, voice, cameras, and alarm clocks are all basic, seemingly necessary, easy ways for consumers to use a mobile device. If consumers are not going deeper into their phone functionality, marketers must jockey for which features remain prominent in the consumer consideration set.

The question begs – which features on your mobile device are considered “unnecessary?”

At the 2009 Shop.org Annual Summit, Knotice was pleased to run the live mobile quick polls to kick off the event. Shop.org’s Executive Director Scott Silverman wanted to get a sense of what the event’s attendees were expecting from the online retail sector and from the Annual Summit – in real time. As the event’s attendees filed into the huge auditorium at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas they found a hand out at each seat. The hand out presented three important questions for the online retail professional in attendance, the answers to which would set the tone for the conference – good or bad!

The questions were:

• Question 1: All things considered, how do you feel about the upcoming holiday season?
• Question 2: How many ideas from last year’s Summit have already improved your business?
• Question 3: What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Summit?

While Scott was introducing the event’s first keynote speaker, Macy’s CEO and President Terry Lundgren, he displayed the answers to these questions in real time. The audience was still texting in their answers, also, so the graphs were live, changing in real time. Fortunately, the results of the voting forecasted an excellent Annual Summit.

An impressive 62 percent of attendees said they were optimistic about the upcoming holiday season, with only 10 percent answering they were pessimistic. Given the difficulties of the past year for the retail sector in general, it was refreshing to see so many online retailing professionals remain optimistic.

The second question also revealed some interesting results. First, many attendees returned to the Summit in 2009 because they believed the content added value to their business since the last Summit. Eighteen percent of respondents communicated they used three to five good ideas from the previous Summit, 17 percent responded they used 11 or more ideas from the Summit to improve their business. A surprising 44 percent responded they did not attend the Summit in 2008. Many assumptions can be drawn from that response, but it does demonstrate that online retailers may have done well during the recession partly because they are, as a group, aggressive about constant improvement.

The final poll revealed that 37 percent of attendees were most looking forward to the opportunities for networking and information-sharing. Twenty-seven percent were looking forward to the keynote sessions, and 26 percent were seeking an exciting new technology to improve their business.

Great questions, great answers – all in real time. Shop.org’s smart use of mobile quick polling showcases the value of mobile marketing technology when it is used well to engage and add value not just to Shop.org but to everyone in attendance.

If you are curious about mobile quick polling and have more questions, post them here and you will get answers!

Definite hat tip to @srust99 for passing along this interesting initiative by Starbuck’s.  It seems they’re trying out a new payment system using a very simple iPhone application.  Essentially all it does is display a QR code that is specific to your Starbuck’s Card account, and the register automatically deducts your purchase from your account right then and there.  In other words, you can buy your coffee with your phone now – no wallet necessary!

It’s nice to see a simple execution like this, as it just might help QR code adoption a bit in the US, where a) explaining what QR codes are has been a chore and b) then getting QR code readers pre-installed onto mobile handsets.  Interesting.  Welikey!

Today we announced the development of a “Text and Reserve” service for Halfords that extends their multi-channel strategy to mobile phone users. The unique service allows customers to look up products, locate their nearest store with the recommended product in stock and reserve & collect the product; all using their mobile phone’s SMS text messaging service.

Here is how it works.  I am sure you can imagine usage scenarios:

1. Customer texts an appropriate keyword, followed by their vehicle registration number (e.g. “bulb, vfo3yjc”) to Halfords, where the vehicle make, model, engine size and body type of vehicle are established using registration lookup services.
2. An SMS message is returned to the customer saying: “Halfords recommends Halfords Super Brilliance Blue Bulb Single HBU4775BBH7, 802561, £22.99 for your AUDI. Check stock in your nearest store by replying with your postcode.”
3. Upon receipt of a customer reply message the system searches for the nearest store with the required product in stock, and forwards this information to the customer. “From Halfords. Your nearest store with product in stock is Redditch, 2.04 miles away. To reserve the item reply YES to this message.”
4. Having replied ‘yes’ the system processes the request and sends a reservation message to the customer and to the store warehouse systems. e.g. “Halfords reservation ref 8601043751 – Order reserved at Redditch B98 0DE 01527 584488. Check www.halfords.com for store opening hours.”

As I have no idea what bulbs, oil or wiper blades any of my two cars need, I’ll definitely be using this service.  And I doubt I am alone even in our household!  Hey presto, no more having to worry, and no more wasted trips to a store that doesn’t have the items I need in stock!

To give you a little more insight into the solution, the service has been specifically tailored by Salmon to integrate with Halfords existing back-end IT systems that hold vital information on products, vehicles and stock inventory.   The solution benefits from the following integration:

• Itim Zygon Product Information Management System – for identifying vehicles from their registration plate and recommending the right product for each car
• SAP – to provide product and pricing information
• Multimap – to establish the stores nearest to the customer
• BT Expedite Store 6 – to check store stock availability and ultimately accept the customers reservation

1. G to Zap menu
2. Choose Money option
3. Choose “To phone number” option and enter the recipients phone number
4. Enter amount
5. Confirm transaction
6. Enter your 4 digit Zap password and press OK / Send

The sender will receive a confirmation SMS with the following information:
-Transaction ID
-Amount sent
-Recipient’s phone number
-Zap balance
-PIN number

The recipient is required to go to the nearest Zap outlet or Zain center to withdraw the money received.

Last week, while attending Shop.org's Annual Summit, I saw Forrester Research's VP and senior analyst, Sucharita Mulpuru, give her annual State of Retailing Online presentation. She focused on "the bright side" of online retailing. While the presentation was fascinating, Mulpuru concentrated less on the specifics of direct digital marketing than in recent years where she has covered the importance of relevant messaging, for example.

The report – and it is well worth the money and recommended reading – explores how retail for the Web channel has not just been able to withstand the economic hardships of the last year, but actually grown. The report attributes the growth to an interesting dynamic borne out of the uncertain economic climate. In recent years, online retail businesses have balanced their marketing efforts well between acquisition marketing and retention marketing. As the economy turned, so did the strategy. Larger online retailers infused their marketing budgets with more money dedicated to customer acquisition. Likewise, smaller retailers – now in danger of losing customers to their larger competitors – must move to effectively “protect their flank,” pouring more funds into retention marketing to retain customers and ward off a price war with great relationship marketing.

It is a fascinating dynamic. Interestingly, the most cost effective, best channels to execute these campaigns for large and small retailers alike are two pillars of direct digital marketing – email and mobile. While email is historically the premier retention tool, the perception of mobile marketing is changing more in favor of retention, and less as an acquisition tool (read: M-Commerce) is a misnomer. Simple mobile programs touting a time sensitive offer, local store event, or providing valuable information on merchandise in the store are excellent retail retention marketing campaigns that are simple to operate.

Ignoring mobile marketing, or resigning it solely to acquisition duty, is a failure to understand the value the mobile channel holds for the customer – and the marketer.

Foto: Rinkel80 en Flickr

El próximo 9 y 10 de noviembre se presenta en la International Business Information Management Conference (13th IBIMA) el trabajo titulado “Entertainment and Informational Aspects as Precursory Factors of Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions in Mobile Advertising Environments“.

Se trata del primer resultado “oficial” del proyecto m-Advertising Attitudes, realizado por mi, junto al profesor Carlos Flavián y una excelente incorporación a nuestro grupo de investigación, Isabel Iguacel.

El trabajo, del cual os dejo un borrador, analiza la influencia de las percepciones de entretenimiento y capacidad informativa de la publicidad móvil sobre las actitudes hacia este tipo de anuncios, entre otras cuestiones.

Mucho se ha dicho acerca de las posibilidades de los soportes móviles para ofrecer experiencias más agradables y entretenidas, así como para llevar a cabo campañas más personalizadas a los mercados objetivos, pero pocos son los resultados empíricos serios al respecto. Los resultados de la investigación nos llevan a dos conclusiones fundamentales:

1. La capacidad informativa y el entretenimiento que pueden ofrecer las campañas móviles influyen de manera positiva sobre las actitudes a este tipo de publicidad. Esta es la parte buena.
2. Esta capacidad de entretenimiento y capacidad informativa no está siendo aprovechada por los anunciantes, ya que los usuarios encuestados puntúan muy bajo las percepciones sobre ambas características. Esta, evidentemente, es la parte mala.

La recomendación para los anunciantes es clara. Debe aprovecharse el potencial de la publicidad móvil para interactuar con los receptores de los mensajes, creando esperiencias más agradables, no intrusivas y que aporten una información de calidad y personalizada. En estos momentos los esfuerzos publicitarios se siguen concentrando en SMS y MMS, un tipo de formato que en sí mismo no es malo, pero que sí está siendo gestionado de forma errónea. Se abusa de este tipo de formato y no se orienta a establecer relaciones sino a la venta más agresiva.

La publicidad móvil ofrece grandes posibilidades, como el uso de redes sociales para la transmisión de mensajes, realidad aumentada o aplicaciones al estilo de los iPhone. La banda ancha móvil, que poco a poco se va implantando en nuestro país y el resto del mundo, junto a móviles de mayor capacidad incrementarán aún más estas posibilidades. No obstante, nada de esto servirá sino se observa un cambio de estrategia entre los anunciantes.

This year’s Shop.org Annual Summit featured plenty of ideas for retailers and online retailers. If you weren’t able to make it to Las Vegas this year, or you just want check out what you may have missed, here’s a quick recap:

Lundgren was enthusiastic about mobile during his keynote address, announcing that Macy’s will be launching an iPhone app before the end of the year.

Mulpuru emphasized the importance of recognizing the mobility revolution. In addition to recognizing the importance of mobile, Mulpuru outlined five categories that contributed to the success of web retail.

Donahue pointed out that eBay has had millions of dollars worth of sales processed through its iPhone app.

In case you missed any of the coverage here on the blog, here are a few links that you might find interesting:

• Shop.org: Macy’s Nails Multi-channel Marketing
• Shop.org: The BRIGHT Side of Retail
• Shop.org: eBay and the Future of eCommerce

Thanks to everyone who attended, and to everyone that stopped by our booth to chat. Be sure to check back for more from this year’s summit.

It was a pleasure hearing John Donahoe, President and CEO of eBay, speak at Shop.org’s Annual Summit this year. He is a dynamic speaker who has interesting information to share about eBay – and other entities like PayPal – and how they fit into the unique world of digital selling.

Another interesting point from Donahoe was his contention that the future of commerce online is focused on creating a multi-dimensional platform capable of doing many things and engaging consumers in a valuable way. Donahoe gave his idea more than just lip service, too. He announced that PayPal is opening up its platform to accelerate innovation in how consumers exchange money online.

One last interesting note from Donahoe revolved around how eBay is actually making sales through the mobile device. He admits that eBay’s mobile app for the iPhone is not what it should be despite the several iterations it has undergone. However, millions of dollars of sales have been processed through the iPhone app, too. He mentioned that in the last six weeks one person purchased a $350,000 Lamborghini and another person purchased a $150,000 boat via the mobile app.

There has been a great deal of talk about Shop.org’s Annual Summit revolving around the idea and promise of M-Commerce. Certainly, marketers are trying to solve the mobility equation. Empowering consumers to purchase anywhere and everywhere is a powerful tool. However, marketers must remember two important truths about the promise of mobile. One, the medium is not the message. That is, don’t “do mobile” because you feel like you need to “do mobile.” Develop brand and company objectives first, then judge if mobile is the right communications channel to achieve those objectives. Two, remember that consumers also want service, not just purchasing power. SMS, with its reach and significant adoption, is a great way to add value to a consumer’s experience – no matter where they are.

One of my favorite annual moments from Shop.org’s Annual Summit is the presentation from Forrester Research VP and Principle Analyst Sucharita Mulpuru. She has such a complete grasp on retail with her annual three part report The State of Retailing Online. For 2009’s version of the presentation she spent time defining how the Web retail channel has outpaced the offline retail channel, and reviewed some possible reasons as to why and how that happened, despite a recessive economy and depressed consumer spending.

Mulpuru arranged Web retail success into six categories:

1. Reset Goals as Needed
2. Redefine the Competition
3. Respect IT
4. Reinforce Partners
5. React Well to the Power People
6. Recognize the Mobility Revolution

Some of the six categories are fairly self evident. For example, adjusting sales and marketing goals to the reality of the marketplace is an absolute must. Fortunately online retailers were not forced into difficult decisions by sliding sales. Mulpuru also made interesting points about the importance of maintaining strong channel partner relationships, leveraging and monetizing social media, and respecting IT. However, the two categories that show the most upside and value are redefining the competition and recognizing the mobility revolution.

Mulpuru gave a fascinating example of redefining the competition by examining how McDonald’s has marketed in the shadow Starbuck’s now shrinking shadow. When making the insightful decision to enter into coffee and coffee drinks, McDonald’s cleverly redefined Starbucks not as overpriced in order to fight the always questionable price war, but they defined Starbucks as overvalued. Big difference. Now McDonald’s was not a low cost alternative, they became more VALUABLE.

Since it is impossible for me to turn off my direct digital marketing brain, I cannot help but recognize the obvious analogy to email marketing. For far too long ESPs have developed pricing models that easily facilitate the up-sell by charging for small upgrades or slight additions to improve the overall campaign. Instead, ESPs should follow the example of leading direct digital marketing companies and thought leaders and reposition to reflect the reality of offering more capabilities for more value, not less money.

Recognizing the mobility revolution is the other point Mulpuru made that resonated. She revealed data that provided how recession proof Apple’s iPhone is. However, as popular as mobile is and the tantalizing promise it continues to show retailers, the number of consumers actually accessing the Web via their mobile device is just 15%. The growth figures have been flat for several years, too, reflecting that adoption exists at a slow pace. This stat is important because it continues to showcase the value of SMS text message programs because the adoption curve is far greater. While M-Commerce is promising and continuing its slow emergence, SMS is still currently the best tactic for instant communications and mobile ROI.

The Economist is introducing a trial program today that lets New Yorkers use their cellphones to order overnight home delivery of the new issue at the regular newsstand price.

New Yorkers who have signed up for weekly texts announcing each issue’s topics will also receive a URL for a web page they can visit to order the issue. Those who order by 9 p.m. are guaranteed a hand-delivered copy by 6 a.m. the next morning — in time to beat the commute.

According to a recent report from Forrester Research, four in five households have a mobile phone. The report, entitled “State of Consumers and Technology: Benchmark 2009,” highlights the many different technologies that modern consumers are beginning to rely on, everything from high definition televisions to mobile devices. Interestingly, while the mobile device is becoming more prevalent than ever in the consumer culture, use of the mobile Web is not exploding, in fact, according to the report it is showing “slow progress.”

An article from iMedia Connection writer Rich Cherecwich about the report accurately pinpoints how consumers are currently using their mobile device – as a means to stay connected, not a tool to make purchases from. We have covered this before on The Lunch Pail with Bryce Marshall’s Making Sense of Mobile series. A text message strategy makes the most sense for many of Knotice’s customers (including our newest mobile marketing customer Texas Roadhouse). Many mobile device users are willing to receive communications from a brand provided that brand is extending a service. Consumers need a compelling reason to engage with a brand, and brands must find original mobile marketing strategies to be successful.

Mobile marketing is getting a bit easier with each passing day, too. For example, the Verizon Wireless-Alltel “merger” – which you can read more detail about here and here – will consolidate most of the nation’s wireless subscribers on four provider networks. Therefore, it is easier for brands to broaden their reach with mobile marketing while jumping through fewer hoops.

One of the more compelling statistics in the report turns a traditional assumption about mobile marketing around. While 93 percent of young families have a mobile device, the density of mobile devices in the home increases as the family ages. In other words, the older the family is, the more likely there will be multiple different mobile devices in the household. Marketers all know young people will use their mobile device, but as older generations – and notoriously slow adopters – begin to use a mobile device with increasing frequency, the opportunity for marketers grows significantly.

M-Commerce is not reaching a critical mass of adoption yet because of lingering consumer privacy concerns. While the promise is substantial, reality dictates consumers loves their mobile phones, and they love to text.

For last couple of days have been doing lot of research on M-Commerce Models in India and lot of people have come to my rescue in making me understand perils imposed by government regulations restricting growth of e-commerce in india through mobile medium.

Best to my understanding all the existing M-Commerce model been adopted by players like M-Check, Obopay, Paymate etc require user to map a banking instrument like credit card, debit card, bank account etc to their mobile phone account and via an application installed on phone or through the provider concentrate on making payment instrument mobile enabled.

Although its a big leap from security point of you enabling people to start paying via the mobile phone WAP,SMS medium for various merchant services available though still such services have not reached a critical stage due to lot of factors like non-tie up with all the banks or people still not comfortable sharing credit/debit card account information etc.

Trying to understand with such stringent norms coming through TRAI guidelines making its mandatory to identify customers which are as stringent as required to open an saving account and get a debit card, it made me wonder telecom companies with their access and reach are in the best for forward integration into becoming a bank then other way around. If today i using my mobile phone account could start paying at merchants like credit cards or using pre-paid cards start buying stuff like vegetables etc, my bank usage for daily transaction would reduce significantly.

I am sure it may make you think why are people at telecom companies doing same though biggest barrier understood from various experts is the TRAI license fees calculation system which is approx 6% of annual gross revenue. So until unless you register as VAS provider with operator and clearly revenue parted is shown in books it will be still counted as net reciept revenue making the commerce business unviable as merchants wont be ready to pay for transactions around 7-8% where banks are charging between 2-4%.

Compliance to RBI banking norms is much simpler task for such telecom companies for handling banking, fraud transactions but the biggest barrier imposed by TRAI in terms of license fees need to be cleared.

The way around for now is to build MVAS application which can be charged to user account on service or tangible asset delivered for consumption on mobile device then its workable.  The TRAI Guideline paper(linked) actually doesn’t restrict telecom companies to use their platform to accept payments as when you clearly read 2.1.3(iv) it clearly states in case of M-commerce one needs to adhere to RBI guidelines where ever necessary and if you goto RBI guidelines(linked) it states clearly that these guidelines are for “BANKS” for dealing with customers via mobile as a medium, this still doesnt govern the telecom companies.

I  am talking to lot of telecom’s to get their views on same and will do a follow up post if see some success.