SA will see a growing shift in customer utilisation of mobile purchasing opportunities, as organisations will have more compelling mobile offerings this year.
So says Pieter de Villiers, CEO at Clickatell, who is of the view that business to consumer mobile engagement is just starting and will change the way consumers are served and engaged with by brands and providers.
In that vein, he believes local companies will put more effort into creating dedicated mobile Web and application presences.
“More internal resources will be made available for mobile initiatives. Best practices will become clearer with increased mobile couponing, customer service live chat - whether over multi-purpose Internet mail extensions, inside applications or text message,” he says.
According to De Villiers, in terms of smartphone usage, only time will tell whether or not the mobile Web becomes fragmented and usage patterns shift permanently to apps, instead of browsers.
He also foresees mobile and wireless proliferation going beyond mobile phones. “The iPad, BlackBerry Playbook, the Android Samsung Galaxy Tab and other tablet devices will extend mobile device usage between the mobile phone and the desktop or notebook computer.
“What sort of consumption patterns these technologies will drive will become clearer as the year progresses,” he notes.
SMEs baffled
Focusing on the SME market, de Villiers believes the majority of them do not know how to deploy mobile initiatives to their advantage. “Many emerging companies don't know where to turn for advice and ideas on mobile-enabling their business.
“Some start with an iPhone app or similar because it appears to be the current mobile business fad; are disappointed with the consumer adoption rate; and give up on mobile not understanding that there are more simple and effective ways to start,” he adds.
“I recommend that companies take full advantage of technology to connect with customers, in the most intuitive and lucrative ways,” he says.
He explains that connecting is cost efficient since organisations that are just starting with their personalised priority messaging (PPM) programs can start with low message volumes and increase their usage over time on the back of customer demand and adoption of the mobile messaging services.
“Stronger relationships are built when customers receive timeous and relevant communications on a personal device and contrary to popular belief, opt-in rates for mobile messaging programs are high, when there is trust,” he explains.
Reaping benefits
In order to reap the benefits of getting connected, de Villiers urges SMEs to partner with reputable providers that can show them the best practices, how to understand regulatory or privacy risks and how to contain adoption costs by selling no more than what they need.
He also advises the emerging businesses to do background research on best practices and results others in their sector are achieving before deploying PPM programs.
“Start simple with basic messaging services that add value, like simple customer alerts or notifications. Ask your customers for feedback on their preferred messaging services ie what communication would they like to receive from you in the form of a mobile message?
“Consider reach and ubiquity; like what kind of simple communication have you not sent to customers, because there was no way that they would all be able to receive it, until you thought of PPM,” he advises.
It is also de Villiers' view that SMEs be willing to try different PPM messaging programs more than once until they get the right mix of audience, frequency, content and timing.
“Think beyond the campaign and promotion myopia. Just because the latest fad is getting the most press, doesn't mean that it is the best solution for mobile-enabling your business. In fact, it rarely is.
“Remind your CFO that it does not have to cost an arm and a leg,” he says.
Describing the power of the mobile phone, de Villiers concludes by noting that it is often the first item people engage with in the morning and the last screen they view at night.
“The global mobile SMS messaging channel - with its potential to cost-effectively reach some five billion people - is transforming the way organisations regularly touch and engage their essential audiences.
“The immediacy, intimacy, addressability and actionable nature of mobile messaging is creating new value and benefits for consumers, driving business process innovation and bringing competitive advantage to companies of all sizes.”
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