CRM - October 2007 - (Page 15)

Insight actionable and analytical data,” says than permissible, as consumers must Russell McDonald, chief executive offi- click the “Use Now” option. Other cer of email service provider iPost. mobile coupons are made unique “Couponing is sort of interesting through numeric or scannable codes. Still, mobile coupon programs because it’s related to an actionable item that somebody can make use out require the added effort of running the application and inputting a personal of and benefit [from],” he says. Marketers have taken great strides location, not to mention standard text with email coupons, which can be tar- messaging and Internet connection fees. geted and tracked more accurately, and Minimizing the costs for both the conare now focusing on mobile devices. sumer and the retailer should increase “Your beautiful HTML mail that would adoption rates, Ghandi says. Once look great on Gmail looks exactly the mobile catches on, experts are confident same” on the iPhone, McDonald says. that the accompanying technology will Therefore, email and mobile can work become increasingly accessible.“I think in conjunction to provide consumers we will get to the day where people will, quite frankly, have GPS in every phone, with rich, portable content. Although mobile coupons are creat- and location [will be] pervasive. We can ing a whole new realm of convenience, go from there—that’ll make [coupons] marketers and consumers alike worry a heck of a lot more beneficial,” Frost & Sullivan’s Purdy says. that mobile campaigns will But with that comes the be intrusive—and awash bevy of security issues. with security and logistical Mobile marketers use concerns. “There’s a thin location to track conline between intruding and “People aren’t aware sumers and to provide the using personalized market- of how closely they most relevant offers. They ing,” says Vikrant Ghandi, are tracked in a digital can reach consumers on a industry analyst at Frost & much more personal level, Sullivan. “That’s the chal- world. If you draw lenge: To what extreme can their attention to it, it unlike a personal computer, which could be marketers be allowed to use can definitely creep shared by several people personal marketing?” in one household. So the In terms of logistics, pre- them out.” trade-off with highly tarvious explorations of short messaging system (SMS) coupons were geted marketing capabilities is added flawed because they could be mass- sensitivity to customers’ trust and forwarded and did not protect against comfort. Ultimately, the key to a sucfraud. Moreover, text messages are “a cessful mobile campaign is to “never pretty ephemeral medium,” McDonald send unsolicited coupons,” Ghandi says. “If you can catch someone in the warns. “It should always be opt-in.” As mobile technology becomes right moment with the right offer, I think it can be very effective, but it’s a more prevalent, the dream of getting transient situation, the moment kind pinged with a solicitation as you walk of arrives and goes away.” If a received past a particular item in the grocery text message isn’t used immediately, it’s store may well become reality. Experts are aware of the potential backlash. As often lost forever. Services such as Cellfire offer a more McDonald notes, “Just because techorganized and lasting option by allo- nology provides a capability, doesn’t cating into one program on a mobile mean that it should be done. People device all coupons, which can then be aren’t aware of how closely they are sorted alphabetically by advertiser, or tracked in a digital world. If you draw by date received. Moreover, messages their attention to it, it can definitely cannot be forwarded or used more creep them out.” —Jessica Tsai www.destinationCRM.com SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE AIR On Aug. 1, American Airlines announced it would provide wireless broadband to passengers starting in early 2008. This makes American the latest in a long line of carriers, including Lufthansa, Qantas, Southwest, and Virgin, to announce such service. Users with Wi-Fi–enabled devices will be able to surf the Web, check email, and more—all while airborne. “We understand that broadband connectivity is important to our business customers and others who want to use their PDAs and laptops for real-time, in-flight broadband communications,” said Dan Garton, executive vice president of American Airlines, in a statement. “This is part of our continuing effort to take the lead in enhancing the travel experience for our customers and [to] meet their evolving needs.” American’s offering with mobile service provider AirCell will be air-to-ground and only available over the continental United States. But this is not the first attempt to provide broadband service to passengers. An earlier in-flight satellite service, Connexion by Boeing (CBB), was introduced in 2001 in partnership with American, Delta, and United. However, Boeing announced in an August 2006 statement that it was shutting CBB down because “the market for this service has not materialized.” What a difference a year makes. “Long term, the new providers could develop the ability to support TV broadcasts via the Net—Singapore had this when it was using Connexion,” says Henry Harteveldt, Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst for travel research. “Depending on how extensive and fast airborne bandwidth is, airlines could replace their existing in-flight entertainment systems with Internet access and allow travelers to access their own entertainment.” American has yet to announce firm pricing—but that may become a deciding factor. At the time of CBB’s demise, one writer opined on Ars Technica (arstechnica.com) that CBB’s price—$30 per flight, or $10 per half hour—was excessive and likely led to the service’s demise. “In-flight Internet access is a feature that passengers value and will pay for,” Harteveldt says. “[It] also creates two potential new revenue streams for airlines: They get to share in the subscription fee, and can ‘narrowcast’ advertising to high-flying surfers.” —Marshall Lager “In-flight Internet access is a feature that passengers value and will pay for.” CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | OCTOBER 2007 15 http://arstechnica.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - October 2007

Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity Coupons Without the Clipping Something Special in the Air Oracle’s Name Game Market Focus: Sports & Entertainment: CRM Scores for Sports Franchises Statistically Speaking The Pulse Required Reading Are We There Yet? Help Them Help Themselves The Chain Gang Pay Day OutClick Media Gets a Second Opinion Best Kiteboarding Makes a Splash with NetSuite True-Blue Service Documentation Secret of My Success The Tipping Point Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - October 2007

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