Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
database. Technologies and mobile devices can be combined to create a
number
of customer services and marketing applications. For example, peo-
ple could be invited to interact with a program or editorial content provided
on another medium, like TV voting, quizzes, radio contests, ringtone or logo
requests and editorial feedback. The main fields of applications include
media and entertainment, brand awareness, customer acquisition, customer
retention and loyalty programs.
Location-based services:
Using technologies such as Bluetooth or
GPS, location-based services (LBS) are services that exploit knowledge
about where a user is physically located and relevant information may be
sent to their mobiles based on this knowledge. For example, if a client of
Prada who has “opted-in” for this service is within 1 kilometre of a Prada
store, he could receive a message reminding him of his proximity to the
store and informing him of the new collections within the store. For years,
location-based services have been seen as offering a great potential for
brands. Although there has been a lot of hype around this, applications have
been fairly limited until now. Bluetooth has enabled the development of mar-
keting applications such as the possibility of sending messages to anyone
with a Bluetooth mobile device walking within a short range of a store. But
Bluetooth can have a damaging impact on the perception of mobile market-
ing by consumers who feel that receiving messages whenever they are within
range of a transmitter is unwanted, annoying and intrusive. This is why they
should be given the option to “opt-in” for the service.
Click-to-call (also called CTC, click-to-dial or click-to-talk):
This
service uses an icon, button or highlighted phone number placed on a mobile
device, application or website. Upon clicking on it, the user either triggers
a call from a company representative for direct interaction or the phone
number begins the calling process directly. Similar to auto-dialling, the user
only has to click once on the shortcut rather than having to dial all the digits
of a phone number. One significant benefit of click-to-call providers is that it
allows companies to monitor when online visitors change from the website to
a phone sales channel. It also provides a seamless multi-channel brand inter-
action for clients.
One-click purchase (also called express purchase or one-click
buying):
This refers to the technique of allowing customers to make
online purchases with a single click, with the payment information needed to
complete the purchase already entered by the user previously. More par-
ticularly, it allows the online shopper to purchase an item without using
the shopping cart software. Instead of manually inputting billing and ship-
ping information for a purchase, the user applies the one-click service with
