Countless opportunities to build and leverage loyal relationships with customers

The convergence of wireless communication and global positioning technology is about to change the way we interact with our friends, families and customers. Next generation technologies such as broadband wireless networks, mobile devices, and on-demand audio and video, will make possible a plethora of content-rich entertainment, information and location-based services accessible anywhere, anytime. The alliance of mobility and one-to-one business strategies creates a win-win situation. It offers businesses new opportunities to develop richer, more profitable relationships with individual customers. Through the mobile channel, companies can make on-the-fly, one-to-one offers that get results because they are responsive to a customer’s specific needs, at a specific time and location. The marriage of mobile technologies with one-to-one strategy will offer unprecedented opportunities in both B2C and B2B. Companies that begin integrating mobility enhance their ability to build Learning Relationships with their customers, thus energizing their retention and growth strategies.
As mobility proliferates over the next decade, a number of new business models arising in response to customers’  increasing need to synthesize and understand new torrent of data, and to protect, control, and broker the use of their personal information. Today, customers using nascent mobility services are likely to subscribe to a provider’s proprietary network. These customers are limited to a set of specially formatted information, entertainment, safety and commerce services. As the technology matures and mobility services become increasingly vital to customers, individuals will likely be willing to provide detailed personal information to further customize the experience. Customers will also be bombarded by information request as competition for personal data among wireless advertisers intensifies. In response, new business models will arise to help customers leverage their best advantage. For those companies seeking deeper relationships with their customers, this presents a compelling opportunity. The challenge for these businesses will be to gain the customer’s trust before their competitors do. Armed with the ability to identify, interact with, and anticipate the needs of their Most Valuable Customers, businesses can realize significant increases both in loyalty and in revenue per customer by offering products and services in accordance with individual preferences. They can also realize savings by aligning marketing resources to their best customers rather than advertising to the masses.
Despite the fact that mobility has not reached high saturation levels for consumers yet, it must be considered as a communication channel of growing importance, and one that requires strategic considerations in exchange for large potential payoffs. Firms seeking to develop relationships with mobile customers must ask themselves two questions: First, how will mobility change my organization’s current customer-based strategies? Much the same as a call/contact center or the Internet, mobility is a growing channel through which companies will increasingly interact with customers; and as mobile interactions and transactions steadily increase, mobility will continue to gain momentum in the CRM space. Second, executives must ask themselves how mobility can produce new revenue opportunities for their organizations. As a communication medium replete with customer data, mobility allows firms to maintain a high level of interaction with customers, proactive and reactive.