The Essential Guide to Mobile Business

From the Book: The mobile Internet has attracted a lot of media attention. From Japan to the United States, the promise of Internet access via your mobile phone seemed a revolutionary new step. After the hype there was also a sense of deception once it was offered to the public in most countries around the world. Was this what we had been dreaming about? Except for the amazing success of i-mode in Japan, the first WAP-based services often didn't attract the number of customers predicted in the first year. What happened? In most countries, WAP was hyped by vendors of mobile phones or network equipment as the mobile Internet, showing images on mobile phones, which will not be possible for years to come. So when people finally got hold of a mobile phone capable of using WAP (availability was very limited the first year), they were disappointed that the services on their screen were not even close to the services shown in all the ads. What's next? After this initial disappointment, people now have a more realistic expectation of what mobile access to the Internet can mean to them. Mobile operators and service providers create knowledge to improve services and customer satisfaction. Most mobile phones sold today are equipped with a WAP browser or (c)HTML browser, creating more opportunities for successful implementation and marketing of mobile Internet services. But how? Don't make the mistake of thinking that the mobile Internet is equal to the fixed Internet, but mobile. Mobile phones have their own particular usage patterns and characteristics that need to be taken into account when designing and marketing a mobile Internet service. Why this book? We believe that the mobile phone will become part of almost everybody's life and that people will want to use it for more than just talking with friends, family, or business relations. We predict that the mobile phone will grow from a voice communications device into a multipurpose terminal allowing people to communicate, exchange messages and email, use it as their information terminal and guide, their personal shopper, and even as their wallet. In this book, we describe both the technical developments and the societal trends that lead us to believe this. We explain what WAP and i-mode are, which markets will emerge because of the mobile Internet, and the opportunities this offers you and your company. Who should read this book? Each manager interested in the developments of new channels to his or her customers or better communications with his or her sales force and other employees in the field, should read this book. Although the book starts with an overview of the technical developments, this is by no means a technical book. We looked at WAP and the mobile Internet from a business and marketing point of view. We tried to offer informative but easy-to-read material to a broad group of people interested in new developments—people wondering how to benefit from those developments. Structure of the Book Chapter 1 explains WAP and other technical developments like i-mode, GPRS, UMTS, SMS, location determination, and Bluetooth. We explain the abbreviations and, more important, describe which possibilities they offer for a user. WAP and the mobile Internet are often named in one breath. Chapter 2 shows the similarities and differences between WAP and the use of the Internet via the PC. We show this from the perspective of the user, the service provider, and the service developer. In Chapters 3, 4, and 5, we explore the markets for mobile telephony, the Internet, and mobile Internet. The developments and roles in each of these markets are explained and the use of mobile telephony and the Internet is described. At the end of Chapter 5, the playing field for WAP and the mobile Internet is clear from both a functional and a business perspective and we turn our perspective to the reader's situation. Which services could you offer your customers using the mobile Internet? In Chapter 6, we look at the most important trends in society you can react to with mobile Internet services. In the next chapter, we look at your playing field. What will customers expect from you in the future? Which movements will suppliers make? What will your competitors do? Will new players enter your market? Which substitution effects can you expect? In Chapter 8, we visit different companies that already have experience with WAP. What activities do they deploy with WAP? What is their business model? What are their experiences with the introduction of a WAP service? In Chapter 9, we offer a five-step approach to a successful WAP site. Chapter 10 gives a view of a day in the mobile future. Of course it's up to you to think and act toward an even better mobile future. We hope this book contributes to your mobile Internet business success. We were, as marketers, responsible for the introduction of the first commercial WAP service in Europe: minfo. This experience along with a lot of additional research has enabled us to write this book.