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854 WIRELESSMARKETINGTable 3Criteria for Being a Successful M-marketerM-MARKETING
STRATEGIES DETAILS
Product Introduce miniature information appliances with unique interactive content to
m-commerce customers
Price Offer both commodity and higher value for money as marketing managers divide
m-commerce customers into those who do virtually everything online and those
who prefer personal services from telecom, content, and financial service
providers.
Promotion Provide customers with value-added intangible product attributes that are included
as part of their smart handheld devices. For example, e-discount couples and
free ring tone downloads
Segmentation Divide like groups of people across national frontiers into those who have the
income, are the correct age, live in the right neighborhoods, and belong to
modernizing ethnic groups as candidates for the purchase of miniature
information appliances, third-generation telecom services, and interactive
Internet content.
Targeting Assemble smaller like groups of people who are bound together by profession,
skills, or personal tastes, habits, or values.
Positioning Match possible online Internet products with probable customers; the former offers
the latter enhanced customer relationships to try out m-commerce and the
mobile Internet.FromConquering the Wireless World—the Age of M-Commerce,by Douglas Lamont, p. 279. Oxford, UK: Capstone, 2001.
©cCaptsone Publishing Limited (A Wiley Company). UK, 2001. Reprinted with permission.operators must offer unique, personalized services to their
customers that offer value for the money. More important,
m-commerce requires marketers to adopt a proactive ap-
proach and be sensitive to their marketing environment to
pursue new business opportunities in the changing wire-
less world. M-marketers have to recognize that the prod-
uct life cycle of portable wireless devices (e.g., PDAs and
mobile phone handsets) is much shorter than it is for other
consumer durables in technology sector.Merits of Reconfiguring the Value Chain
The term “wireless world” implies global business per-
spectives and death of physical distance, and it offers con-
venience benefits to the services subscribers. “Businesses
now have to compete on the basis that the world is a sin-
gle market. Under such circumstances, the two keywords
that are expected to lead corporations to a stable growth
are “efficiency” and “creativity” (Richter & Mar, 2002,
pp.142–143). Consequently, marketers need to “create
new value through the wireless Internet services (Lamont,
2001, p. 55). Lamont summarized three merits of recon-
figuring the value chain:- Firms can recognize and identify decision opportuni-
ties across the industrial world for wireless telecom
services. - Firms can create better alternatives for making good
decisions either through alliances and partnerships or
through direct investments (or both). - Firms can establish a set of competitive principles for
the firm as they seek to conquer the wireless world in
the age of m-commerce.
WIRELESS CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Key Impact of Mobile Number Portability
(MNP) or Wireless Number Portability
(WNP) on Customer Loyalty
The policies of MNP or WNP allow subscribers to carry
their existing mobile telephone numbers to other network
service providers. It enables subscribers to switch service
provider more easily. Mobile phone subscribers are price
sensitive and tend to keep on seeking service packages of-
fering better value for money. This has had a significant
impact on customer loyalty and churn rate. Marketers
have to put more effort into cultivating customer loyalty
and building long-term customer relationship to prevent
high churn rate. Obviously, it costs companies more to
acquire new customers than to keep their existing ones.
Unfortunately, MNP may disrupt subscribers’ privacy
when telemarketing calls are received through mobile
phones. As a result, m-marketers need to consider per-
mission marketing seriously and develop a strategy for
pursuing consistent branding image to establish a brand
community for fostering customer loyalty and reinforcing
customer relationship.Brand Community and Customers’ Loyalty
Brand community exists because “brands connect con-
sumers to brands, and consumer to consumer” (Muniz
& O’Guinn (2001, p. 418). These social groups have a
high propensity to be reasonably stable and devoted
to the brand. Furthermore, members of a brand com-
munity tend to be “committed,” “conscientious,” and
“passionate” toward the brand (Gruen & Ferguson, 1994).