Who the hell uses mobile for social networks anyway?

You might have noticed the blog has been quiet for about 2 weeks now, and although i would like to cite "lack of inspiration", twitter and procrastination probably answers it better. However, i just read an article ran on MobiAd on BuzzCity's founder KF Lai on his experience with MyGamma, a rapidly growing mobile social network.

MyGamma serves ads in over 100 countries and is rapidly showing a proven revenue model on the much lauded promise of social networks and location based targeting. In My Lai's words " mygamma is targeting “un-wired” consumers. In other words, people who do not have regular access to a PC and so their only means to connect to internet is through mobile." .. Wow.

Wow because for the first time, someone is making a point that demand based services on mobile isn't the only differentiating factor. THE ENTIRE MARKETPLACE is. We have been assuming the mobile target is an evolution of the 2.0 user experience. E.g we develop facebook mobile to cater to the facebook audience on the go , similarly for myspace etc etc.

But what Buzz City has done is to create a mobile social networking experience for the person that has no access to any wired device. And this is the essence of why his mobile community thrives. The difference is that once again, scarcity leads to demand. Not as a software but as a channel.

This is advantageous in so many ways. From barrier of entry fences to innovation adoption, having a purely mobile community is genius in my book.

How can we apply this? In developed countries where web and mobile is more interlinked, is it possible to find an audience that depends solely on mobile from an infrastructure standpoint? Maybe not, but let me try to challenge the demand marketplace again.

How about Taxi Drivers? Housing brokers? Insurance agents? Basically anyone who is mobile 3/4 of the working day. Will a mobile networking site that is productivity centric make more sense? A Taxi driver may not go home after a long day to update his facebook, but he may be enticed to update a cab mobile social network on traffic conditions, get updates on road blocks etc. Could this same driver be susceptible to location based ads?

It's certainly not proven , but what i hope you takeaway is that our assumptions on WHO mobile consumers and adopters are may need to change. How platforms monetize mobile may rely not only on services innovation but on channel innovation.


Song of the blog : "Run' by Amy Macdonald

A little less conversation... A little more action

You've read it before, probably blogged about it too. These days, it's all about the conversation isn't it? Everywhere we turn our head, somebody out there seems to be preaching that brands need to open up conversation in order to understand, improve and connect with their audience. There is this idea that in every boardroom, there is this 1 man, tight lipped, arms akimbo refusing to talk.

Dont' get me wrong, brand to audience conversation makes sense to me except i can't help but think it's been taken a little too far off the rails . Let me explain, in a perfect marketing world, we would love to think that brands have our interests at heart and therefore the conversation is genuine. But, how can it be deemed a genuine conversation if the bottomline agenda from brands is " I need to know how to sell more of my stuff, talk to me so i know how to strategise better." When did conversation become consultancy?

You see companies "embracing" social media and suddenly, every consumer ( guilty as charged) starts clapping our hands and nodding our heads. This is hilarious, note: If the product has a problem, fix it. Don't wait for me to complain about it. Fix it. If you want to advertise, advertise. Don't name drop in my ear and expect me to play chinese whispers for you.

Yes Dell was hugely successful in utilizing conversation to push sales, but let's put the product in context. We are talking about a neccesity in today's world. When a product leader in a neccesity market asks the bottomline question (see above), it's not a hoax anymore. We want to buy laptops, we want to get a good Dell product. We need this therefore it's in our interests to contribute to the product development. How many brands/products fall under this category? Do we need to talk with Pepsi?

When we question why big brands still refuse to engage in the conversation, the answer generally rumbles along the lines of inertia or fear. I propose that it's way, way more simple. In my opinion, they have nothing to say.

And honestly, that is fine, look at Skittles. They had nothing to say, so they opened up the front door and let the whole world sit on their front porch shouting obscenities for them. Conversation yes. To what point?

I suggest having nothing much to add to the conversation is fine. Creating drivel to create the conversation smacks of desperation. Much like the nervous first date who mentally notes down carefully pre planned conversation topics only to find his palms getting sweatier with each passing mouthful.

In these instances where the conversation is not required, then more action is. Don't talk, do something. Engage in a social media push campaign. Rainbow colored candy? Sponsor and raise funds for the rainbow foundation. How about nice colorful widgets that help diabetics track their sugar intake?

My point here is that, conversations aren't magical wands that will somehow unclog the sales funnel. In most cases, there really isn't any content in these conversations. Yes, it's still relevant and i am an advocate of permission based marketing but the who where how and why still needs to be answered when a brand decides to jump on the conversation bandwagon. And if you realise that you don't have anything much to say in any open channel to no one in particular, then perhaps it's best to stop thinking about talking and start acting on those thoughts.


Song of the blog by Elvis

Mobile mobile where art thou mobile

Whats the biggest impact the mobile phone world has made on your life over the last 4 or 5 years?

Here's Will.i.am from the black eyed peas and Kevin Spacey sharing their thoughts on the future of mobile



It's interesting that Kevin Spacey refers to mobile as the "new media". The industry hasn't caught up with the technology because the technology bypassed the industry's economics and made many industry players irrelevant. You want music? Let's share it. You like photos? Let's archive it. You want film? Let's stream it. The ability to network means the wisdom and content of the crowd continue to make industry bigwigs squirm in their pants.

However, it wasn't so long ago digital media was regarded as the enemy. It took a certain Steve Jobs to show how creative selling in a demand based marketplace still works. It took 1 man's vision to show the world how to think beyond the boundaries and deliver a solution. That's what i love about mobile, it's the new demand marketplace. We are demanding better user experiences, bigger screens, brighter colors, seamless web to mobile integration and so on. How long before someone comes along and shows the world a bridge for publishers, advertisers, the people and the handset makers to unite.

If you consider how we are already thinking beyond banner advertising on mobile and looking at widget/applications (Thanks again to Apple) as the new face of revenue, the future seems bright. As bright as the next brilliant color touchscreen i'm sure someone is developing right now.

Comments?

Song of the day "Silver lining" by Rilo Kiley

When Service Providers get it all wrong

Put yourself into the shoes of one of the big 3 Telcos here in Singapore for 1 minute. Assuming you had all power to drive strategy for market share expansion, would you focus on the best promotions possible to lure and flirt and chase after potential customers on rival service providers? Or would you put attention on retention programs to keep existing customers? Most would say "both" but the reality is that the latter is often overlooked. HUGE mistake.

It's exactly how Aesop felt when he was penning the fable about the greedy dog and it's bone. It was so excited about the bone's reflection that he lost the real bone in his mouth. Telcos have been shocking across the board in their approach (in my experience) when it comes to customer loyalty and i think it's not unfair to point the finger when fault is due.

My case for grief comes from a good friend of mine whom recently emailed M1 to politely remind them his contract was expiring and he would like some incentive to stay on as a happy customer. Not only was his request rejected but the reasons provided was utterly disappointing to say the least.

Background

1) He has been a customer for 10 years
2) He had served 18 months of his existing contract
2) His bill i dare say belongs on the upper curve of any mobile bill trend in his demographic
3) He's a really nice guy!

Extracted verbatim written response from M1
"Please allow us to explain that the issuances of handset re-contract
vouchers are based on factors such as customers' tenure, average
spending, current handset contract status and other factors. From time
to time, we do review your mobile line with us and will make a special
upgrade offer to you where applicable. We regret that we currently do
not have any special upgrade offers for your mobile line.."

In their defence , they did state that "you may contact us again upon completion of 20 months of your contract (after 14 April 2009) and we will review your request for
a handset re-contract voucher." So, the reply above must have been a result of some guideline that outlines when a customer is eligible for vouchers or upgrades.

Now, if you ran a F&B business and you had a 10 year old regular whom seldom bought set meals and ordered ala carte most of the time, i'm guessing you would be pretty agreeable every 18 months or so if he asked you for a free coffee. Which part of customer centric marketing does M1 need to get in order to realize extraordinary service requires an ear to listen rather than a voice to dictate guidelines?

The result? I'm blogging now, my friend is probably gonna tell at least 10 more. You as the reader might agree or disagree (but im guessing you're as disgusted as i am); in this day & age of social viral marketing, what medieval policy dictates that existing customers are to be treated like the old wife who slaves over hot oats whilst the husband woos the enemy's younger mistress with fur and meat? What effort does it take to pull a fraction of a pull marketing campaign and devote it to customers with expiring contracts sending vouchers or goodies that say "Hi, i know you exist, i value you. Let's stay connected"

Let's wave the magic wand of hindsight and learn from this. The existing customer has emotional ties to the service. We wouldn't have stayed otherwise. Loyalty is a virtue the new prospect has yet to show. Don't abuse it, don't take it for granted and remember, "hell hath no fury like an existing M1 customer scorned"


"The Story" by Brandi Carlile

How the Grammys could have been so much more

I'm 24 hours away from completing a 2 week long national service course and this is my 1st blog post since i first went back to wearing my charming greens and black boots.

I decided to treat myself to the grammy's on cable and the lack of a mobile presence was outstanding.

1) Why invade my show with " Buy the Cd in stores now!" ads every 10 minutes when its obvious the shift from physical to digital is almost complete in most households. If i wanted the song in the next day, you can be sure i will be buying it online.

2) Why weren't there any mobile downloads for songs and video performances that i could download immediately? Is it that hard to develop a Grammy mobile site where exclusive content can be downloaded? If there IS a grammy mobile site? Why develop it and then fail at advertising the address on the telly? Mobile needs to be integrated not inferred!

I was blown away by Radioheads's live performance of "15 step" and i found myself looking at my phone wishing i could access the content now to show my camp mates tomorrow.

Here's my tribute to this disappointing experience.

"15 Step" by Radiohead