Which celebrity are you....? ? ! !

I always thought I looked like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or even Mark Wahlberg until I tried out Kao Cheki ...then unfortunately I found out that is not the case....

Kao Cheki or face check, translated into English, is a mobile phone website where users can take a headshot of themselves with their phone camera and send it into the website, where based on image recognition technology, users then receive a response showing their top three celebrity lookalikes.....And that's where I found out that I don't look like Tom, Brad or Mark.....

As this novelty site has proven to be quite popular, the makers of Kao Cheki, J-Magic, has followed it up with another interesting and creative simulation website, but with a twist.

Introducing Shoubu Co-de Cheki.

“Shoubu” is a Japanese word that means “victory or defeat” or “contest” but can amazingly also be used to describe an item of clothing a woman wears in the hopes of landing the "perfect boyfriend" (for example, “shoubu shatsu” would be a girl’s best shirt, and "shoubu pantsu" would be a girl's best......). And “co-de” is the Japanese way of saying “coordinate,” as in an outfit. So this new website requires users to send in the same headshot, but in return suggests what kind of outfit is most suitable and attractive to their face. There are over 10 different responses from “feminine” to “natural cool” so the site caters to all.

The site, is currently free until December 26th and is accessed through the Kao Cheki site.

...I wonder who Chris Schoenwald (blog co-author) looks like...??


Australian Chris

Life's New Remote Control as it Evolves...

Well as we have covered in recent posts the mobile apps frenzy is certainly upon us. It seems these days you can’t watch an hour’s worth of television without the iPhone commercials dazzling you with all of the neat functions and download applications you can easily have at your fingertips. However, the iPhone is not the only mobile with such capabilities and interesting applications available for download. Google’s Android has also been leading the charge in terms of releasing many applications for users to start having fun with.

As such, with the rise in app it would only be a matter of time for smart company’s to realize that they too can leverage themselves through the development and release of their own software. Enter into the fray Visa with its new Android based app which enables select customers to receive card transaction updates, be able to keep track of spending, get deals and savings, and a “locator” service to help users redeem the special offers and find ATMs that accept Visa cards. Visa even has a special video promoting this app. This is all U.S. based at present but if things catch on one can expect this type of application to really take off in other parts of the world. I am sure there are a lot of other companies looking to establish and/or refine their company/customer relations. This app based method offers a seamless integration of the company’s values and offers direct to customers.

I would say that this is further proof, of how this mobile device of ours is moving away from the traditional uses of phoning and even emailing and more towards that ‘life remote control’ it has been envisioned as becoming for so long. It is our belief at Mobile CRM Japan that the clever company’s are the one’s positioning themselves for this inevitable transformation of the mobile into that futuristic and high powered device we will not only want but need to function within our daily lives. Exciting times ahead for those prepared.

Canadian Chris

A virtual partner for females: "The perfect boyfriend"

Do you spend your time day dreaming about your perfect boyfriend and your perfect future wedding...? Do you spend your time with your girlfriends complaining about how men are so childish, inconsiderate, and lazy..? Is it hard to find the perfect guy? The perfect guy who is kind, caring, understanding, intelligent, is a gentlemen and.......(the list goes on....)

Once again, this is not an infomercial....

In October, I previously posted about a mobile phone service featuring virtual Japanese wives. Now, a similar service is available to single Japanese woman who want a virtual Japanese boyfriend since finding one in real life with all the qualities above maybe a little difficult. Kaoru Souma , Shun Aiba, Tukasa Ayakawa and Ryuuji Ayakawa are the attractive single virtual guys created by the team at Web-Kare (web boyfriend). An interesting note, if you take a closer look you will see that the virtual boyfriends tend to be your 'boy next door' image and not really macho or muscular. Apparently, these types are not so attractive to Japanese women.

Like other social networking services and dating simulation sites, the site offers personal profiles, miniblogs, bbs and direct messaging. The service has been quite successful and has grown to more than 20,000 Japanese women in their twenties and thirties having registered for the service.

As I shrug my shoulders and put my hands in the air..I say...."What will be next....virtual motivational coaches..??!!"

Australian Chris

Blackberry Bold: The Next 'Gotta have it' in Japan?

The rise of the ‘smartphone’ is upon us. What I am referring to of course are the computer like mobile devices which are equipped with so many functions that essentially mirror that of one’s personal computer. We have already covered Apple’s iPhone in a few articles already and today I would like to take a look at RIM (Research in Motion) the Canadian based company which has been tearing up the North American markets for the past few years through the sale of its ever popular Blackberry line.

RIM entered into a partnership with NTT Docomo to distribute the Blackberry back in 2006 to mainly corporate users and has it is still going. Many questioned the move at the time as one of the main features of the Blackberry was its ‘always on feel’ which was created through its ability to connect seamlessly to office email networks and in effect sync that data with the Blackberry. To be honest though, this feeling of ‘always on’ has been a staple here within Japan for quite sometime. Maybe not in the same capacity as what the affectionately coined ‘Crackberry’ has been doing, but in essence the notion of being able to connect with whoever you need to, whenever you want was not a new novelty. In addition, at the time the move was also maligned for the fact that that the device didn’t even have Japanese input language capabilities.

Well, fast forward back to 2008 and you’ll find that RIM has been putting to rest a number of naysayer concerns and pessimistic outlooks for the Blackberry in Japan. It looks as though the brain trust at RIM were simply biding their time and craftily entering a foreign market one step at a time in order to get a better feel. Something a lot of other companies ought to do before diving head first into unknown waters. The initial market entry appeared to be mainly cautionary in nature with the testers being directed at mainly foreign corporate business world. Now, however the devices are being used in over 1200 foreign based companies and the Blackberry is starting to gain some traction. The toughest test is yet to come however and some see it not so far away.

With the confirmation that their newest device Blackberry Bold will be sold in Japan in 2009 and reading excerpts of comments made by officials at Docomo, it looks like the Blackberry is gearing up for battle on a new ground within Japan. This device was quoted as being “the most powerful smartphone responding to the needs of both business users and personal users," said Kazuhiko Kushima, managing director of NTT DoCoMo Solution Business. Additionally, DoComo has already begun to stimulate the demand of personal users by starting the "BlackBerry Internet Service," which allows users who don't have a dedicated server to access the Internet through the BlackBerry. It has also been stated that they would like to shift the ratio of users from corporate to individual down to 7:3 or 6:4. All signs point towards increasing the marketing efforts towards individual users.

Bold words and actions, but obviously Docomo sees a lot of potential in not only this device but the management at RIM to guide this venture to new reaches of profitability in this ever challenging and fickle Japanese market. It will be interesting to see how well this Canadian based company fares. However, judging from its initial positioning strategies and coupling those with the emergence of the smartphone market here in Japan the Blackberry could become the next must have.

As a side note, it is refreshing to see a successful Canadian based company challenging markets outside the confines of North America and doing so in a calculated and cool way. I will not hide my enthusiasm over that fact and look forward to reading more positive news from the mobile makers of the great north.

Canadian Chris

Nokia: It maybe be a major player but can it satisfy the Japanese consumer?

In the previous post by Chris Schoenwald, he raised a good point in regards to his Nokia phone. And as I too own a Nokia phone, I definitely understand his torment and pure frustration as a result of it's unfriendly and pain-stakingly slow programming and transition times....Therefore, it leads me to wonder about Nokia's intended entry into the Japanese keitai market as cellphone service provider, a mobile virtual network provider (MVNO) as early as February next year.

The Yomiuri Shimbun learned on Friday November 22 2008, that Nokia will start its own cell phone service under its high-end brand Vertu. Vertu is known for its extremely expensive handsets that are often designed with titanium, gold, jewels and crystal. The brand is sold in about 50 regions and markets. Vertu's handsets also come with a "concierge key" that provides the handset's owner 24-hour service that can fulfill various personal requests, such as flight, hotel and restaurant reservations. And with a retail price of between 1.6 million yen and 5 million yen and its first outlet being opened in Tokyo's glitzy Ginza area, it is definitely targeting higher-end affluent consumers...well I guess I won't be buying one then!

Analysts say, Nokia's entry could shake up competition in the domestic market. But, with the handsets not being compatible with Docomo's i-mode Internet service or providing one-seg terrestrial digital TV reception, which is pretty much the Japanese mobile users staple keitai diet, I really question the appeal then...

Despite that, it will become the first handset manufacturer to provide cell phone services in Japan, which is dominated by three main carriers--NTT Docomo Inc., KDDI Corp. and SoftBank Mobile Corp. Therefore, I take my hat off to Nokia but it doesn't mean I will be buying another one anytime soon...

Australian Chris

iPhone: Only fun and games?

Today, as I fiddled with my Nokia mobile and gave myself another reason as to why I will never buy another phone made by that company, (I could have a whole post outlining those reasons) I had a thought race across my mind. What about the iPhone as my next mobile? As most people on the planet are aware, the iPhone has been on the darling of the mobile industry. Recently, the applications designed for it surpassed 10,000! That could translate into a lot of useful programs which could potentially simplify things for a busy professional. Now, I have heard a lot of grumblings about the iPhone from front line business professionals in relation to its lack of programs purely designed for their use. These individuals have lambasted the iPhone for being a fun toy but of little use in their working day. This post in effect, will be dedicated to delving somewhat deeper into this matter.

A quick search over at Techcrunch certainly did not lend support to the notion of the iPhone being only fun and games. Here is the list of the top paid apps for the iPhone:

Top Paid Apps (Overall):

Koi Pond
Texas Hold’em
Moto Chaser
Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 3d
Super Monkey Ball
Cro-Mag Rally
Enigmo
Pocket Guitar
Recorder
iBeer

Hmm…I can’t really fathom just how useful iBeer or Pocket Guitar is to the busy executive but I could stand corrected. For a complete listing of other rankings in terms of paid and non paid top application downloads please check out the Techcrunch article.

Upon a second search, I found a site which outlined a number of different business apps for the iPhone which could definitely boost the performance of individual professionals and in essence their respective companies.

I have compiled a basic list of the apps covered in this article:

Oracle Business Indicators, Splash Money, HyperOffice
Readdle Docs, Quickbooks, Netnewswire
Salesforce, NuevaSync, WinAdmin

I assume that if there are over 10,000 apps now there must be more than the aforementioned in relation to pure business minded programs. Some of above are heavy hitters with the power and effectiveness to really make a difference for someone committed to harnessing it within their enterprise.

So, in effect what I have gleaned from my five minute search is that yes the iPhone does have apps out there. Perhaps it’s the proliferation of useful apps like ‘iBeer’ or ‘Super Monkey Ball’ which damage the iPhone’s image as a business tool or maybe more time is needed for the business applications to catch on and gain traction within the professional community. Either of the two or possibly both explanations could explain the overall malaise of business professionals towards the iPhone thus far. It will be interesting to see how this evolves and where Apple desires to position the iPhone in the future.

Canadian Chris

Emerging markets - the next mobile revolution!

As companies continue to buckle down to weather the recession cold, mobile phone companies are striving to stay afloat amid competition and recession fears by targeting the emerging markets and by offering innovative services at competitive prices. They are currently focusing all their energies on the emerging markets in the developing countries, as seen by NTT DoCoMo's move into India. These newer markets comprising of Latin America, Greater China, Middle East and Africa, are expected to account for around 70 percent of the mobile handset sales in the future. Definitely a large piece of the pie....

The mobile phone industry is no doubt treading the path of recession but newer markets are opening up and developing to upkeep sales figures. The telecom industry is still in an early stage in many countries, which are becoming fertile for mobile mania. As companies are cutting costs and harnessing newer technologies to stay profitable, they are also forced to follow aggressive pricing strategies to beat the competition. While mature markets are becoming saturated, smartphones are slowing picking up. Studies have revealed that mobile phones are a necessity and users are willing to cut costs on their landline phones or cable rather than give up their mobile phones. Emerging markets, on the other and, are still price sensitive and are a bigger market for the low and mid-range phones. Mobile phone companies are thus able to withstand because of their sheer geographical range, across the whole world.

As a financial advisor would say,"You should really diversify your portfolio...."

Australian Chris

Gloom confirmed

Global markets are reeling and it was only a matter of time before the effects spread into the world of wireless. Well, unfortunately such gloom has arrived. Samsung and Nokia have officially given notice that growth within their respective companies will be stunted for the remainder of this year and possibly into next.

"The actual global market growth on a unit basis could come short of our initial forecast for 9 percent growth (in 2008)," James Chung, a spokesman for Samsung, told Reuters.
"As for next year, it is possible that the market could post a single-digit or even negative growth," Chung added.

Such sentiment was already shared by top handset maker Nokia with their top boss stating, "that the world's mobile phone market would fall in the fourth quarter and next year as an economic slowdown crimps consumer demand."

With new models being looked at as luxury items one can easily see why these top handset makers are not so bullish about their prospects. In fact here in Japan, where electronic gadgets are always in fashion there has been a shift in consumer buying patterns as reported by Japan's broadcast corporation NHK. The new trend apparently has been the selling of older mobiles at drastically reduced prices. Models that four months earlier retailed at nearly $500 US are being sold for $150 or less. Manufacturers seem to be understanding that consumers simply cannot spring for the newest or latest models.

Interesting times right now and it will be even more compelling to see how these companies respond. As alluded to in the previous post, that despite downturns there are always opportunities
for those ready to look for them.

Canadian Chris

Not all DOOM and GLOOM...

As Japan officially falls into recession, after suffering a second negative quarter in a row, along with Germany, Italy and Spain, there certainly is alot of doom and gloom in the global markets today. And while economists and analysts wait for the next economy to follow the downward trend, NTT DoCoMo Japan, the world's leading mobile communications company serving over 53 million customers, is digging into it's war coffers to take a stake in one of the fastest growing mobile phone markets in the world, India, a market gaining 9 million customers per month.

Firstly reported by Bloomberg from a speculative stance, stating that DoCoMo was taking a 26 percent stake in Tata Teleservices of India and then confirmed with in hours by a press release on NTT's press release webpage, the deal is reported at US$2.7 billion for the 26 percent stake.

As a result of the capital alliance, the partners expect to expand mobile communication operations in the fast-growing Indian mobile market, aiming to increase operating revenue and achieve steady business growth.

As the old saying goes..."turn a lemon into lemonade"....

Australian Chris

Weathering the Storm

In reference to my last post I l examined the notion of companies adopting mobile CRM technologies to enable better efficiency and a competitive edge. In today, post I would like to continue on with that thought but take it further in terms of how such a stance towards mobile CRM can be a potential boon for companies looking to remain fiscally vibrant in a worsening economic climate.

Sales forces should have instant access to critical information which enables transactions while technicians should be able to check inventories instantly in order to source replacement parts. Mobile CRM software applications enable this and add to increased efficiency, productivity and ultimately customer satisfaction. It is this last notion which counts for so much these days considering the financial woes of many industrialized countries including Japan. Smart companies understand that the costs associated with sourcing new clients far outweigh what it costs to actively keep the existing base happy. Engaging in pure customer retention and after-marketing practices which purely aim to satisfy current customers, is one way companies can surely combat these external economic conditions. This is where CRM systems can really prop up companies and allow them to not only ride out these rough times but actually take steps towards enhancing their overall market positioning.

Large and small companies ought to be engaged in this constant game of finding ways to increase efficiency. The problem at times however, and what hinders mobile CRM uptake appears to be that some of the costs and inefficiencies do not directly show up on company income statements in terms of fixed expenses. Without some fairly deep introspection it is difficult to pinpoint where and how costs can be reduced by the successful implementation of software applications. I can assure you though, there are costs for not aligning with the times and they show up in terms of lowered productivity of workers or inefficient use of resources, meaning lost revenue which ultimately hinders profits.

Through the application of high-tech-analytics capabilities, collaborative platforms and automated processes, mobile CRM applications are well armed to attack company or departmental inefficiencies. By gathering information from multiple data sources and storing it in a centralized location, a hosted CRM solution provides a holistic view of a customer in real time. From this insight, a company’s management, sales and service people can better generate leads, target top customers, manage marketing campaigns, drive sales and in due course boost customer satisfaction.

As many companies are faced with the reality of having to batter down the hatches for the foreseeable future, it is my humble opinion that companies here in Japan and worldwide ought to really look into mobile CRM as one of their main defenses to this storm of uncertainty.

Canadian Chris

Unleashing the Power

In today’s post I thought I would explore a side which we have yet to fully delve into here at Mobile CRM Japan. That is the use of mobile based CRM systems for the sole intent of adding both versatility and potency to one’s workforce. What I mean by this, is that if your company has a number of workers who are mobile--pardon the pun—or out of the office for major portions of their day, a well chosen CRM application can do wonders for enhancing worker productivity, modernizing and smoothing out of business operations and logistics, as well as amplifying overall customer services levels.

This push towards establishing a mobile based CRM system which has the ability to connect workers via a mobile phone to the office and allow for increased functionality is a notion that will become increasingly more important as businesses look for new and more efficient ways to service their customer’s needs. The fact is that today’s technology is evolving to the point in which this real time sharing of information is not only possible but soon to be a standard in business operations for competitive firms. Without tapping into this resource companies are putting themselves at a distinct disadvantage to direct competitors who are embracing this technology. Additionally, what should help in the adoption of this type of technology is that it is becoming more affordable for SME’s—small to medium enterprises. This news should be music to the ears of companies in Japan which is around 98% SME dominated.

To clarify both the importance and functionality issues even further, let’s say your company manufacturers, sells and services ‘ABC widgets’. Within your employee base you have two divisions which spend a number of hours in the field. One is your sales force selling your ABC widget and the other is your servicing division consisting of on-site service technicians who service your product. Your sales force should have instant access to information which may assist in enabling a transaction or closing a deal, such as the placing of an order, updating relevant customer information details, or checking inventory. Equally, your technicians should have the ability to attain instant access to company troubleshooting manuals, part numbers, part delivery orders and so on. All of this and more should be able to be performed through a wireless device so as to shorten the lead to cash cycle, increase efficiency and ultimately satisfy the customer needs.

Current mobile devices coupled with today’s rapid evolution in technology certainly have the power to unleash a host of applications aimed at helping businesses strengthen operations. Here in Japan, like most of the other industrialized worlds such a shift is certainly underway however the race is on. It is our thinking here at Mobile CRM Japan that the companies who fully embrace this mobile based CRM technology and thoughtfully single out what it can do for them, are the companies which will ultimately position themselves to thrive.

Canadian Chris

A DIGITAL LIFESTYLE IOIOIOIIOOO

As I was scanning the digital world I came across an interesting and informative short film produced by Andrew Berglund (Global Interactive Executive Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide) called “A Day in The Life of a Mobile Phone in Seoul” - An Interactive Exploration of Marketing Technology among the YMCs (Young-Minded Consumer) in South Korea. The video gives a great overview and insight on mobile phone usage and behaviour of YMCs living in the modern digital metropolis of Seoul. How today’s youth consumer is making the mobile device an extension of his/her existence - utilising a wide spectrum of mobile services from video calls, SMS, MMS, vlogging/blogging, internet, mobile TV broadcast, digital multi-media broadcast, m (mobile)-commerce, m-banking, m-mags, m-movies and other dynamic multi-sensory social content.

As this film is set and produced in South Korea, I wondered if there were any cultural similarities or dissimilarities with Japanese YMCs. I felt I could answer this question before I even asked it......there are very few cultural mobile phone usage differences in Korea and Japan. However, there are significant cultural differences with western nations. For example, you would typically see people talking or text messaging on their phones while waiting at the bus stop in a western nation, but one would soon see that while waiting at bus stop in Korea or Japan, people waiting for the bus in say Seoul or Tokyo watch their mobile phone screens intensely instead. People are totally immersed in consuming digital media whenever and wherever possible on their mobile phones in Seoul and Tokyo.

Despite the fact there are few cultural mobile phone differences between Korea and Japan, I believe there are some applications and services that may differ. One is called the Polygraph which is a mobile lie detector allowing South Korean girls to test if their boyfriends are telling them the truth about their where-abouts and there extra-curricular activities.....wonder if this should be introduced to the women of Japan..???!!!

Another interesting mobile service is the Navi Call Taxi Service. A passenger calls a cab from a specific number, and it knows where you are via a GPS system. As to make the taxi experience more safe for young women, the service sends a text message to the parents and/or friends with the name and number of the taxi and its location....definitely something to put young women's minds at ease.

Even though today's world is classed as a boundary less and global economy, one can still see the differences in technology and infrastructure and the differing ubiquitous nature of mobile phones across the world.

Australian Chris

The power of one...with the help of social networking...

The power of social networking, and as previously mentioned Twitter, are definitely becoming significant driving and detemining factors in not only a company's CRM system but in politics too. With the election of Barack Obama, the Obama team has just launched Change.gov, outlining some of the President-elect’s agenda, and offering insights of what we might expect from his administration. The site is an introduction to the successful election and also engages user involvement, that we saw during the campaign with the likes of Election 2008 on Twitter. The site is currently asking users to share their stories from election night and also offers “Submit Your Vision” section and a section where Obama asks “Where should we start together?”.

Additionally, it appears that Obama will be making use of the Web and social media to encourage public service and open a channel for a political CRM system. Change.gov definitely does point to the Web playing a pivotal role in this aspect of his administration and offers other features including a blog as well as the latest announcements and information for the press.

What is encouraging is to see the President-elect moving quickly to keep his supporters as engaged after victory as they were during the campaign. People may say he is not qualified as a military decision-maker but Barack Obama certainly shows talent and know-how to connect with the masses and use the undeniable power of W-O-M, word-of-mouth.

Australian Chris

History in the Making and in More Ways than One

Well, today we officially welcome the next U.S. president elect to the fold. Barack Obama will certainly have his hands full with the number of issues America faces. This blog is not political in nature however one cannot deny the significance of this moment. As a side note however, this point in American history is being captured and read in ways never imagined and that is what is catching my interest today.

To be more succinct, I just finished watching a news clip from the American news outlet ABC and how the Obama campaign won the young voters. They turned out in huge numbers to support his campaign. This group certainly played an instrumental role in him capturing the presidency. Why did the younger generations suddenly come alive and present themselves at the polls? Traditionally that vote has always been difficult for any candidate to capture. One could certainly point to the issues of the day truly impacting the American people and an utter dissatisfaction with the last administration. The mounting frustration and emotional strains caused by the current government’s policies such as the Iraq war. These policies were potentially hitting home in ways that haven’t been felt in a long time. I believe that these are but a few of the reasons for this young voter presence. One that I would like to look at today however is from the mobile technology side of things.

With today’s sources of news--traditional print, television, radio and word of mouth--playing their usual roles in influencing people’s thoughts, actions and beliefs, I am struck by just how fast the mediums of communication are changing. Today, as we can see, the young in particular are gravitating towards new sources such as the internet and even mobile web to fulfill their needs for the latest news. They may find this info from trusted news sources or they simply read an unfiltered blog.

To say this technology and the associated trends are not having an impact would be an understatement. Just look at what the company Twitter has been doing as of late and what role it has been playing in the election. For those of you not familiar with Twitter this company allows users to send short messages of up to 140 characters from a mobile phone or computer to other ‘followers’. The significance of this is that it has taken off in the States with news and opinions being shared by millions at any given time. It has become so huge that while Obama was campaigning against both Clinton and McCain he actually had an account set up and used it as a tool to connect with voters. He continued to use this service for the duration of his campaign and even sent a message upon winning the Presidency. Do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting that this particular service or technology itself was a decisive factor in this win. However, one cannot discount the affects that mobile related services such as Twitter may have had in uniting young people, challenging ideals and potentially swaying hearts and minds to a certain extent.

Another site created by Twitter tracked the current sentiment of the American people in a way that has never been done before. Basically this site tracks all the political messages on the service. Twitter regularly determines a set of 'Hot Election Topics' and displays every tweet that fits into these categories in an automatically updating stream. This type of technology certainly has the potential to galvanize voters, the younger ones in particular, as the way this information is presented is so new, hip and up to date.

The key to tech based info sharing services such as Twitter is this notion of always on and always available. Of course you can use a home based computer to log messages, however what really runs this engine is the mobile, with most users firing off these messages using their ketai’s.
As you can see here, the power of the mobile is there in a way which allows businesses to build powerful CRM tools to collect information, track sentiment and in some cases alter courses of action or even history. I hope you enjoyed today’s post and as always comments are welcome.

Canadian Chris

Riding the wave....

As most companies and start-ups are bunkering down to ride out the financial crisis, one company, AdMob, founded by Omar Hamoui, is riding the wave that many are still trying to catch. Omar says that AdMob reaches more consumers on their mobile phones than any of the major Internet portals or search engines. A very bold statement one might think, but when you see that the number of ads served on a monthly basis have tripled to 4.6 billion in September coupled with more than 25 campaigns for brand advertisers including CoverGirl, Toshiba and Comedy Central, the company is certainly leaving foam in its path.

Despite the slowdown in consumer spending and tightening of credit that has led some advertisers to pull back, rather than retrench, Omar said he wants to move aggressively to capture market share. AdMob plans to use $15.7 million in Series C funding to hire employees in key markets in Western Europe, India, South Africa and Japan, to improve the technology that powers its mobile advertising marketplace and grow its sales and business development teams.

Sequoia Capital, one of companies leading Series C funding, is betting that AdMob is well-positioned to benefit from the exponential growth and stunning changes taking place in the mobile landscape. Sequoia partner Jim Goetz says "There are people out there who we do not think are insane who think the smartphone in the next decade will begin to replace the desktop PC."

Time will tell, but if you are well positioned to catch the next wave....you will certainly have a fun time riding it.

Australian Chris

Catching that next wave...

I just checked out an online presentation from the folks over at the Tokyo based Infinita Inc. and came across yet another informative arrangement of mobile stats, insights and other goodies. The author of these reports, Christopher Billich was recently in Singapore at the Youth Marketing Forum 2008 to give his presentation entitled: Harnessing Mobile Marketing to Connect with Today’s Youth. As I went through, I was thinking that this presentation was much the same as many of his others in that current mobile functionality topics were covered along with examples of mobile campaigns by large companies. However, that is when I stopped to think about this a little more. I looked at his stats section again and really concentrated on what is being shown here and what I found were key youth metrics such as time spent on mobile web by youth aged 16-24 essentially exploding.

61% of these youth spend one hour or more per day on their mobile web!
90% of youth use the mobile web daily!
42% of youth aged 10-19 rated mobile first, as the medium which matters most to them!
(This stat topping TV (25%), PC (22%) amongst others included in that survey)

What do these stats mean to mobile CRM opportunities? Well, they mean a lot if you are in any way positioned within this market. The signs are there for exponential growth in the near future. Look no further than Mr. Billich’s collection of stats on mobile advertising. One could be a bit put off by the fact that at present advertisers are only directing 1% of budgets towards mobile campaigns. However, looking closer we realize that the year on year growth dating back to 2005-2006 was +35.4% and 2006-2007 coming in at +59.4%. Still not impressed? Okay, how about the fact, that last year alone the equivalent of half a billion U.S. dollars was spent on mobile advertising and this stat is expected to double by 2011.

Is this sinking in? I certainly hope so because this is where this market is going. The bigger companies with larger exploratory budgets are starting to realize this, as it is not unusual to see campaigns by MacDonalds, Nike, Gucci etc. on the mobile web. It is an exciting time for companies which harness mobile CRM systems. In addition, this can be a fun time for mobile CRM developers as well as the end users who ultimately are able to enjoy these new and unique ways of company/customer interaction. Just see my colleague, Chris Delcourt’s recent posts on this and you begin to get the idea.

In closing, we can see certainly see the signs of change on their way within the mobile CRM industry. This advance which is being led by today’s youth, is gaining in strength and it will not be long before a number of companies are suffering the consequences of ill preparation. Conversely those which keep tabs and position themselves well have the potential to ride this proverbial mobile CRM wave to new frontiers.

Canadian Chris

"Virtual wife" to combat metabolic syndrome

Does your husband have an expanding waist line and it doesnt seem to be stopping? Do you constantly nag him to cut back on his eating and drinking habits and for him to exercise daily, only to fall on deaf ears? Do you wish their was a service which could do this for you daily?

No, this is not an info commercial.....

The increasing concern of the dreaded metobolic syndrome has led to a number of services being developed to target this ever expanding market. One of those services called “Virtual Wife”, a service from Metaboinfo.com, definitely stands out as it incorporates mobile phones as a means to instruct and communicate with their bulging clients.

Subscribers to the free service can choose from one of four virtual wives, who include...

• a cute café maid,
• a cool S-type analyst,
• a kind motherly nurse, and a
• fashionable gyaru nail artist...

....and you can even pick her name. Users then input their height, weight, and lifestyle habits. Then each day, users receive 4 emails from their virtual wife that include nagging reminders and comments not to engage in unhealthy habits (excessive eating, drinking, smoking....) and suggestions for reaching their target body weight. This is done all in a tone of voice appropriate to the chosen character. The service also includes a “meal management tool” with a space to input a menu and find out how many calories.

As you can see the ubiquitious nature of mobile phones is being incorporated in our lives in more ways than one....and hopefully for a better cause.

Australian Chris

Taxi ads anyone?

Today’s post is an interesting one about an article I recently came across. It centers on the use of wireless technology being applied within the realm of advertising. The idea revolves around static, moving and interactive ads being placed both within and on top of taxis. Where this gets exciting however, is with regards to the digital screens and how they are mounted on the roof of the car. These screens which are 152cm long are double sided and also contain a global positioning system receiver, enabling the screens to promptly display ads according to both geographic locations and timed exposures.

What this means is that special deals such as lunch offers for example, can be sent out for one restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo as the taxi passes by at 12pm and that same taxi can circle back around 6pm with a new dinner ad for the same restaurant. The flexibility offered in terms of content is exactly what marketers want and throw this technology into a densely populated area and you have a new type of ad to really catch some attention.

Now bringing this technology around and relating it to mobile it would not be a stretch to imagine a hybrid campaign incorporating a call to action from a passerby who notices one of these ads as it whizzes by. Advertisers could have mobile landing sites created to direct that consumer to a particular offer. That idea alone echos one of the new rules for ad based CRM system success, which states that the most successful mobile campaigns rely on traditional ad styles—T.V., print, banner/sign—to augment and enhance the distinct capabilities offered by mobile phone advertising. That rooftop taxi sign is certainly a blend of traditional sign based ads, but on steroids per say with its moving, flashing, time and location based ads.

In addition, this new pull based advertising model in which the advertiser is not cramming the product news or information down the consumer’s throat is definitely another idea which must be fully comprehended by content providers. This idea also seems to follow suit in this regard.

This notion is not new as it was first introduced within the U.S. around the year 2000 in New York City and spread to other major American cities. This begs the question as to why, this technology has not taken off yet all over major cities? Why, is it that here in Japan, with the number of ads being served and technology being at such a high level, that such a site is not common within the likes of Tokyo or Osaka? Despite potential outlays of capital, surely there would be major advertisers ready to jump on this one. I would appreciate any thoughts or comments…

Canadian Chris

The sky is falling....and people are losing money!

......As people maybe thinking that the sky is falling...well not really... but as the economic crisis hurts people on paper...I am sure they are thinking the sky is falling......

So, apart from the devastating and somewhat sickening roller-coaster affect on the Nikkei and markets around the world being brainwashed to us on TV, the effects on the global mobile phone market is definitely a market that the TV media seems to be over-looking.

The global mobile phone market has been forecasted to grow at much slower-than-expected rates next year as consumers put off buying new devices due to deepening economic concerns. While mobile phone industry executives often say mobile phones are the last thing consumers will give up, in order to save money, analysts are now forecasting longer phone replacement cycles and weaker sales estimates as a result of weakening economies around the world. Consumer reluctance to upgrade phones coupled with modest growth in China, the downturn to take toll on mobile phone growth is forecasted to reduce global handset growth to around 3 percent from 6 percent, with particular weakness in Europe and North America.

The not so rosey news comes as major phone vendors are betting on the success of higher-end, Internet-enabled smartphones, following the popular Apple iPhone. HP, for example, is expected to be driving into the consumer smartphone market with a new iPAQ model later this year.

Well, with the global credit crunch and possibilities of a global recession ahead of us, all I can say really is.........

....as sand falls through the hour glass these are the days of our times....

Australian Chris

The Nuts and Bolts of Global Mobile Stats

I recently came across a nice little online presentation of global mobile stats—1H 2008—assembled by the ever in touch Chetan Sharma. He is the author of Mobile Advertising: Supercharge Your Brand, as well as a new book entitled Wireless Broadband: Conflict and Convergence. His insights and coverage of mobile developments are always sharp and certainly worth reviewing if one truly wants to get a feel for where things are in terms of growth and expansion of mobile markets. As such, I would like to throw a few of his nuts and bolts stats together for you in this post today.

· Global wireless markets continue to grow rapidly with China and India adding about 9M subscriptions a month. India currently has over 300M subscriptions and China has over 600M.
· Global mobile revenues are likely to reach over 1 trillion (U.S. figures) with 800 billion being attributed to service revenues.
· Mobile Data is contributing close to 40% of revenue for leading operators
· Overall, the world market mobile penetration rate is now over 50%
· The U.S. edged Japan again as the most valuable mobile data market in service revenue with the U.S. coming in at $15.7B versus Japan at $13.6B. As a side note, China was third with $7.8B.
· During the last nine years at DoCoMo overall APRU has declined 33% though data APRU has increased over 1800% and accounts for over 40% of revenues. Voice APRU has declined nearly 60% in that same time.
· For the last couple of years DoCoMo has been the only carrier exceeding $10B in yearly revenue, however later this year expected newcomers to this exclusive club are KDDI, Verizon Wireless and ATT.
· China Mobile is number one in subscriptions at 428M with Vodafone number two at 269M and coming in at third was China Unicom at 171M.

Rank by subscriptions:

1) China 2) India 3) U.S. 4) Russia 5) Brazil

Rank by Data Revenue:

1) U.S. 2) Japan 3) China 4) U.K. 5) Italy

Well, as you can see these stats are enlightening in many ways, as one could spend a post dissecting each point. I hope these stats are helpful for those looking to gain that global perspective of where the global mobile market really is. To see the full presentation please, see Chetan Sharma’s blog site as it is chalked full of various stats and other goodies.

Canadian Chris

Cell phone-Web users.....a driving force

The expansion and exponential growth of the use of the internet via PC's has been astounding to say the least and it is now quite clear that advertising on the net is definitely a necessity of a company's advertising and marketing strategy. So, apart from the traditional mediums of TV, newspaper, magazines and radio and now obviously the internet, what is the next frontier of advertising?

Well, a recent article in the Nikkei Weekly, September 29th, 2008 edition, "Surveying cell pone-Web users" stated that people in Japan are not only using PC's to access the internet but indeed nearly as many are accessing via cellphones. At the end of last fiscal year 72 million subscribers accessed the web with their handsets while 78 million accessed using fixed-line PC’s according to Ministry data.

However, despite the near equal usage numbers, the ad-market for mobile websites was only 62 billion JPY compared to 600 billion JPY for all Internet ads. Definitely not a SMALL difference! In light of these somewhat surprising statistics, a group of some 40 companies including Coca-Cola (Japan), and Matsushita Electric Industrial and as well as web agencies such as Nifty, mobile phone site operator DeNA (Mobage Town site) and NetRatings Japan have established a study group to identify a common system to quantify mobile web usage.

"If we can conduct audience surveys targeting cell phone users, as we now do for PC users, the growth of the mobile ad market will accelerate" Mobile Internet Capital Inc. President, Isuo Nishioka.

Side note: Thank you to Wireless Watch Japan for the Nikkei Weekly pdf attachment.

Australian Chris

"The Times They Are a Changin..."

Exciting times we are living within I say. It sometimes takes a moment, thought or experience for that powerful realization to kick in though. I had one of those conscience awakening flashes this past week. I was thinking about this mobile revolution we are living through these days and just how quickly the technology is evolving. It really doesn’t seem all that long ago, when we were all gaga over the internet and what it potentially had to offer. Now, I know the internet is still developing and has much more to offer, however, one would be missing something if he or she didn’t realize that there has been a distinct shift in focus for a lot of companies—Google, Microsoft, Apple—towards mobile technology and development and this little device, which nearly all of carry on a daily basis.

The ubiquitous or ‘always on’ nature of this tool has had people drooling over possibilities for years. Since the keitai’s (Japanese word meaning mobile) inception the possibilities and discussions of developing a universal ‘life remote control’ have been thrown about more times than one can count. However, ten years back or even five years ago those were all just possibilities. Well, fast forward to the present and look around! My, oh my, have we come a long ways from those dreams.

To add some perspective, I picked up Rick Matheson’s book entitled Branding Unbound which basically covers the ‘future’ of advertising, sales and brand experience in the wireless age. This book was first published in 2005, which just under four years ago. Not that long ago right? Wrong! Especially if you are thinking in terms of keitai development, mobile CRM systems and the like! I found a passage in his book—which is an excellent read, or rather was excellent in 2005, but now somewhat dated and most useful to geeks like myself, who blog about the historical evolution of mobile developments. Yes, I am a techno. nerd. However, this book really allows one to see just how far we’ve come. Read, reflect and enjoy a quote lifted from Branding Unbound and an individual called Kenny Hirschorn, the director of strategy, Imagineering, and futurology for U.K.-based mobile carrier Orange:

“A few years from now, the phone call is going to be the lowest piece on the food chain. Of course, we will still facilitate voice communication. But on a daily basis, we will also awaken you in the morning. We will read you your email. We will start the oven. We will arrange transportation to and wherever you want to go. At the office, we will provide you with information and news.”

Check, check and check so far, in terms of what we are currently doing.

“We will translate information into foreign languages, or translate information into your language for you. We will track your health. We will track your family member’s location, if that’s what you want. We’ll be your bank, we’ll provide you with customized news and entertainment and we’ll even monitor your housing security as you sleep at night.”

Sound exciting? Not really eh. Why? Well, we have that technology right now, at least within Japan. That is all pretty much basic and wouldn’t raise an eyebrow to most within this country. That however, is my point you see, This device is rapidly altering the way most of us live and this change is happening now!

Companies or individuals willing to put the time in are leading the charge now, but as we all know, the old adage about today’s leader not always equaling tomorrow’s is something to keep in mind. Especially, for those of us who are big or small movers and shakers in this world of mobile technology and development. Just as Bob Dylan had it right in the sixties with his album about change and revolution, I too would like to join the chorus and hum away to these changin times.

As always, I invite comments about this post and others. In addition, I invite comments on how to introduce more readers to our blog.

Canadian Chris

Gyaru ?????!!!!!

As one can see and definitely experiences everyday and everywhere, the ubiquitoius nature of keitai in society is not only Japan specific. And even fads and trends that have once been Japan specific, such as cosplay, have permeated the cultural boundaries of other countries. So, this brings me to the unique world of gal or as they say in Japan, gyaru, and its ketai culture.......

"Gyaru (ギャル) is a Japanese transliteration of the English word gal. The term gradually drifted to apply to a younger group, whose seeming lack of interest in work or marriage gained the word a "childish" image. It is now used almost interchangeably with kogyaru and younger generations." So, if you happen to be in the Shibuya or Shinjuku neighborhood, Tokyo, Japan, I would bet you my 'pocket money' that you would have a high chance of bumping into one.

Ok, so your thinking fine...gyaru is merely a fashion sub-culture in Japan that is yet to be seen in other parts of the world......... True, but there's more. Not only is gyaru a fashion sub-culture with its own sub-sub-cultures it has also integrated its own perculiar and very distinct form of ketai writing (mobile phone shorthand).

Introducing........GYARU MOJI!

To explain the wonders and mysteries of gyaru moji, I need to incorporate the help of wikipedia. Gyaru-moji replaces characters with visually similar characters or combinations of characters. It incorporates many hiragana, katakana and kanji which are taken apart and reassembled using different characters including alphabet characters. So, for example Lt wouldn't correspond to the Latin characters 'L' and 't' but instead it would correspond to the hiragana, け ('ke'). Notice that it looks very similar when written. It is unclear why this usage is now seen.....and it may remain to be unclear.

So, what I am wondering now is.....what's next? And upon realizing the fact that there will be a next sub-culture and sub-sub-culture in both the real and technological worlds....I am happy to say....it certainly keeps things interesting and intriguing.

Australian Chris

The 'iPhone' in Japan and how 'i' see it...

Well, as another week starts off so does another addition to this running mobile CRM blog. In this post I would like to get back to some more specific and timely issues relating to mobile CRM. I had a look through some of my most trusted sites for ideas and found an interesting piece from one of my favorite sites covering the mobile industry in Japan Wireless Watch Japan. The article covers Apple’s potential failure to reach it’s target of 1,000,000 iPhones sold in Japan. At present Mr. Job’s company is on pace to record less than 500,000 units sold according to market research firm MM Market Research. As the articles notes these assumptions were built on one year’s full sales coupled with competitive pricing centering on package price, handset and monthly fees. What gives you might ask? All of the above seem to be in line with what is being offered by Japanese competitors in terms of pricing.

Well, the possible explanations as in most cases are not found by analyzing surface based facts or assumptions. We need to dig a little deeper. The WWJ article notes the challenges any foreign mobile company faces here in Japan which is the maturity of the market within Japan in terms high end technology already being offered by most manufacturers. As I thought about this longer, I came back to some of my Japanese business cultural studies I have been formally embarking on these past couple months and one point flashed through my mind. It was a point regarding keys to success in Japan and it stated that whatever product or service a foreign company is attempting to offer it must research and produce the ‘right’ product for Japan.

Now here we have the iPhone selling nearly 200,000 units in the first two months and suddenly deadpanning to an averaged pace of approximately 30,000 units a month sold for the remaining ten months. I might add that this assessment is a positive one according to some. We clearly have some forces at work which are undermining the iPhone’s success. Could they lie within this notion of Apple underestimating the distinct tastes Japanese consumers have versus American’s? I am confident that this is part of it but a lot of it surely centers on the market and how advanced it already is. Sure, the iPhone has the touch screen and an interesting presentation which is a novelty and something new for consumers here, however notions of surfing the net, listening to music, playing games, checking weather and other useful functions the iPhone offers are all somewhat stale mobile CRM applications offerings for the average keitai user here.

Beyond this, I have read and also heard first hand grumblings from people over somewhat minor issues relating to no attachment loop for mobile straps, to the necessity of changing of one’s mobile email address despite already being a Softbank user. These issues I understand, are just a sampling and in no way can be thought of as the chief deficiencies relating to the poor sales forecasts, however collectively they offer a sampling of potential shortcomings.

To me, these issues add up to a particular company not providing a unique enough device for a truly unique market. The units sold speak for themselves thus far, illustrating that even huge conglomerates are no less insulated from simple market principles than any of us. And this folks, returns us to one of the keys to success here in Japan or any global market, which is researching and manufacturing the right product for the consumer. As always, comments would be appreciated!

Canadian Chris

4 Critical Factors....

With a a high number of the workforce on the road or working from home, the ability to extend applications and Web content to mobile phones has become essential to business. So what's the key to making mobile CRM pay off for your business?

The following are four critical factors for a successful and effective mobile CRM solution that I have compiled from my research:

1. Off-line functionality. Sales professionals will use a mobile application only if they can reliably depend on it -- and that means every time. To ensure that the mobile application and CRM data is always available when they need it, mobile applications must support off-line functionality.

2. A platform with open standards. Field professionals don't just need access to customer information in the field; they also need information on promotions, products, competitors, service requests or order status. Therefore, a platform with open standards is highly important.

3. Ease-of-use. Mobile application performance and ease of use are vital for field professional effectiveness. To be effective, mobile CRM systems must be instant-on, easy to navigate and require little or no training.

4. Timely information. Features such as alerts and schedules should accelerate communication, decision-making and customer responsiveness by keeping users in touch.

Using mobile technology, companies are now getting more out of existing systems by delivering these applications and content directly into the hands of users whenever and wherever they do business.

Now, the question lies....are the customers getting more out of the systems??

Australian Chris

A Continued Cultural Kick!

Well upon re-reading couple of my last posts I see that I have been on a bit of a cultural kick as of late. Illustrating ideas relating to Japanese culture more so than the strictly mobile CRM related issues. I had a momentary thought which said balance, balance, balance. I should get back to the nuts and bolts of this blog which is mobile CRM related content. However, I took a moment, looked over this ‘illustrious’ blog explanation and re-thought this logic. Aside from being a take on mobile CRM issues, these posts are also about examining the cultural business issues here in Japan. That aspect unto itself deserves an extended examination. If one cannot understand the social or ethnic factors at play here, one most certainly cannot put quality CRM business management systems or decisions for that matter into play. With that, I will turn towards this week’s topic of looking at what some feel it takes to make it here in the Japanese market.

Lately, I have been reading up on a number of books specifically relating to the examination of Japanese culture and more specifically business practices. I am sure this is where a lot of these thoughts and feelings have been deriving from as of late. One particular book entitled Cracking the Japanese Market by James C. Morgan and J. Jeffery Morgan examines these issues and more. There has been one particular section which has stood out for me thus far. It centers on understanding the rules at play. The authors argue that you must develop a philosophical foundation upon which to base your strategy. These components include:

-Presence
-People
-Pioneering
-Piggybacking
-Partnering
-Persistence

Now for the sake of simplicity and ease I will not elaborate upon each point into any great detail for the sake of keeping your attention, however I do wish to add a few points which I feel are pertinent to this blog and this post in particular.

Presence: It is incredibly important for your organization to have a physical presence in the Japanese market. I might add that this is specifically important when relating to the mobile CRM market. This is where you stand the best chance to gain invaluable information about first understanding distinctly Japanese customer needs as well as their ever changing desires.

People: This simply relates to localized hiring and it is important for two reasons. One it shows commitment to the market and two it opens doors with other Japanese companies in terms of building and nurturing both supplier and customer relationships.

Pioneering: Japan is renown for companies which will jump on popular ideas and re-create the service or product with its own twist. Therefore, it should be expected that your product or service will never be alone long. These companies include both large and small with the big companies coming first and the second wave of small to mid-size companies following. Obvious counter strategies include patent protection as well as constant innovation.

Piggybacking: Due to Japan’s long history of complex relationships it has been difficult for foreigners to enter and or build network distribution systems. However, one way to by-pass this obstacle is to engage in ‘piggybacking’ companies with similar products or services with already established distribution networks. The key according to Morgan and Morgan is to leverage people rich companies and existing structures, many of which hungrily need new product and ideas.

Partnering: The notion of partnering with an established Japanese company is an obvious method to gain access to customers, suppliers and buyers. Trust and relationship building which are ever so important to the Japanese way of business can then be forged. Of course one must be sharp in the structuring of the partnership so that theorized advantages stand the chance of becoming a reality.

Persistence: This concept is particularly important in that it shows commitment. Japanese business ethics highly value trust and commitment. Results are often examined with the long view in mind rather than the short. One way to show this is the ‘sticking it out’ mentality within the market. This mettle goes along way in terms of showing the Japanese your particular company or personal traits. It goes even further if your product has any type of CRM twist to it!

Now, if you are still here with me I hope these points do strike a cord for some of you whether you are already in the market or are curious about it. These ideas are of course simply jumping off points to further research however I hope that they have been of some genuine assistance.

Canadian Chris

Leveraging your CRM system

I came across an interesting article by Ronald Lang, the CEO of Majestic Consulting Group, where he offers readers an insight to and offers recommendations for leveraging your company's CRM system to maximize your client base. What Ronald Lang touches upon in the article are often key points that early-stage companies overlook and sacrifice in order to gain and further develop market share or mind share (a common term these days).

.........New customers come at an extreme premium today, so focusing on existing clients is more cost-effective and are often more receptive to hearing your offerings, especially if it can be a positive impact to their business.

If your business is primarily a product-based sales operation, Lang offers these 3 recommendations:

1. Are there products you have sold to a client in the last three years that have new accessories or a new model (or discontinuation of the current model)? – if so, this is a golden opportunity to setup a presentation with the client.
2. Reinforce your support commitment, response time and quality assurance.
3. Have you done well selling into one or more areas of the organization? If so, it is time to map out the rest of the organization and key contacts with each division. Connect with each of them and/or get referrals and introductions.

If your business is primarily a service-based sales operation, Lang offers these 3 recommendations:

1. Have you done a customer survey lately? If not, put together a survey that should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. The questions should focus on the quality of service you are providing. Its also a good opportunity to inquire about other services they may require or would perceive to be of value-adding to their business operations.
2. Are your customers using competitive services along with yours? If so, find out how happy they are with them and see if there is an opportunity to add greater value to their business.
3. If you offer services that your clients use frequently look to offer them a services agreement for a year at a discounted rate. This will provide you predictability and consistency over the next 12 months.

These are just a few simple recommendations to leverage your CRM system to maximize your client base. But, just a few simple steps to further leverage your CRM system can make a profound impact on your sales.

Australian Chris

Revisiting the Roots...

Recently I went on a ten day trip back home to Canada and as usual was reverse culture shocked by a number of different things extending from extreme customer service standards ranging from exemplary to downright poor. A lot of this stems from Canadian culture being a lot more direct with actions often seeming dependant on the mood of the service provider. This mind you is on the micro scale and relating to services at or within restaurants, gas stations, ticket kiosks, clothing stores etc. These interactions contrast highly with that of Japan in that these low level service opportunities are almost always at an extremely high level of service. To make this point simpler to understand, just walk into a MacDonald’s here in Japan and do a mental comparison about how that situation would differ in your home country. This notion is not something new and is a point I touched upon in an earlier blog upon reading Tim Clark and Carl Kay’s book Saying Yes to Japan. I suppose that visiting one’s home and experiencing it yet again one is struck by how true this.

These thoughts led me to the other points Clark and Kay drive home of which they state the higher end services are usually at a much higher level outside of Japan. It seems that as the transaction values go up along with the customer’s stake in the transaction the service levels go south. This is where the opportunities lie for those willing to dig below the surface. A few more interesting points that were raised in the book mention that successful foreign entrepreneurs exhibited five traits that seemed to give them an edge within Japan. These included:

1) propensity for risk taking
2) flexibility
3) customer focus
4) tech driven speed
5) professionalism

As you can see these points are not rocket science or difficult to build CRM systems around however for many Japanese businesses certain aspects are inherently difficult to master just as it would be within say America to replicate distinctly Japanese traits. In particular the propensity for risk taking would certainly be a major obstacle for a number of Japanese.

My point thus far centers on this notion of recognizing these differences and what that can mean for you or your business whether or not it is mobile related. The challenge of course is the recognition of POG/SOG’s –product/service opportunity gaps—and in order to do this one must routinely be questioning commonly accepted practices as to whether or not true value is being delivered to the end user.

I understand that these points about finding gaps and delivering value, customer focus etc. which I raised in this particular blog are not new or particularly flashy. They are the crux of basic business study and central themes of a myriad of books put out each year. My point and one that I strongly feel should not be lost is that these basic points need to be acknowledged at all times and how context or culture, to be more specific can really rattle these notions thus creating opportunities for those on the look out. As always I invite comments or thoughts!

Canadian Chris

“To be On-deck or Off-deck? That is the question…”

Recently I have been pondering the exponential growth of the mobile market here in Japan. It’s one of those things that if you think about for too long it can really excite you or scare you depending on your nature and your inherent love or hate towards technology. The number of changes on the way in terms of the way we currently live and structure our lives are undoubtedly many. I personally get very excited by this and the opportunities that are surely to abound. As do a number of mobile support marketing and mobile CRM software/application companies I am sure. To get a good taste of this, one need not look much further than what is happening on the streets of Seoul or Tokyo. Those two particular cities have their fair share of early adopters which are leading the way towards what you and I may soon be doing with our keitai’s in a new way a year from now.
As I thought about this topic a little more and here in Japan in particular I was struck by a bit of a dilemma for new start-up mobile application based companies who wish to tap this market and enter this frenzied game with a mobile based website. Those companies have a big decision to make between creating a site on-deck versus off-deck. For those of you unfamiliar with the terminology, on-deck simply refers to registering one’s site with an official carrier and having the site listed as part of their official line up. Off-deck site creation is the foregoing of this formal registration and simply creating your site on the mobile web. The differences are huge and something I would like to partially explore in this blog entry.
From past research and calls made to both carriers and companies specializing in the creation of off-deck sites I came across a number of distinguishing differences. Below are some of the highlighted differences:

Time and Costs: On deck sites require individual formal registration across each operator with separate fees. These costs on the cheaper end can run upwards of 3 to 5 million yen for a basic mobile site along with the formal registration costs. Not to mention the lengthy time needed for the site to be evaluated and approved. Off-deck on the other hand can be thrown up as fast as you can put it together for as cheap as you wish pending your site development needs.

PV`s: At this point according to calls made to leading mobile site development companies like Infinitia on deck sites offer high reliability and thus higher PV`s due to the inherent formalities of registering the site. Also if your company requires formal payment and bill collection the carriers can also do this for you. That aspect alone definitely makes a difference and knocks down a huge barrier between you and your customer. As we all know trust issues are huge in business however I would like to add that this factor can be especially important here in Japan.

On the other hand, nowadays the youth in Japan are beginning to initiate their searches off deck and by-passing the operators. Already, Japanese teens 13-19 prefer searching using mobile search in 70.1% of cases versus official mobile carrier listings in 47.1%. (Source: CNET Japan, May 2007) One can only assume that this trend will accelerate with internet search engine giant Google entering the mobile world here in Japan recently.

Future Trends: With the sheer numbers of off-deck sites versus on-deck one is inclined to think that the future of these walled gardens offered by operators will soon be a thing of the past. Looking at Docomo's i-Mode and we are already seeing a shift. Roughly 70% of the traffic is moving off-deck with 30% staying on. (Source: Infinitia--Japan Case Study: Mobile 2.0 and the Next Generation of of Mobile Appplications) Now If history has much to say about this along with current trends on both the web and mobile web this is a distinct possibility. The question for many is when of course.

So looking at but a few of these comparisons, one can see that there are distinct structural, technical and operational differences between both on and off deck sites. It must be noted that the list I have created here is certainly not exhaustive as issues of operator filtering amongst other key issues are not examined. But for the purpose of this exercise I thought those highlighted points I noted do illustrate some fairly major issues faced by start-ups who wish to enhance or add a layer to their CRM image or best practices.

The questions I suppose for a lot of these start-ups are what are their goals? What type of site is needed? Who is the site targeted at? How long will their site take to develop a loyal following? These answers which can be garnered from one’s business plan can go along ways towards really simplifying and making seemingly difficult dilemmas very straightforward. I invite others thoughts on this topic!

Canadian Chris