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

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

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

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

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

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 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

"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

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

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

Japan: A Techno Wonderland or Wasteland?

A few months ago while attempting to further acclimate myself with Japan in terms of definable business opportunities, I stumbled across a book entitled "Saying Yes to Japan: How Outsiders are Reviving a Trillion Dollar Services Industry by Tim Clark and Carl Kay". The book as the title suggests examines the service industry here in Japan along the lines of four key industries namely finance, real estate, information technology and health care services and how there is a distinct gap between the level of service offered and what is truly needed to create real value.

One of the key points articulated by Clark and Kay is that the low end services here in Japan are handled quite well compared to the west--as evidenced by the extraordinary service one encounters in a trip to the local 7-11 or MacDonald`s. However, that level of service sharply drops once the higher end servicing opportunities appear. The reason I bring this up is that in starting this blog on mobile CRM and the various CRM software applications and tools being developed worldwide, I am still seeing a distinct gap in what is available in terms of raw technological capabilities and what is currently being offered or even used within the Japanese workplace.


Japan at first glance is certainly a techno wonderland--a coin phrased by the authors of Saying Yes to Japan--in that the level of sophistication relating to technology is quite high. In particular, the technology being utilized to navigate through one`s daily life is highly developed here in Japan versus the west. From buying a Coke with your keitai (mobile phone), to watching your favorite television program, to even programming your rice cooker the examples of keitai based technological savvy are everywhere.

Things get interesting however when one turns their attention to the workplace where this wondrous blend of machinery and human skill is suddenly lost. The dazzling array of technology which pervades one`s daily life outside work suddenly disappears. In visiting local governments, one is stunned by the acute lack of fundamentally deliverable services that are either non-existent or painfully outdated. The amount of paper work one is subjected to for just about any request is extraordinary. Or looking at residential neighborhoods--which are still very connected versus that of western culture standards--and how communications are primarily via a head community centre which circulates a clipboard with the latest news, notices and event information. Visiting a local bank and noticing the fairly recent push of Internet banking capabilities as a relatively new customer enticement service seems a bit behind the times too considering Japan' reputation as a technological leader worldwide.

These points are but a few which illustrate a point driven home by Clark, Kay and countless others. Japan in some regards could certainly be looked upon as a bit of a wasteland technologically speaking. Services utilizing information technology within the workplace aimed at improving either productivity or service support are at levels which are not sufficient considering Japan`s capabilities.

Now, relating these notions to mobile CRM tools, applications and software and statistics as shown in one of our first blogs, one can see that this particular technology offers an outlet for improving or enhancing mobile customer relationships. The applications which are currently developed or are in use within B2B--business to business applications--or B2C--business to consumer applications--pale in comparison to what they could be.


Why is this? Possible explanations include the technology racing too fast for the culture to keep pace. With most large board room executives in Japan being in their latter years and the rate at which this technological is occurring, could it be too much for them to digest and apply all at once? Is the technology itself too forward thinking for even the hyper-connected and technologically savvy Japanese to apply instantly? Both explanations seem plausible, but I am sure the reasons aren't so simple or clear cut. I believe that it is probably a combination of a number of factors such as the above, along with others relating to IT infrastructure not being fully developed or proven to the degree in which companies are willing and comfortable to outlay large expenditures on it just yet. So many questions, but no simple answers.

So, is Japan a techno wonderland or wasteland? Well, it all depends how you further define that question and what the next five to ten years say. What is clear however, is that there are opportunities and that understanding what they could be is the first step in poising oneself to capitalize on them.

Canadian Chris

Why mobile CRM? (Mobile Customer Relationship Management) PART II

Why the emphasis on mobile CRM? Well, the answer is simple and all around us literally. As noted in the aforementioned post, keitai’s (Japanese word meaning mobile phone) are simply surrounding us. Just looking at the current population estimates from Stats Japan we see the current estimate as of July 2008 is sitting at 127,720,000 and then simply referencing the number of ketai’s on the market as provided by Wireless Watch Japan—103,045,300 as of June 2008---we come to realize that the penetration rate is extremely high. What this means is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find a person, young or old who doesn't own or at least know how to use a keitai. The ramifications of this simple observation are quite large in that it has opened up a new realm of opportunities for many who feel that the next digital frontier is currently expanding all around us. And to some the significance lies in that this expansion is taking place in the palm of our hands.

These facts have certainly not gone unnoticed as Dentsu—A Japanese company and one of the largest advertising firms worldwide—noted that mobile revenues exceeded half a billion U.S. dollars for 2007 and are expected to double within the next four years. Couple this with the fact that a lot of these revenues are now coming from the content being produced rather than pure advertising dollars. It must be noted however that for this type of development to be occurring the basic infrastructure must be set to promote it. From a more detailed look within Japan one can definitely see some of the pieces which have allowed for this development:

• the phones themselves are high tech (4 in 5 are 3G)


• the partnerships between the operators and manufacturers are complementary


• operators have been offering unlimited use plan packages for quite some time


• walled gardens are crumbling and operators allow this


• heightened user experiences are emphasized


• standardization efforts from competing operators
  

From this, there has been a flood of content onto the mobile in recent years ranging from mobile manga (comics) to music, to games, auctions, shopping, SNS, television to content aimed at creating and enhancing digital cash and coupon functionality, as well as that of GPS mapping applications. This device has literally woven itself into the fabric of society to the point that you are undoubtedly a bit of an anomaly if you are without. This is especially true if you are part of the youth movement.

So, with penetration rates already so high, keitai technologies constantly evolving and many product, service and content based businesses already established both on-deck and off-deck, the rules for interacting with these consumers are changing.

In particular opportunities relating to the development of mobile CRM software applications and tools which enable and enhance mobile driven sales, as well as bolster support marketing relationships are certainly increasing. The nice thing is that despite the development already taking place and the rush to get into this market here in Japan---and globally for that matter---it is still early. It is our hope that through the sharing of perspectives like these and from other users new ideas will be generated which will hopefully lead to a deeper understanding and thus better opportunities for those of us with a keen interest in mobile CRM development.

Canadian Chris

Why mobile CRM? (Mobile Customer Relationship Management) PART I

With the ongoing and rapid integration of mobile phones (keitai - Japanese word) in today's society, especially in Japan and Asia, and with marketers and companies looking for the new frontier, keitai users are the "new" consumers. The notion of "new" consumers will merely develop into the traditional term, as keitai use is becoming ubiquitous with consumers in Japan and throughout the world. Thus, with the ubiquitous nature of keitai in Japan, a shift to mobile CRM as apart of a companies overall CRM system is becoming a necessity.

Mobile CRM is one apsect or subset of eCRM or electronic CRM but slightly differs in nature. Mobile CRM or Mobile Customer Relationship Management is defined as “services that aim at nurturing customer relationships, acquiring or maintaining customers, support marketing, sales or services processes, and use wireless networks as the medium of delivery to the customers".

But, why mobile CRM? And, what is the importance?

Australian Chris