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

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

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

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