Mobile Caller ID: Lessons in Simplicity, Utility, and Convenience

Sponsored by Cequint, Inc.

http://www.chetansharma.com/mobilecallerid.htm

This is a very exciting and promising time for the mobile industry – next generation networks are finally being launched, new handsets are being introduced, and mobile data services are creating significant opportunities for revenue growth.

In spite of the buzz and hype, the mobile industry is still faced with the old problems of providing more value to customers to reduce churn and increase subscriber loyalty and ARPU (Average Revenue Per User).  Mobile carriers are increasingly called upon to offer personalized services that recognize the unique needs of their users. 

While it is tempting to focus on new and glitzy mobile applications, the best ROI often comes from enhancements of existing mass-market features. For instance, by providing “push” capability, RIM revolutionized mobile email, by providing predictive text Tegic’s T9 made tapping keypads less painful, and by making good old voicemail visual and browsing simpler, Apple’s iPhone scored a home run.

Service providers who implement a user-centric vision will deliver sustainable competitive advantage – both now and in the future. While operators should continue to focus on long-term roadmaps and new applications and services, they shouldn’t just wait for a new market to take shape for such applications (e.g. Mobile TV) and ignore the opportunity that exists in enhancing the most commonly used mobile device features such as address book, user interface, text input, dialing and receiving calls.

Such enhancements require lower marketing budgets and less user training since these service improvements complement existing user behavior.  Operators would do well to be asking themselves not just “what will my subscribers want next?” – but “what are my subscribers doing NOW and how can I improve their current experience.”.

We need to remember that the principal motivation to buy is not the technology, but the service that the customer is willing to accept and pay for. As such, all in the value chain need to focus on the single most important aspect of any service – simplicity, utility, and convenience. Meaningful revenue doesn’t come from revolutionary applications that only a few subscribers use, but from ideas that touch the most consumers, and add value to the most user transactions.

In this paper we present the results of a user survey conducted by Chetan Sharma Consulting of a simple but compelling mobile feature called City ID, developed by Cequint, and discuss the lessons drawn from user opinions.

Table of Contents

Introduction	3
City ID	4
Survey methodology	4
Utility, Simplicity, and Convenience – hallmarks of successful applications	4
Usage and decision criterion	7
User satisfaction	9
Conclusions	10

 

Download the full whitepaper here.

Your feedback is always welcome.

Chetan Sharma