32561 8 3 econsultancy_xml <p>I spoke at three conferences last month and one thing that came up every time was "what do you think about email and SMS convergence on mobile phones".<br /><br />It's a subject that was in my mind anyway as my annual mobile upgrade cut in and I once again tried to figure out which gadget was going to rule my life for the next 12 months - and, surprise surprise, messaging is at the heart of that decision for me.<br /><br />Getting (and sending) emails on mobiles is getting a lot more... well, mobile-like. Contact with a lot of my friends, colleagues etc is increasingly a narrow call between messaging types. <br /><br />But for marketers, the spam bar is set far higher. I believe people are far less tolerant of unanticipated messages on mobiles than they are on their PC.<br /><br />There are also issues about content and convenience. The monthly book reivew I get from a national newspaper via email would be perfect tube fodder, except that the text version (i.e. the one I get on my mobile) says I need to view this in html... which I can't get underground.<br /><br />At the heart of email / SMS convergence is customer convenience and personal choice. Banks offering balance updates by SMS is a successful service because it is opted in (and paid for!) and has a high level of privacy and immediacy.<br /><br />In other words, the message needs to be right for the customer, and right for the way the customer sees it, whether that's by SMS, RSS, email or carrier pigeon.</p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>I spoke at three conferences last month and one thing that came up every time was "what do you think about email and SMS convergence on mobile phones".<LineBreak /><LineBreak />It's a subject that was in my mind anyway as my annual mobile upgrade cut in and I once again tried to figure out which gadget was going to rule my life for the next 12 months - and, surprise surprise, messaging is at the heart of that decision for me.<LineBreak /><LineBreak />Getting (and sending) emails on mobiles is getting a lot more... well, mobile-like. Contact with a lot of my friends, colleagues etc is increasingly a narrow call between messaging types. <LineBreak /><LineBreak />But for marketers, the spam bar is set far higher. I believe people are far less tolerant of unanticipated messages on mobiles than they are on their PC.<LineBreak /><LineBreak />There are also issues about content and convenience. The monthly book reivew I get from a national newspaper via email would be perfect tube fodder, except that the text version (i.e. the one I get on my mobile) says I need to view this in html... which I can't get underground.<LineBreak /><LineBreak />At the heart of email / SMS convergence is customer convenience and personal choice. Banks offering balance updates by SMS is a successful service because it is opted in (and paid for!) and has a high level of privacy and immediacy.<LineBreak /><LineBreak />In other words, the message needs to be right for the customer, and right for the way the customer sees it, whether that's by SMS, RSS, email or carrier pigeon.</Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2008-03-07T17:05:00+00:00 1 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Right person, right place, right time.... right environment: some thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of multichannel customer communications.</strong> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Right person, right place, right time.... right environment: some thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of multichannel customer communications.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 2253 365211 Email + SMS convergence = customer convenience false 2008-03-11T11:09:00+00:00 email-sms-convergence-customer-convenience 2009-04-29T21:54:09+01:00 2009-04-29T21:54:09+01:00 568