SMS, USSD, WAP, JAVA. Overview. Part 2.
And we continue with overview of technologies. Today let’s look at USSD. If you are not in the telecom industry, you have probably never heard that term. Let’s clear this out.
USSD.
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data. Not many people know it, but that’s how the thing called which delivers account balance when you dial short numbers like *100#. It’s an old technology, which wasn’t taken seriously and many people were simply unaware of it. Now we can see that it’s becoming more and more popular. It is often looked at as a rival of SMS. However, it can be a nice addition to SMS or WAP service and significantly increase revenue. It’s not bad as a standalone mobile service either and provides maybe the best user experience on mobile phones due to its simplicity.
Technical stuff.
What really distinguishes USSD from SMS is a session based nature of USSD. Information is not stored anywhere. It goes directly from USSD center to a mobile phone in a real-time session. It means that unlike SMS, every action is performed immediately. This hugely improves user experience as response time is almost as fast as browsing cell phone’s menu. It gives a mobile service interactivity and engagement which any other types of technologies lack.
It also has two modes: pull and push. Pull mode is when users initiate requests. (i.e. browse your service). Push mode handles network initiated requests. It can be used to notify users about any kind of news regarding your service.
Popularity.
There are no exact numbers, but you can rest assured it is very popular. It’s used by almost all operators as balance enquiry technology and used all over the world for self-care services. People are familiar with USSD and there will be no problems to get them familiar with your service.
Where do you get your money from?
You can set price for using a service as a whole or charge clients for every click they make inside service. Both have some specifics.
To charge clients once, operator sends mobile terminated (MT) SMS to a user either when he/she enters service or leaves it. To do this you should go to aggregators which will supply this SMS. There are some issues, though. For example, a user has 2$ on account balance and your service cost 5$. If you charge when user leaves service, then he/she will actually pay only 2$. That’s why it is better to charge with a welcome SMS which can block usage of service if there is not enough funds.
The second option is to charge for requests. It removes the global aspect of a service as you need to go to a carrier and negotiate the terms of billing users for each click.
Pros and cons.
Pros:
• Interactivity. Probably the biggest plus which gives the edge over other technologies.
• Simplicity of use.
• Works on all mobile devices.
Cons:
• Actually, there are no disadvantages if USSD is applied creatively and well thought-out.
Next stop is WAP. Stay tuned.
SMS, USSD, WAP, JAVA. Overview. Part 1.
Following the previous post let’s have a closer look at technologies. You came up with an idea for a service and ready to implement it. You are green as grass and asking yourself “What technology to choose?” Remember, though, there is no ultimately right technology. Everything depends on the context of your service. We are not going to sink in sophisticated telecom terms. Just the basics you need to know in order to learn if technology can suit your particular project.
SMS
Short Message Service. The most popular component of mobile phones in the last decade. It’s a method of communication by sending short text messages between cell phones (in case you didn’t know).
Technical stuff.
It’s called short message service for a reason. The number of characters is limited and depends on alphabet. For Latin alphabet the limitation is 160 characters and for Cyrillic alphabet (Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Bosnian, etc.) and languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Arabic it is 70 characters.
SMS uses store and forward technique. A message is sent to intermediate station where it is kept and can be sent at a later time. It means that if your client’s phone is turned off or out of range he can receive message later. The message can be stored at service centers for days and months (it depends on operator).
Popularity.
In 2009 5.035 trillion were sent. According to Informa Telecoms & Media in Q1 if 2010, 1.475 trillion messages were reported. The figure at the end of the year is expected to be around 6.5 trillion. So, yeah, it’s popular.
Where do you get your money from?
There are two ways to charge money with SMS. The first one is when you simply take money straight from clients’ mobile account for every SMS they receive. Then, you share income from each SMS with operator/aggregator based on your arrangements. The second one is called sponsored service. With this one you don’t charge clients at all because your service is sponsored by another company. Usually it means that ads should be placed at the end of SMS message. The income is still shared with operators as they send your messages.
Pros and cons.
Pros:
• Highly popular.
• As a result user experience is simple and crystal clear.
• Huge amount of aggregators due popularity which helps to find suitable deal.
• Messages are stored on mobile devices
Cons:
• Your multimedia possibilities are limited by 160 or 70 characters.
• Fast delivery of messages during periods of high traffic is not guaranteed.
• Message can’t be received if user’s inbox is full.
Next in line – USSD. Stay tuned.
[photo: flickr/mangee]
How to start up mobile service.
So, you want to create a mobile service. And you have little or no idea how to do that. Well, this post might give you some information how to start and what to look for in this mobile game.
Mobilization is high as ever nowadays, you hear that everywhere and this might be the reason you decided to go mobile. Nevertheless, there are one or two things to consider before jumping on the bandwagon. Creating mobile service is a process of several steps and if correctly executed it can be a great way to advertise your current business or it can be a successful business in itself.
First of all, research market and look for similar services, i.e. competitors. How many of them are successful? What exactly makes them successful? Do you think you can offer something new or improve on existing ones? At last, is there any demand for your service?
Target audience defines technology you choose to run your service on. Technologies at your disposal:
• SMS
• USSD
• WAP
• Java
• WEB
The best way is to research the target market and choose the appropriate. Creating web site is the easiest way as you bypass carriers and simply make it at home. However, the primary audience for web sites is smart phones. You should also examine different smart phones, for example smart phones with touch screen. This means web site have to be adjusted for different devices. Significant advantage of web is that service can be accessed from any carrier.
WAP is another option where carrier is not involved and which can be accessed worldwide. It can’t provide decent, let alone great user experience, though. Few people know how to set up it on mobile phones and you need to consider its low popularity.
SMS/USSD combination is the best combination for setting up a mobile service. It gives the best user experience which is one of the key factors of service success. Remember, though, if you want to concentrate on particular local area, remember that people have different carriers. It means you literally have to start service several times. Multiply costs too.
When everything is ready and you came up with business strategy the next step is to launch service. This is where you go to aggregators. Aggregators are companies that operate independently from mobile operators and serve as intermediary. They are your destination as it’s not always easy to reach operators. Aggregators naturally want (surprise) share in your income. You don’t have to deal with operators as aggregators make contract with them and handle all issues for you.
If your service is SMS/USSD based you should get short code. Aggregators usually already have a number of such codes (CSC) for use. However, if they don’t have any or you are dealing directly with operator, obtaining CSC takes about two months. Costs may vary from country to country, typical US costs:
• One-time operator setup – $1,000 to $2,000
• Random number – $500
• Aggregator fees – $1,000 to $2,000
It takes about six weeks after submitting short code to carriers to get an approval. Service should meet carrier’s marketing strategy as users will recognize it as if its operator’s.
Don’t forget about law if you make a worldwide service. Law is different around the world so make research. For example, in some countries there is a ban of dating services, so setting one up is penal action.
Creating service is complicated thing so we’ll come back later and look more deeply at how to make it properly. Stay tuned.
The importance of being accessible.
In the previous po
st we touched the subject of how complexity and inaccessibility for ordinary people impede progress of mobile advertising.
If something is simple and catchy like top 50 chart song, it is bound for mass success.If there is one company who knows that, it is Google. They made it simple with AdWords and now they open up new lands called mobile industry. Doing it Bill Gates style, they acquired mobile ad network, AdMob, and now they are pushing the open mobile platform Android to set the global dominance and conquer the whole galaxy.
They made Android bearing in mind that time, money and simplicity are the key factors which attract developers. In 2007 the Android release statement said: “Through Android, developers, wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products.” In the first quarter of 2010 Android OS based phones ranked second among smartphone OS handsets sold in the U.S. It took Google just three years to take Android where it is now.
Android App Inventor which was released recently is a natural step for Google to attain a wider audience. Now not only a developer but any person with an Android phone can create apps using simple drag and drop blocks of code. No skills are required apart from knowing how to press buttons on a phone. Of course the end result is simple programs; you can’t make Office 2011 by putting two graphic blocks together, but still it can attract more consumers and it is something that can help Google in the war against Apple.
Now, Eyeline is following the same trend of simplicity and has something unique to offer for people who want to make money in mobile industry. Now virtually everybody with some knowledge of HTML can make their own mobile service. Granted, it is not as simple as Android App Inventor but it is something developers can use to create service of any complexity using our API. Here is the most important part of the offer: Eyeline Mobilizer (SADS) allows you to fully focus on creating and implementing ideas of your service, avoiding the need to go to operators and solve paper issues. Service can be accessed by USSD, WAP and Java.
Keep it simple, learn more about it here. And then contact us at info@eyeline.mobi.
[photo: flickr/laihiu]
Web 2.0. Where we are at, in terms of marketing.
The Web 2.0 phenomena came about around ten years ago and now it represents the Internet as we all know it: Youtube, blogs, social-networking sites, wikipedia, peer-to-peer networks and so on. People completely embraced the idea of being participants in this collaborative effort, which might be the biggest one since building the Tower of Babel.
It produced a great layout for doing marketing and business. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have several millions users. On top of that, we have services like Flickr and Youtube, where all content is user generated and shared with real enthusiasm.
The era of Web 2.0 marked the global prevalence of the Internet. To the point where virtually everybody is involved. From a 10-year-old to a 99-year-old. To some, its refreshing to know that their grandmother has her own Myspace account and is proficient with google and surfing the net. Marketers, on the other hand, find it more and more difficult to address message to their potential clients.
Indeed, with such a mixed audience it often happens that a teenager gets a Mercedes-Benz ad, while an executive is recommended to buy a designer handbag. No surprise that social networks continue to see low returns on ads. Moreover, they are now experiencing privacy issues for sharing members’ information with third-party companies. The very same companies that are eager to sell Mercedes’ and handbags.
So, the next question will be – were do we go from here? The right answer is – make personalization more personal and intelligent.
Everybody in the world owns a mobile phone. It is something that nobody leaves home without. Yet, the strange fact is – only about 6% of companies use mobile marketing.
Mobile advertising pushes personalization a little bit further and allows you to deliver much more targeted advertisements. However, it shouldn’t be considered just another method of delivering spam. The exciting thing about it is that it serves as a convergence point for traditional media and provides a channel for measuring the effectiveness of the whole marketing campaign.
How mobile marketing can help you to earn more money?
Scenario:
1. Traditional media advertisements (TV, radio, billboards, magazines) include a customer service number so that if the reader is interested in the offer, he/she can dial the number to receive information about the product or get a discount.
2.The interested customer can now subscribe to your new offer or news. This is an important point as he or she is doing so voluntarily, and it opens a marketing channel with customers, thus avoiding any legal issues.
3.Users are now engaged, and you start to collect data about them to deliver targeted ads. Not only their preferences can be recorded, but also their geographical position.
4.On top of that, it gives you the opportunity to measure the efficiency of your advertisement in traditional media, as now you can see how people react to it.
More and more companies are looking to jump on the mobile marketing bandwagon. Studies show that 56% of companies plan to increase budgets for mobile marketing in 2010. Hopefully 2011 will be the year when mobile marketing will really blossom.
USSD. Solving global issues.
The need for entertainment is always there and it is one of the main reasons that drive the mobile technology forward. Mobile phones have it all – from playing video games and watching movies to browsing the Internet. We have super fast 3G connections, we have classy iPhones, we have this, we have that.
But what about people who can’t afford all these entertaining, but in most cases, useless devices? People, who’s main concern is not entertainment but poor health, poverty and starvation? What can mobile technology offer them on a global scale?
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation currently holding The Grand Challenge contest in creation of services which can help to support battling with many diseases: HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, diarrhea, family health, vaccine preventable, and other neglected diseases.
Here is a list of requirements for a mobile service to meet:
- Use by non-literate and semi-literate users;
- A preference for low cost phones and small screen size;
- Unreliable G3 service, limited coverage and connectivity and frequent G2 service as the predominate service available;
- Lack of integration into larger health information system (HIS) infrastructure;
- Hardware limitations (such as battery life, signal strength);
- Scalability and sustainability for widespread deployment.
Where are these requirements coming from? Well, let’s have a look at facts:
- Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
- Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.
- The number of children in the world is 2.2 billion and the number in poverty is 1 billion (every second child).
If you want more you can read it here.
Having looked at the statistics above, it becomes clear that what mobile technology offers today, has nothing to do with the majority of the world’s population.
We are convinced that mobile technology has something to give, more than popular ringtones or fancy looking phones. It can serve a global purpose and help those in need. Mobile technology can make an extra step towards its maturity.
Mobile services are based on technology. So let’s look at the types of technology that can be beneficial to the Third World. It is clear that neither G3 nor G2 are appropriate. Are they accessible to everyone? Remember we are talking about normal and poor people, not just geeks from engadged.com.
As you see, GSM has worldwide coverage even for territories where there is no Internet. For these territories, USSD and SMS can be the only solution, as they work, even on the cheapest phones and require no setup or special skills. And let’s not forget about interactivity provided by USSD. It opens a possibility to build well organized health care applications which can establish communication with people who have no access to even the simplest health services.
We believe that we have to use what we have. Nothing new is required but we have to dig out forgotten things like USSD, which is considered an outdated technology but which in reality can solve many current global problems.
The Great iPad fever. Early diagnosis.
Yes. The new Apple device is announced and gadget freaks are smashing their heads against the wall. “No multitasking, no cameras, no flash, no this, no that” – these are the main symptoms on the Internet blogs right now. Some, though, are quite immune to the illness and draw sober conclusions about why iPad is cool.
So, why on Earth Apple would make such useless device (according to geeks) which costs at least half a grand? What is the audience for it? As always, Apple thinks different. And with iPad, they are probably thinking of your mom, dad, kids and maybe even your grandma and grandpa.
When it comes to user experience, seems like iPad is the best thing ever created, to get people with no knowledge about computers to the digital world. Browsing web, watching movies, emails, photos – all common tasks are executed in this device with ease and elegance. Your mom is likely to appreciate the slick and showy look of it. Using fingers to manipulate certainly adds to the appeal, as it significantly improves user experience. It is almost like in a Sci-Fi movie, i.e. cool as hell.
These people don’t need multitasking. They don’t need to read The New York Times and watch Youtube simultaneously, while looking through photos. They want just casually do one thing at a time, like reading a newspaper in the kitchen, or watching movie while on a train. And all that is without the complications of PCs.
Let’s leave aside comparison to Kindle – reading books is just one of the functions that iPad have, and it is not the main one. Though Apple is exploring the new market with iBooks, it is likely to succeed with it. iPad have this aesthetic appeal, as all the products that Apple designs. Ignoring technical characteristics, imagine, what your girlfriend would like more as a present, a bland Kindle or a trendy piece of glass with a lovely apple on the backside? And still, if she doesn’t want to read books she can enjoy other functions, which Kindle doesn’t have. And the price is not that different – but iPad is not only a book reader.
As always, Apple fans will be buying it, just because it is Apple. It may also be the first introduction to Mac OS for Windows users. They may finally follow the hype, as 499$ is not that much. And many people will buy it as addition to their home PCs and notebooks.
There is also this niche, people new to computers, which can be quite considerable. Creating services for them, one should follow the prime example – the iPad itself. Simplicity. The NY Times demonstrated the new app for reading their web site at the iPad presentation that perfectly represents this philosophy. Even inexperienced users can learn how to use it in two minutes. Easy and useful web sites and apps are likely to have big success with this market.
Bashing every new Apple device seems like a nice tradition. We, however, think that Stevie will again make loads of cash, and very much deserved, as iPad is truly an innovative gadget. Just wait and see.
Principal role of the USSD service.
USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a technology used for transmitting of information over GSM networks. As a session based service it can support a sequence of information exchange. It works in two modes: push mode and pull mode.
USSD Phase 1 (pull operation), described in GSM 02.90, handles mobile initiated requests. In this phase no real time session is held, as it is only able to pass information from a mobile phone to the USSD service with a confirmation.
USSD Phase 2 (push and pull operation), described in GSM 03.90, handles network-initiated requests and establishes interactive dialogue between USSD application and mobile phone. If a user don’t perform any actions the connection is released by a time out. This phase also allows to push information from network to a users’ handset.
Often overlooked, USSD technology helps users quickly and easily access information and services, and provides endless business opportunities for mobile service providers.
How does it work? User’s perspective.
1. User enters a short USSD service number on the mobile phone (e.g *100#) and press “call”.
2. USSD service receives the request and responds by sending a menu to the user.
3. The user enters a character that corresponds with his/her selection.
Usability
• Fast response. Unlike other short-message protocols which use store-and-forward technique, it offers session-based communication. Information is sent directly from a mobile phone to an USSD platform during a real-time session, avoiding SMSC in the processing path. As a result, a user don’t experience any latency while sending requests to a service.
• Worldwide access. All USSD request are rooted back to the home network. Dialing an USSD number while in roaming in another network will lead to a service which is in home network. This helps users to access their favourite services from other countries.
• Simple to use. USSD service is simple to access through practically any GSM mobile phone. A user initiate session by dialing a short code on a default mobile screen which starts with * followed by digits and terminated with # (e.g. *111#). Some of these codes request a single piece of information while others deliver a series of text menus with further navigation.
Functionality
USSD is ideal for a menu-driven applications, therefore it has great potential for mobile banking to perform such operations as balance check, account transactions, payments etc. It is important to note that USSD is not a menu on a mobile phone, but just a bearer for text selections and menus. These menus and texts are not stored on a handset or a SIM card. That’s significantly improves level of security on the users’ side as opposed to SMS messages when data is saved on a device.
Here is the other cases of using USSD:
■ Balance enquiry as alternative to IVR
■ Callback Services
■ Money transaction
■ Informational services ( weather, news, stock market etc.)
■ Voting
■ Reservations
■ Service management (activation / deactivation)
■ Notifications
■ Mobile advertising
USSD + SMS + WAP
USSD can serve as a convergence point for SMS and WAP services. As simple and straightforward service, USSD requires almost no user experience – anyone who can type on mobile devices can use it. With the help of it, service providers can encourage users to visit WAP sites. For example, USSD can respond to a user’s request with an SMS, which can contain a WAP link. This link may lead to a WAP site that is somehow connected with the USSD service which is being used.
Key Benefits
For mobile users:
• Simple to learn, direct access from any default mobile screen.
• Fast response time.
• Supported by 99% of mobile devices on the market.
• Worldwide access to services.
For service providers and operators:
• Can be quickly implemented to existing infrastructure.
• USSD can easily engage users.
• Fast mobilization of business for service providers.
• Cheaper than sending SMS.
Mobile Marketing. Why go interactive with your clients?
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) recently updated the definition of Mobile Marketing. According to Mike Wehrs, President and CEO of the MMA, the new definition more accurately reflects the evolved nature and current capabilities of Mobile Marketing. Here it is: Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network. Great definition! We discussed engagement in the last post and it is a pleasure to hear that the new definition represents our principles, which we are using in creation of solutions for mobile market.
Now, following this definition, let’s talk about interactivity. Interactivity as we see it in Eyeline. There is a lot of buzz about it but why do you need it? Maybe it’s just a fancy word to milk more money from advertisers? It is easy to sink in all abstruse definitions scattered over the Internet. Reality check is needed.
Let’s put it simply – you are doing business. Business is based on communication. Being interactive, you are communicating with your customers. This is how any business is done. And mobile advertising is no different. Today when there are over 4,000,000,000 (according to UN report) mobile phones worldwide (that’s 60% of the world population), mobile advertising might be the best and effortless way to communicate with you clients.
Now let’s look at it a little more closely. As mentioned in the previous post, the first step is to engage a customer. Now when they are engaged, they are ready to listen to you. This is where interactivity kicks in. It is responsible for the next step – maintaining and developing further relationship with your clients. Now when you have their phone numbers and loyalty, you surely want to get more personal with them. However, to make your consumers respond, you need to deliver to them a valuable marketing message.
What is a valuable message? It is a relevant, targeted offer you make to your customers, based on data you’ve collected about them in their personal profile. Personal data may contain literally anything – where John lives, how old he is, what cereal he has for breakfast, what’s his hobby and favorite watch brand. How you get this info depends on your creativity. But as soon as you have it – it’s time to make a relevant offer to John. As you see, the fundamentals of business are working here in full. You know consumer needs and you make them an offer in the context of their needs. The good news are that you are now cutting back on other advertising media expenditures and you are not wasting your time reaching customers when they are already here.
Eyeline Service Delivery Platform (ESDP) comes in handy when you want to be interactive with your consumers. You may have already got personal info about customers by using CRM, polls, or services, which help to detect behavioral patterns. ESDP provides an API interface that allows you to easily transfer previously collected data. Now, when you have information about customers, you create rules, and by using these rules ESDP will automatically deliver to your consumers a marketing message based on their traffic analysis, demography, geography, preferences and what they’ve consumed before. ESDP demonstrates high performance on a low-cost hardware and it has been tested on over 60,000,000 users. Learn more about it here.
Mobile advertising without furious people and legal issues.
Mobile advertising is going from strength to strength lately. Or so they say. A recent BIGresearch study shows that consumers are not of the same opinion about it as marketing providers. 67% don’t like text ads, 60% don’t like voicemail ads, and 60% don’t like video ads. They just don’t like being constantly bombarded with shells of information they don’t need. But what’s that? Seems like Vodafone could care less, sending messages all over the place having forgotten to include unsubscribe function in their SMS. That’s why they are missing $110,000 in their pockets for being a little bit pushy. People don’t want their personal things to be used for the needs of others. They become angry. Don’t make them angry or you’ll lose money.
What else are there that marketing providers are missing? “How much money we’ll allocate for mobile marketing this year?” you are asking yourself. Now don’t look at it as one more way to advertise your products or services. Don’t use it as an alternative to TV, Internet, radio, and outdoor advertising. Be broad-minded. Look at your whole marketing campaign and use mobile technologies to unite all parts of it.
If you don’t want to be an ugly Quasimodo look-alike for your customers read on. Eyeline Call2Service is a solution for mobile advertising that provides a low-pressure way of interacting with your customers via mobile phone as well as keeping them engaged. You make them an offer and now they decide whether they want it or not. They are now controlling the situation and they are doing it for free. But you are also controlling it better than ever. Let’s have a look at how it works.
Let’s say you sell cars. You have a TV and outdoor advertising campaign going on. You place a 5% discount offer and a service phone number under it on both TV commercials and outdoor stands. Your interested customers call your number (call is free of charge) which can be automatically saved in their phonebook and get an SMS message with 5% discount which they will show to you when they decide to buy a car. There is no voice communication. They just need to dial a phone number. Oh, there is also the address of your web site in that SMS they got. So now they can explore your product in details. By the way, you can place different phone numbers on TV, stands and radio ads and see where the most of your customers are coming from, thus eliminating unnecessary expenses.
Look further. You may set that the customers will get a USSD menu instead of just SMS. There they will have several options such as the above-mentioned 5% discount coupon and a possibility to subscribe for your news and offers. They will do it voluntarily if they want. And of course there is an unsubscribe function. Now they are feeling warm and fuzzy inside. There is no reason for you not to feel warmth spreading all over your office too. You now have phone numbers and loyalty of your customers. And all these are achieved in a very delicate manner.
Now let’s sum up what you get by using Call2Service:
- Your customers are now engaged. This develops base for further interactive marketing without legal issues.
- Transparent metrics. You see from what media your customers are coming from and how many of them are responding to your ads.
- Integration with media. Mobile advertising is no more feeling lonely. It’s now an integral part of your marketing campaign.
Now you are not so cheeky with your clients and you get a couple of cool marketing tools on top of that. Stay tuned for more.
