Softbank Creates Interpretation Software For iPhone

Just came across this coolz software for iPhone. You can speak to your phone and let it translates for you to English, Chinese, and Japanese. Speeek.

It's not out yet but worth keeping an eye on this app.

Thank you!!

Dear eMarketers,

Just a short note to thank all of your for your hard work and enthusiasm this term. It was my pleasure and honor to teach you some of the key elements of eMarketing, and I hope that some of the things that we discussed will make a long-lasting impression.

I wish you all the best of luck during the rest of your time here at IUJ, and I hope to have the opportunity to work with you all again in the future!

From Innovations to Customer Behavior

One website creates new service which is called Proclivity to predict online consumer behavior.
As you know, having reliable and complete information about potential customers is very valuable to businesses in order to acquire customers by providing their expected needs what they want to buy, when they will need and at what price they want to buy the company's product and service.
Such kind of information can be provided by Proclivity for online businesses. It is rather cool.
Here is links for your further information:

http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/marketing-advertising-measures/5255564-1.html

http://www.proclivitysystems.com/

The Future of Internet Search ?

No points for guessing the right answer to the above question because if you have taken the eMarketing class and you still couldn`t guess the answer... there is something seriously wrong with your cognitive skills or you were probably sleeping in class. And for those of you have got it right ... Yes Mobile it is !

As I was googling for some information for our eMarketing Final project (by d way, Minna-san Gambatte Kudasai for your presentation) I came across this interesting link about Mobile Encyclopedia. This is still a concept and the link above explains the idea briefly, for more pics check out PetitInvention.

Just imagine if we could integrate this into our mobile phone ! My guess is... Google is already working towards achieving this in their next version of G1 phone (ok fine G2 phone )

This idea is pretty similar to what Prof Sugai mentioned in class. Remember the e.g. of wearing `nerdy` goggles and just by looking at Urasa mountains, you will get all the info about Urasa mountains on ur screen. When you look at Ann (it gives you all the info about her) and so on...

Anyways I have to get back to doing my slides now...

Value vs. Profitability

Just to recap on prof. Sugai's advice on creating value vs. profitablity. The article "Arrest Of China Tycoon Suggests Decline Of Crony Capitalism" shows how company or yourselves can run into trouble for focusing too much on profitability.

The story is quite nasty of how Huang Guangyu has created his wealth. Well, I have to admire his entrepreneurship but does profit really count when it comes to sustainable business? Giving a bribe maybe a good tactic and give you a hell lot of unfair competitive advantages. However, can you afford to bribe for the rest of your life? Who knows.

So, what I have learnt is that regardless how much profit you can generate for the company when it comes to long term success and sustainability your moral and appropriate business practice does count.

All the best years ahead ladies and gentlemen ^_^

FYI: Google Online Marketing Challenge 2009

http://www.google.com/onlinechallenge/index.html

One chance to apply our eMarketing knowledge into reality.... 

Also, for a free fantastic (?) trip to the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California.... 

Any risk takers? ;)

- Rizki

Future trend of Marketin

The most powerful and innovative way to create differentiation and increase profit is personaliztion.

A lot of people nowadays are quite familiar with Internet. By offering highly personalized information services online, companies are getting information about the customers' behavior and preferences, and more, they can provide better customized service to a specific customer. It is clear that the future trend of marketing could be personalization and customization which could get the customers' satisfaction. Even more, the marketers can track the customer's needs and segment the market so that they can better target to a appropriate specific segment.

Let's have a look at the competitive mobile age. One of the most powerful ways to personalize is location based services (LBS). Location is a valuable asset of wireless mobile. By making use of it and leveraging it to provide the users to offer value-added services, we marketers can create the most superior value propostition to our products and services which can create differentiation and increase profit.

Nowadays, we marketers are getting to realize the value and potential to make information services highly personalized to create customer satisfaction.

Future of Mobile Marketing

So far, we have learnt the basic concepts of e-marketing and mobile applications in our e-marketing class. We also studied about personalization and the importance of privacy issues. I have learnt that we are necessary to understand more on key characteristics of mobile platform in order to achieve full potential of using technology for future mobile marketing. These characteristics are:
- How to explore more on two different aspects of time and location
- How to provide contextual information related to users
- How to gather hyper personalized information
I think understanding of these characteristics and permission issues can evovle the future of mobile marketing.

(Ref: Unwired Business - Key Issues in Mobile Marketing Permission and Acceptance by Barnes and Scornavacca)

Location Based Social Networking

I think it would be very interesting once this takes off. Imagine, you are supposed to meet your friend but you are in a new place. Traditionally you would just agree on a well known landmark. But face it, even then you will be searching high and low (your friend could be on the west side of the landmark while you are on the east end) while exchaging "I'm here, where are you"s on the phone.

Now imagine, flip out your phone, connect to Loopt (one of the LB Social Networking software for iPhone) and look for the little moving purple dot/arrow (that has yet to reach the aforementioned landmark at the aforementioned time) that represents your friend on a virtual map. Handy right?

Read more about the features of Loopt and other softwares by clicking here

I'm sure it opens to alot of doors as well - both good and bad. Tracking your children for safety to stalking your object of desire.

What do you guys think?

Customer support

In eMarketing classes, we have learned how to make customers loyal. I understand the procedures of attracting, aquiring and maintain customers. I realy was interested in each companie's effort to provide better support to customers. After last class, I chatted with IKEA's Anna. She often answered correctly. Until this lecture, I did not care so much about after support.
When I think back my job, certainly customer support was one of the most difficult issue. Requests from them were quite various depends on his/her personality. Someone required quick response, someone did accuracy, or both of them! There were some nasty questions..
I know reducing manpower of customers support is important to expand company's profit. Actually, in the past, we tried to share solved Q&A with my team members, but it did not work enough. Microsoft became de facto standard; however, it is also famous for its useless customer support. I realize that to develop efficient customer support system is important to prevent this kinds of notoriety and to maintain customers.

Thanks,
Tom