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Location, location, location: Wireless data drives business success

A decade ago, wireless communications meant bulky cell phones in the hands of well-heeled executives. Today, wireless devices are a professional necessity and a personal tool for just about everybody.

August 29, 2005

Jonathan Cetnarski is the global practice leader of information products and services for MasterCard Advisors LLC, the consulting arm of MasterCard International. MasterCard Advisors offers consulting, information products and services, outsourcing and research.

A decade ago, wireless communications meant bulky cell phones in the hands of well-heeled executives. In recent years, ever more portable cell phones and other wireless devices have become a professional necessity and a personal tool for just about everybody.

Reaching consumers, wherever they may be

The migration to wireless communications creates new data services opportunities. Busier than ever, consumers seek instant information on needed products and services - anytime, anywhere. Companies that address this need will have a leg up in today's consumer market. Meeting consumer demands for information across multiple channels, while making the experience distinct from others, can enable businesses to build customer value and loyalty.

Jonathan Cetnarski

Marketers seeking creative ways to make the information experience distinctive are sending out highly targeted offerings through new communication channels.

The mobile channel, for example, is a powerful way to reach consumers because it is very personal. It is one of the few channels where consumers invite businesses in to communicate with them, by signing up for services providing information they really want to get. By understanding these behaviors, marketers can determine the best information to push out to the consumer.

Once this level of customer intimacy is established, businesses are able to provide these consumers with meaningful packages of content. Through channels such as cell phones, car navigation systems or personal wireless devices, these services may provide the location of the nearest ATM or the name and address of a preferred merchant. Such location-based services have the potential to increase consumer activation, usage and loyalty. In addition, they open up viral marketing possibilities as the consumer shares the data with friends, family and colleagues.

Creating a distinctive consumer experience

So what is behind a successful location services infrastructure and the vision for how location services can be a differentiator? Marketers should look at ways to create a reason for consumers to use their wireless devices for more than just making calls or checking emails. For example, when consumers realize they can consistently get quick access to cash by using a well-designed ATM locator, they will tend to be more loyal to the business that provides the information - whether it is their bank, their mobile carrier or their Internet service provider.

Once consumers arrive at the location they have been directed to, the experience they have at the ATM or the merchant will be a branded experience. This familiarity promotes a feeling of security and reinforces loyalty.

Location services have been developing over the past decade or so, along with the Internet and wireless information services. MasterCard first launched a toll-free number in the 1980s that allowed cardholders to enter their phone numbers to locate the nearest Cirrus ATM. Later in that decade, MasterCard brought its ATM locator service online through mastercard.com.

Two years ago, the online and offline worlds collided and the ATM location systems were merged into one, bringing everything together. Pushing geographic services to multiple platforms, MasterCard retooled its location applications using the Java 2 platform and web services. Today, each location-based capability is now delivered as a Web service to PCs at home or wireless devices on the road.

The move to the Web was important because it enabled businesses to deploy services quickly to multiple platforms. Connected consumers now have access to fresh, accurate ATM location data anywhere. Businesses are using these location-based services to offer rich and diverse content services and to market themselves to a "segment of one."

What are the characteristics of a good ATM location service? It should be Web-based, for easy access. It should let cardholders find ATMs just about anywhere in the world, anytime day or night. And it should be compatible with a range of consumer devices, including computers, phones, and wireless devices.

New role for wireless Internet
Time and investment can be minimized if a business works with an information partner to enhance its current services with new offerings of high value to its customers. The business can gain access to a robust worldwide data network, allowing it to communicate directly with customers through easy, sophisticated information solutions. This network can create robust competitive advantages, as it may be difficult to replicate across all channels, and often helps the business reach a broader national or global consumer base.

Moreover, the information partner can help the business integrate existing data and systems smoothly and develop new locations content and new services. As cellular companies tap GPS coordinates to pinpoint the location of a caller to within about 50 feet, businesses will be able to simplify the process of providing information on ATM and other location services. Customers will no longer be required to input their ZIP code or street location manually. This upgrade will lend push-button simplicity to an already convenient service.