Making the Most of B2C Wireless

Companies in Europe and the US have made little effort to explore the potential of wireless devices (mobile phones and personal digital assistants) as a communication channel with consumers. This is mainly because of their uncertainty about the wireless “killer applications” and the timing and capability of next‐generation wireless technologies. This article argues that they are being too cautious and that the best way to approach the opportunities is not to find a single “killer application”. Rather, companies need to identify what the authors call a “killer experience”. This should be designed around customer needs (rather than an existing industry value chain), supported by a multichannel platform. It should make the most of wireless's unique time and location advantages and involve wireless‐specific features. Existing technologies are already sufficiently advanced to make this possible. The article is based on research earlier this year.