Marketing via the Mobile Phone

The mobile phone is set to become the latest weapon in the marketer's armoury. Sometimes known as location-based marketing, mobile operators plan to use software that allows shops, banks, restaurants and other companies to send text messages and advertisements to passing phone users. Consumers who want to avail themselves of this service will need to sign up for it, but so doing often means that they will get 'bonus points' that can be redeemed against the price of goods. Sample text messages might include invitations for a free cup of coffee, to enter a competition or the offer of discounted items as a customer browses in a shopping centre. The system uses SMS technology, which lets mobile phones send and receive messages in plain text form. The main target market for this kind of service will be teenagers, who tend to be time rich, cash poor and heaviest users of the text messaging facility on mobile phones.

Environmental scanning

The practice of monitoring and analysing a company's marketing environment is known as environmental scanning. Two key decisions that management need to make are what to scan and how to organize the activity. Clearly, in theory, every event in the world has the potential to affect a company's operations, but a scanning system that could cover every conceivable force would be unmanageable. The first task, then, is to define a feasible range of forces that require monitoring. These are the 'potentially relevant environmental forces' that have the most likelihood of affecting future business prospects. The second pre­requisite for an effective scanning system is to design a system that provides a fast response to events that are only partially predictable, emerge as surprises and grow very rapidly. This has become essential due to the increasing turbulence of the marketing environment.

In general, environmental scanning is conducted by members of the senior management team, though some large corporations will have a separate unit dedicated to the task. The most appropriate organizational arrangement for scanning will depend on the unique circum­stances facing a firm. A judgement needs to be made regarding the costs and benefits of each alternative. The size and profitability of the company and the perceived degree of environ­mental turbulence will be factors that impinge on this decision. Environmental scanning provides the essential informational input to create strategic fit between strategy, organization and the environment (see Fig.2.3). Marketing strategy should reflect the environment even if this requires a fundamental reorganization of operations.

Companies respond in various ways to environ­mental change (see Fig.2.4).

Ignorance

If environmental scanning is poor, companies may not realize that salient forces are affecting their future prospects. They therefore continue as normal, ignorant of the environmental issues that are threatening their existence, or the opportunities that could be seized. No change is made.

Delay

The next response, once the force is understood, is to delay action. This can be the result of bureaucratic decision processes that stifle swift action. The slow response by Swiss watch manufacturers to the introduction of digital watches, for example, was thought, in part, to be caused by the bureaucratic nature of their decision-making. 'Marketing myopia' can slow response through management being product-focused rather than customer-focused. Management may believe that there will always be a need for made-to-measure suits, for example, and therefore delay responding to the growing popularity of casual wear. A third source of delay is 'technological myopia'; this occurs where a company fails to respond to technological change. The example of Pollitt and Wigsell, a steam engine manufacturer, which was slow to respond to the emergence of electrical power, is an example of technological myopia. The fourth reason for delay is 'psycho­logical recoil' by managers who see change as a threat and thus defend the status quo. These are four powerful contributors to inertia.