Going Mobile: Kevin Tigges, Microsoft Corp.

What's driving the mobility market and, in particular, the use of smartphones?
Tigges: Consumer demand to instantly track, find, know and connect with their mobile phones grows stronger every day. People want mobile access to all the information and experiences such as gaming, location, photography, entertainment, social networks and news that they now take for granted on their PCs. They essentially want to bring together the best of what both have to offer into their professional and personal lives. Yet consumers do not want a phone for work and a phone for home; they want a single phone that is connected and integrated with all the people, places and sources that they rely on each day. 

CG companies are also helping to expand the mobility market. As CG companies strive for greater control over their brands, they are taking a serious look at the role that mobility can play in boosting their efforts. In addition to connecting with consumers, they are using mobility solutions to arm employees with better tools to enhance their performance while on the go.

That's why Microsoft is going beyond looking at mobile phones as individual devices and rather as a device that can deliver a set of end-to-end experiences. It is not only about how the phone works by itself, but also how it works in conjunction with the PC and internet.

How can CG companies take advantage of mobility solutions to address today's challenging business environment? 
Tigges: There's a world of opportunity for CG companies to use game-changing mobility solutions to do things better, faster, cheaper, and with fewer resources to stay competitive, improve productivity, and increase revenue and profit margins. In addition to providing a fresh, new channel to engage consumers with their brands, mobile employees can use smartphones to access critical, real-time business information from their company's enterprise applications.

Beyond making calls, sending e-mail and instant messages, one of the most critical roles mobility can play for CG companies is to deliver sales force automation tools. Sales and marketing representatives, for example, are always in the field. They still need to know exactly what inventory is on hand and what pricing and promotions to offer customers. They can use their mobile solutions to handle this and for better in-store execution with such mobile merchandising capabilities as conducting competitive price audits and handling in-store surveys. While in the aisles, merchandising teams can snap images on the shelf, pull up planograms and analytical tools on their mobile phones, and capture in-store observations that can be rolled up into new item introduction scorecards to gauge launch effectiveness.

Mobile devices also enhance the effectiveness of merchandising teams by enabling them to intervene promptly on behalf of a brand, when needed. They can provide a fast and secure way to wirelessly communicate current shelf conditions and issues to headquarters. CG companies can then better enforce a retailer's compliance with costly brand programs or take immediate action on problems with stock-levels or competitive activity. 

With so much opportunity in mobility solutions, what are the risks?
Tigges: With employees relying on mobile phones for professional and personal use, they inadvertently open the door to security, application compatibility and interoperability risks. CG companies need to strike the right balance between providing employees with access to the information they need and retaining control over which data and applications the phone can access in their network to ensure quality, security and privacy.

CG companies can gain control by investing in mobile technologies that enable them to manage their phones with security and application policies, as well as deeper integration into the corporate infrastructure while lowering the total cost of ownership of their mobile phones. Security and manageability policies can empower IT to easily update mobile applications, modify business rules, and deploy those changes to the field. Remote wipe capabilities, for example, can erase information from any phone if lost or stolen. 

What about all the hype around mobile marketing; truth or fiction?
Tigges: Study after study shows that mobile solutions are emerging as a winning marketing channel as they provide a whole new way for companies to engage consumers with their brands in real-time. One hot area is mobile advertising. Universal McCann recently published a study showing that over half (53 percent) of U.S. smartphone users click on mobile ads while another 35 percent request coupons or further information and a quarter (24 percent) make purchases.

Companies can take advantage of this trend with our new Microsoft Tag solution that connects real life with the digital world by transforming offline media into live links of information and entertainment. Microsoft Tags are small, colorful codes that companies can print, stick or display just about anywhere: product packaging, storefronts, offline advertisements, shelf labels, digital displays, in-store merchandising, online and even video images.

Consumers can simply use the camera of their internet-enabled mobile phones to snap a Microsoft Tag, which quickly and easily sets into motion an exciting digital experience. Without having to type long URLs or text short codes, consumers can conveniently access product information, promotions, in-store specials, music, videos and more. CG companies can use Microsoft Tag to turn cell phones into "sell" phones to reach more consumers, at more times with every facet of their brand in a fun, interactive manner.

Speaking of long URLs, how is Microsoft addressing mobile user backlash about having to enter keystrokes -- as many as 20 in some cases -- to access mobile applications?
Tigges: We hear you. Microsoft is looking at simplifying how people interact with their phones by combining content and communications for a better and faster experience. Microsoft subsidiary, Tellme, just announced a unique capability due out in Fall 2009 that will enable people to press one button on their Windows phone, say what they want and get it, whether that is to send a text, make a call or search for information. 

We believe that this technology is so intuitive that there is a real opportunity for voice to materialize as the leading user interface over touch for the mobile phone. This is right in line with what consumers are demanding, and it's exciting news for CG companies that are increasingly using mobile solutions to improve the way their employees work and their brands are marketed. In a recent study conducted by Sanderson Studios Inc., more than 70 percent of respondents said that voice is superior to keypad or touch-based methods to perform some of the most popular mobile tasks such as reaching customer service or ordering a product. 

By bringing voice access to calling, texting and searching, together we're reducing 'menu surfing' on phones and making the benefits of voice more tangible for everyday consumer needs. So rather than requiring your customers or your employees to enter 20 keystrokes just to find a business or perform a task as some phones do today, it will only take one button push and one verbal command with Tellme.

In conclusion, these are exciting times for CG companies to address growing consumer demand and evolving business environments with today's innovative mobile software applications and powerful hardware options. Mobility solutions are truly ringing off the hook for CG companies. With so many unique capabilities now available, CG companies can select exactly what they need for each campaign to deliver new and valuable experiences to their customers. 

Now is the time to answer the call by joining the mobility movement and incorporating mobility as a key part of your brands' connected marketing strategy. You'll encourage brand building, sales and loyalty by delivering a dynamic experience for consumers while enabling a 360-degree view of your top customers.