Mobile & Digital Blog by Daniel Balfour
Early Adopter, Mobile Marketing and Technology guru
Mobile Applications: Can Fitness applications replace a personal trainer?
Sep 7th
This week I downloaded the iPad & iPhone iFitness application. Overall I am quite impressed. The app works well across the 2 devices by providing automatic syncing to ensure all my details such as weight tracking, measurements, body fat % and workouts are kept up to date across both devices. It even provides a facility for taking your ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots to display your new abs of steel. The iPhone application is easy to use while in the gym. Weights lifted as well as the amount of repetitions can be entered for each exercise after it is performed. Progress is graphed to present your ongoing results both on the iPhone and iPad app.
iFitness provides images and video tutorials of people performing over 300 exercises sorted by muscle group or body region. The results tracking makes it very easy to see your progress (or lack of progress). While this mobile application is great for those starting out at the gym or looking for some new exercises to vary their existing routine, it does not push you to your physical limit like a personal trainer would. There is also the advice that your personal trainer can give you around a healthy lifestyle and nutrition that this app does not cover. The mobile app can also be used by personal trainers to provide a convenient and visual method of tracking each of their client’s progress. Multiple user profiles can be created for this purpose.
There are other iPhone fitness applications available however iFitness has been the most popular among iPhone users to date.
Web based fitness, nutrition and results tracking system AustraliaWOW provides another supporting tool for users to build their fitness. AustraliaWOW provides a valuable service for both individuals and personal trainers. The system is integrated with BlueCentral’s mobile messaging gateway and provides personal training booking reminders and appointment confirmations by SMS. The system ensures that individuals on the go receive the notifications wherever they are. As users can cancel their session by replying to the appointment SMS personal trainers are not left with high no attendance rates.
The fitness industry has been quick to utilise mobile technology to enhance modern day fitness training. For some individuals the added information and tutorial that these apps and systems can provide may be enough to support their training needs. Of course nothing will replace the personal trainer in getting you motivated, yelling at you and working you to your limit. Well perhaps the yelling could be included in version 2.0. These mobile systems support the personal trainer as well as the individual and allow users to focus on what is important… getting fit.
View this Blog on a Mobile device. Send mobile to +61421266600
Mobile Marketing: SMS is simple and effective
Sep 3rd
Applications for SMS continue to grow in the modern day business world. No other marketing channel has the kind of reach that mobile messaging can provide. According to research by Ericsson last month global mobile phone users surpassed the 5 billion mark with handset ownership in most developed nations in excess of 100%. Today more than ever mobile is the most effective marketing channel when your message needs to be received quickly wherever you are.
SMS is showing no signs of slowing down as people worldwide have become familiar with this simple technology and marketers and business are beginning to see the value it its adoption.
There are particular vertical industries that are swiftly embracing the power of mobile.
The travel industry is a natural fit for messaging. Real-time and up to date information is often critical to a user’s successful travel plans. Flight information, cancellations, delays, flight changes or simply flight reminders can all be delivered by SMS and provide the immediacy that other channels can’t provide. This information can be complemented with notifications of last minute offers and special travel deals.
The logistics and transportation industry utilises SMS to improve service levels. The benefits are provided to both customers and organisations that implement the technology. Customers often overload customer service centres with enquires about orders and time of delivery. This work and cost can be reduced by providing updated delivery information or parcel tracking by SMS. The message can be viewed anytime and anywhere and is much less intrusive than a phone call as the message can be read at the user’s convenience.
The retail industry has long understood the advantages of direct marketing to customers and mobile has added another valuable opportunity to reach their customers and build long term loyalty. Special offers and discounts can be offered and distributed rapidly by SMS. Technologies such as SMS barcodes can provide authentication of the consumer’s exclusive offer which is redeemable in store. Due to the immediacy of SMS, a low revenue day could effectively be improved by sending a ‘sale now’ message to a database of loyal shoppers.
Professional services including but not limited to doctors, dentists, accountants, hair salons and personal trainers are taking advantage of the benefits that SMS can achieve for their businesses. Research has proven that sending an SMS 24 hours before an appointment reduces nonattendance rates. Nonattendance can be a major issue and significant cost for a business. In addition to the appointment reminder a user can be given the opportunity to respond ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the SMS to confirm or cancel the booking. This reduces costs for the business and provides a valuable service to the customer.
Marketers can use a mobile call to action to build a database of interested consumers and create successful customer loyalty campaigns. SMS is not about Spam, it is about providing targeted and relevant information, offers or content to a mobile user that adds real value.
SMS aggregators provide an important function to service all of the above industries. In choosing an SMS aggregator it is important that your provider offers a robust platform and tier 1 connectivity direct to the mobile carriers SMS centres. BlueCentral provides SMS gateways to many industries and organisations that have realised the business benefits of an integrated SMS solution.
View this Blog on a Mobile device. Send mobile to +61421266600
Mobile Banking is set to boom with 90 billion SMS predicted to be sent each year by 2015
Aug 18th
Mobile Banking or m-banking is being embraced around the globe and an in depth study by Juniper Research released on Tuesday provides some insights and forecasts.
Just over 200 million mobile phone users worldwide will have used a mobile device for banking by the end of this year. That is expected to result in 30 billion SMS alerts this year, a figure that is set to grow threefold by 2015. The reports goes on to say that banks are looking at all types of new text messaging communications on top of SMS balance alerts and reminders, such as SMS alerts for speeding up the processing of loan and mortgages applications. The main goal is to reduce costs for the banking industry by providing self service. This can be achieved by driving users away from contacting call centres and using SMS for more of their mobile business processes. It drives an improvement in customer satisfaction while reducing the cost of servicing customer service enquiries. Today over 80% of banks are already offering some form of mobile banking to their account holders.
A separate survey released by KPMG recently found that the proportion of mobile users who have used their phone for banking has more than doubled over the last 18 months from 19% to 46%.
The report did point out that some banks are still to utilise the potential of SMS mobile banking services. SMS provides a simple and convienent technology that people are familiar with and understand how to use. SMS also has the kind of consumer reach that no other communication channel can provide. Messages are tailored specifically to the account holder and are received instantly regardless of where they are.
What all this means for the banking industry is that they must engage mobile service providers or SMS aggregators who manage a robust carrier grade mobile gateway to assist with the mobile delivery. For companies like BlueCentral the banking sector is a strategic fit in a vertical market that has many growth opportunites. Mobile banking in Australia is gaining momentum however local banks are still yet to fully take advantage of the benefits mobile messaging can bring.
Further details of the study, Mobile Banking: Strategies, Applications and Markets 2010-2015 can be downloaded from http://www.juniperresearch.com/.
iPad: Digital revolution or just a big iPhone?
Aug 17th
I have given into temptation and bought myself an iPad. I’m not 100% on what I am going to use it for but I was certain I needed one.
The device does not sit under any existing category of iPhone/PDA/smart phone or even PC/laptop. Owning one does not reduce the need to also own one of these other devices. Do consumers want another device in their digital life?
Apple CEO Steve Jobs says “it has to be better at some key things: Browsing the web. Doing email. Enjoying and sharing pics. Watching videos. Enjoying music. Playing games. Reading ebooks.” Having used the iPad for a few days I’ve found it to do just that.
Surfing the web is simple and takes advantage of the usability that is associated with most of today’s apple products. It brilliantly displays photos with a quick tap, pinch and a flick.
Consuming online audio and video content is convenient and effortless with iTunes and youtube.
Newspapers, magazines and books can be pucharsed through the App store and certainly look impressive on the high resolution 9.7 inch display. This device should provide a welcomed boost in revenues for the publishing industry.
Is the iPad a mobile device? A study by copywriters Cooper Murphy Webb in the UK revealed that over 27% of iPads never leave home.
The poll also found that the majority of iPad owners use it for less than ten hours a week, despite the fact that 24% claim it is their primary entertainment device.
38% of users say the Apple tablet is their preferred device for browsing the internet, while 55 per cent of iPad owners would still rather use a laptop or desktop computer.
While take up of the iPad (or equilevent tablet PCs) will not reach the consumer penetration levels of smart phones or laptops this device does have it’s place.
Facebook now has over 150 Million people actively using it from Mobile devices.
Aug 17th
Just in case you need anymore proof that mobile web browsing is contining to grow at an exponential rate Facebook developer Yujuan Bao announced last week on his blog post that Facebook now has 150 million people actively using it from a mobile device.
This announcement has come just 6 months after the social network’s VP of user growth, mobile and international Chamath Palihapitiya announced in February that the figure was at 100 million and growing. That figure includes people using Facebook’s various mobile apps, as well as its mobile websites.
Facebook has shown the power of mobile web when it is used correctly. On mobile the user experience is critical. Websites that are not tailored specifically for mobile devices load slow and do not render correctly. Facebook is deeply invested in improving user experience with mobile websites m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com. Facebook Applications have also been developed for all the major handsets and smartphones.
SMS messaging adds another opportunity for users to interact with the social network. More than 80 operators in 32 countries enable millions of people around the world to stay connected and communicate with their friends on Facebook using Global SMS text messages. Use of SMS worldwide continues to grow as new applications are developed that utilise this technology. SMS still remains the lowest common denominator when is comes to mobile marketing and communication. It has high usablity and almost 100% compatibillity with today’s mobile devices.
Embracing the world of blogging
Aug 13th
I’ve setup this blog to create discussion, provide mobile and technology related information that will hopefully inform and entertain.