VIDEO INTERVIEW: Mobile network operators have lots of useful customer information that could be shared with retail brands to drive new opportunities in m-commerce, said Mary Clark, Syniverse CMO, in a recent interview with Mobile World Live.
“There’s an opportunity for all three players in the ecosystem to win – consumers, operators and retail brands – but [the sharing of information] has to be transparent and something which consumers can control,” she said.
Syniverse is an established third-party intermediary allowing mobile operators – and various industry stakeholders – to connect with one another across disparate networks. Its portfolio includes financial settlement, as well as an SMS and MMS aggregation platform allowing customised time- and event-based messages to be sent across different networks.
The company, however, is now putting emphasis on ‘mobile context,’ where customer information – such as location and preferences – might be shared with enterprises so they can provide more tailored offers.
“Mobile retail is on the cusp of everybody’s thought process,” said Clark. “If I’m a brand or an enterprise, how do I engage better with my end-user through mobile? What’s my strategy?”
The Syniverse CMO conceded it’s still early days for mobile context, although one thing is clear: customers have to opt-in to share their personal information and preferences, as well as have a clear idea about how that data will be used.
“There can’t be any ambiguity about that, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be figured out,” said Clark. “It’s all about innovation and finding ways to make that happen.”
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