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ALU: Navigating the 'shifting' identity landscape
(Connected Planet Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Telecom operators spend so much time today trying to figure out
how to deliver mobile services they think users will want – as well
as how to compete with over-the-top providers that already seemed
to have cracked the code – that it might be beneficial to
simply ask those users themselves what they want (and don’t
want) in networked apps and services.
That might be the greatest value of the new book from
Alcatel-Lucent’s Allison Cerra, Identity
Shift, which picks up where her earlier book on
2.0 business, service and API strategies, The
Shift, left off.
Cerra, ALU’s vice president of marketing communications
and public affairs, launched the book today. It is based on
hundreds of hours of experiences and details expanded studies of
over 5,000 consumers across the U.S. of all ages and demographics.
We talked with Cerra about her findings and takeaways.
Is Identity the Next
Battlefield?
Cerra’s previous book, The Shift, asked the key question:
how do operators leverage the network as a development platform, in
particular how do they provide APIs of interest to the extended
mobile ecosystem? That book was one of the first to put a focus on
an opportunity that mobile operators are just now starting to
realize. What grew out of that body of work, said Cerra in an
interview, was interest in the next-generation of mobile
capabilities, including presence, profile and location. When
ALU’s researchers asked users who they trusted with that
information they responded – by a more than 3 to 1 margin
– that it was their telecom service providers they trusted
most, Cerra said.
“That led to the question: do service providers own that
coveted trust position because they haven’t attempted to
monetize it yet, or does having that position give them permission
to monetize it?” Cerra said.
It is indeed an interesting question. And it cuts to the heart
of exactly which assets that mobile operators own – be it the
customer relationship, the user bill, or this trust relationship
– can they leverage to become more prominent players in a
mobile apps/services ecosystem that has largely routed around them
up to this point.
At that point, Alcatel-Lucent’s research turned up another
intriguing data point. More than any other factor, trust was the
most important indicator of whether a customer would be willing to
spend money with a particular vendor. “What was even more
interesting was that other attributes, such as whether you
‘loved’ or ‘hated’ a brand, had almost no
impact,” Cerra said.
That’s right. While no one “loves” their telco
or MSO – at least according to conventional wisdom and
Internet user boards – they do “trust” them
enough to send them a check and know they’ll receive the
service they expect in return. That means something, Cerra said.
Specifically, it means telecom operators are seen as delivering
reliable and consistent customer service, in-tune with personalized
needs, and with options for managing that service and relationship,
she said. “All those things build trust over time,” she
said.
Gaining – and Losing
Trust
Indeed, perhaps the key capability in gaining the trust of
customers, said Cerra, is the ability to keep users in control of
their own data. That said, such control is not a one-size fits all
issue. Some users may actually want to pay to NOT let a service
providers share data. Another type of user will willingly let a
third party share data, if
they get something in return, like a customized service or even a
coupon. And finally, yet another class of users is open to actively
putting themselves out there – think a heavy Facebook user or
blogger – in essence telling the world, ‘here I
am.’
When it comes to trust, users also don’t always behave in
ways that reflect their stated values. For instance, a parent might
say they want tight control over their children’s personal
data, but then blindly click on a Web site link that shares data
without even thinking, Cerra said of one real-world behavior her
research uncovered. “There’s a strong power for
consumers to deceive themselves,” when it comes to identity
and trust issues, she said.
That makes things particularly tricky for “trust
providers,” she said. And it’s particularly important
for telecom operators, who already own a trusted position –
they must work hard to make use of that trust while not doing
anything to erode it, even unknowingly.
One way to “use” that trust is to partner with other
mobile ecosystem players, in essence lending the authority of their
trusted customer relationship to others. That’s an invaluable
asset to have, and one that mobile operators would do well to
leverage, Cerra said.
“That,” said Cerra, “is the ultimate challenge
for operators: How do you balance that trust ‘fault
line’ and make sure you end up on the positive
side?”
To end, a few more data points from Cerra’s research:
86% say they are very (35%) or somewhat (51%) comfortable
sharing information when visiting a website or using an application
they are familiar with.3 in 4 interact with people online whom they’ve never
met.66% of respondents have given their credit card information to
a site they just discovered in order to make a purchase/63% of young people in our study have “stretched the
truth about themselves to improve their online appearance and 77%
have looked themselves up online to see what others were saying or
posting about them.43% of parents say it is difficult to protect their children
from inappropriate content and offensive language online/More than half of empty nesters (61%) and retirees (51%) spend
time updating their social networking page to project the right
image of themselves/
© 2011 Penton Media
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