Acquire
Exploiting the mobile phone for data capture
The mobile phone is increasingly central to consumers’ lives with SMS in particular continuing to grow as the communications method of choice. An illustration of this is the fact that in May 2007 message volumes in the UK broke the 4.5 billion message barrier for the first time. In spite of its popularity, the harnessing of SMS by businesses remains very limited and its growth continues to be fuelled simply by the need for consumers to communicate with one another. The mobile phone is the perfect mechanism with which to engage the consumer, particularly as it is location independent and something the consumer often reaches for when waiting or travelling. Capturing data from the consumer whether for research purposes or as a registration process enables offline advertising to have a “call to action” that can be responded to immediately. However, existing mobile technologies to achieve this are imperfect. SMS in its current form is limited as a means of gathering data from the consumer since it comprises simply plain text; a mobile internet session can be initiated via a WAP push but these can often be expensive for the consumer and subject to patchy signal quality.
SMS with Enhanced User Experience
Acquire is a new variant of SMS designed for data capture which presents the message in an enriched format. Powered by a small Java applet, Acquire messages appear not as plain text but structured in “forms” with data entry fields. Fields can be formatted as a drop down list allowing the consumer to scroll down a menu of variables for the chosen response. Alternatively, fields can be used for data entry with pre-formatting as alpha or numeric characters as appropriate. This means that information normally gathered on the phone via a live call centre operator can now be captured immediately and at a fraction of the cost using an Acquire message.
Designing Forms for Data Capture
In addition to the unique user experience, Acquire’s power lies in the ease of form creation through the client API. This enables forms to be constructed simply and rapidly using an XML interface with Broca. Where campaigns for research need to be built quickly or if existing forms need to be edited, this work can be done in real time and sent to the consumer as an SMS.
Using the Mobile for Advertising Response
Advertising in an offline environment, whether via TV or billboards, often lists a URL for the consumer as means of engaging with the advertiser. This makes it difficult for the consumer to respond immediately and runs the risk of them forgetting the URL or simply forgetting altogether. As a consequence, many advertisers have begun to engage with the consumer via the mobile for example inviting them to text a word into a short code. By return, they may receive a promotional item on the mobile such as a game or ringtone. However, Acquire enables this channel to be used to capture enough information from the consumer in order to establish a relationship. Details could include contact and demographic information including an email address so that they can also be invited to engage online.
Market Research and Panel Management
Online market research is a fast-growing segment of the research industry. This has not yet spread to the mobile phone, principally because of the comparatively poor user experience completing a survey using mobile internet. An additional factor is the variable quality of the GPRS signal required along with the time it takes for any given page to load. Acquire offers the immediacy of SMS but retains the richness of an internet experience. Because it is so quick and simple to design forms, Acquire is perfect for quick response research exercises. Participants receive the new form as an SMS making Acquire much more immediate than email and significantly more likely to yield a response. Data is captured by Broca’s platform and can be delivered real-time via an XML link. For managing a panel of consumers, Acquire is a highly effective means of capturing responses.
A Cost-Effective Alternative to Call Centres
For any form of consumer registration to a new service, Acquire can achieve the same result as a live operator at a fraction of the cost. Particularly where the information required is routine and requires no human interaction, Acquire can be highly effective. Where required, forms can branch off into different questions dependent upon the consumer’s response. It is also possible to route data to third parties where this is necessary.
Retrieving Data from Employees in the Field
Acquire is not limited to consumer applications. Where employees capture data in the field, this can be delivered in real time to a central office using Acquire. Applications include meter reading data or delivery confirmations. It can be used to substitute error-prone and more costly alternatives such as live call centre operators or interactive voice response. Because Acquire uses a conventional mobile phone, no special equipment is required.
The Technology
Acquire consists of two core modules. Working together, they deliver robust and high-performance end-to-end messaging, regardless of the number or types of networks involved:
Messaging and data management platform –highly resilient and infinitely scaleable to provide the message routing capabilities required to support flexible end-to-end communications. The platform is capable of routing messages between different networks and protocols, such as SMS to Email or Internet Instant Messaging, or XML Web services to MMS.
Forms overlays – are used to provide a consistent form-based interface for SMS and other messages. Form definitions are delivered securely using Acquire via the mobile network following device registration. Acquire provides an extremely simple to use form-based applet which offers the flexibility to operate with multiple input or output forms.
Key Features
The technology is easy to implement and is compatible with most current mobile phones:
Simple user interface requiring minimal key-presses
Easy configuration with version management over the air
Supports all major mobile communications protocols
Provides simple mechanisms to upgrade and deploy forms