This is the dawning of the age of 3G phones

Speculation in the national papers surrounding this month’s 3GSM World Congress suggests the number of 3G users is set to snowball this year. Maybe its time has come, but historically we have seen that mobiles don’t become mainstream until the user experience is good enough, and whilst this is (almost) the case, 3G providers are still at base camp. Right now there’s still too much confusion about what 3G is and what it offers – partly because it’s generally still thought of in terms of the technology rather than services for customers.

Marketers should be identifying which of its component offerings are most likely to become mainstream. Once this becomes apparent we can start thinking about how to get closer to customers, while navigating that magic line between giving them what they want and being too intrusive.

Ultimately 3G will change the face of customer contact as we know it. In the meantime however, marketers need to be careful not to get caught up in the hype: if this is a new dawn for 3G, it is still only a dawn.

Graham Ellor

Head of planning

TDA

Cheltenham