Again on the home front, when we subscribe to a home cable, each one us at home have a favorite service; each favorite is in fact a principal service to that person and all other are secondary. We all watch secondary services, either because they are principal to the others in the family or there is an interesting program on them. Both are in fact sources of focus but this does not last for very long. Here, I am inclined to quote another interesting example – a mobile phone offering games. To an adult it is a mobile phone and to a kid it is a game gadget. Given to a kid, it will coolly play games on it.  

We buy three-in-one stereo for our homes for it is a good value for money but end up mainly using CD/DVD during its lifecycle. The other two applications – cassette and radio do experience some usage because of their a priori established value proposition, which in fact also brings focus on to them Had these two applications not had a priori established value propositions, they would have remained non entities all through their lifecycles.

It is important for all those associated with mobile voice to realize that anything bundled with it is likely to struggle through out its lifecycle unless a very special focus is brought on to it. SMS has survived and prospered on a mobile phone because it first established its value proposition on a separate platform i.e. pager, before it was migrated to a mobile phone. If the text messaging had been directly introduced on to the mobile phone, it would have had a greater struggle. SMS like voice delivers a personal message and also complements its value proposition. The fact that it delivers a personal message – builds up its killer potential. This potential must synergize with the handset for it become an effective killer solution (Mantra 2 of the Six Value Mantras).

SMS as an application has considerable synergy with a mobile phone; however, what typically limits its usage on a mobile phone is its key pad, which typically excludes the older generation from using it. No wonder SMS is prospering as a secondary application among the kids, teenagers, young adults, and adults who have had the opportunity to use it during their younger years.

Interestingly, SMS is growingly elbowing voice out to become a principal application. This has been possible because voice and SMS are not diverse but address the same need – person to person communication. However, the two have co-existed because both offer different value propositions – giving the user an opportunity to expand its options.

 

Continued...