It’s a Cell World After All!
As a Gen Xer, I can remember the days of the rotary phone and how cool it was when my parents brought home our first touchtone telephone…and when the cordless version arrived, forget about it!
Alas, we appear to be in store for the next stage of home telephone. According to a survey of over 13,000 respondents conducted by the Center for Disease Control, cell phones are beginning to take over the telephone duties for the home. Here are some highlights from an Associated Press article about the survey published in May, 2008:
* Nearly 30% of households either only have a cell phone or seldom if ever take calls on their traditional phone.
* The number of wireless-only households grew by 2 percent since the first half of last year. Underscoring the rapid growth, in early 2004 just 5 percent had only cell phones.
* The only-cell-phone users tend to be living with unrelated roommates, renters rather than homeowners.
* The telephone industry and emergency service providers will need to start adjusting to a new way of providing services to people in their homes.
The survey also points out that Generation Y already makes up 30% of this new breed of home phone users. This may stem from the large role cell phones have played their entire lives. From elementary school on, many Gen Ys have had a personal cell phone to keep them connected to their parents and friends.
With such an increase in cell phone use, the wise marketers are sure to find new ways to manipulate (for the good of all) how they reach consumers through this medium. Companies such as www.racemobile.com in marketing and www.mocapay.com in payment and marketing options are already taking making great strides in this area.
The trick, as with all successful marketing, is how companies take advantage of this new tool. Even great ideas such as frequent flyer programs and “free membership” clubs started off as powerful techniques to provide more value to their consumers…somewhere along the way though, most companies seem to suck the value right out, leaving an empty annoying shell of a great idea.
So, brave new Gen Y marketer, It’s a Cell World after all, don’t be the one to mess it up for the rest of us!