Location alone does not create a mobile concierge for travellers

I've stated previously in this blog that airlines and travel companies have a big advantage when it comes to delivering mobile services to travellers. The other day someone asked me if GPS technology in newer phones would erode this advantage by allowing network operators, mobile search providers and the like to understand the traveller's location ... enabling them to use this knowledge to deliver an equally good mobile concierge service.

My answer was: "is knowing location enough to deliver a compelling mobile concierge service?"

When discussing mobile-advertising, Peggy Anne Salz of MSearch Groove states: "location is a must-have ingredient in the mix (and the industry is with me on this one); however, I also contend that other context information such as profile, preference and past purchasing behaviour are also essential."

I'd contend that this isn't just true for advertising but for other mobile-experiences too - including travel.

For example:

• Knowing location you might know that I was in the UK travelling along the M4 from Reading toward London. At some point I will go past Heathrow Airport. But does location tell you if I'm trying to catch a flight? Does location tell you what time my flight departs? Does location tell you that I'm running late and that the delay ahead means I could miss my flight?


• Knowing location you might know I'm in Barcelona, and that I'm roaming, so you can deduce that I'm travelling. But does location tell you if I'm in Barcelona for business or pleasure? Does location tell you how long I'll be staying in Barcelona? Does location tell you if I'll need to book a restaurant tonight or if I'll need to book transport back to the airport?

Don't get me wrong. Location is a critical ingredient in the mobile travel technology mix. But, it is only one ingredient. GPS technology in new phones offers us a high-resolution view of location ... but without knowledge of time and of context you only get part of the picture.

With their knowledge of the traveller's itinerary captured through the booking process, airlines and travel companies understand time, location, and context. And, it is time, location, and context together that allow us to provide travellers with the most relevant, most compelling mobile concierge service.

Why airlines need 2 mobile web-sites

When airlines develop a mobile version of their web-site, they should consider offering 2 versions:

1. for travellers who are on the move
   
2. for other types of user
   

Many airlines have released, or are working on, mobile web-sites. Many of these projects seem to be IT, rather than business driven, in that they simply expose existing Internet functionality to a mobile phone.

Typical content within an airline mobile web-site includes:

• Manage my booking


• View my frequent flyer points total


• Check flight schedules


• Check current flight status


• Make a new booking

But, who is the target user for this mobile web-content and when will they use it?

In our recently published e-book, we suggested that an airline's mobile strategy should be closely aligned with its customer communication strategy. So, a mobile-web project should be business driven and should start by considering the needs of the user communities its designed to serve.

So, who wants a mobile dialogue with their airline?

In general, people use the mobile-web when they don't have regular PC Internet access ... so our target user communities are likely to be people on the move. These communities could include:

• The airline's passengers. When they're on the move, passengers want relevant travel-related information and assistance. The ideal mobile experience would combine the mobile concierge service we've discussed at length on this blog with the 'manage my booking' functionality.


• Meeters and greeters. People who are responsible for taking someone to or picking them up from an airport. This group includes friends, family members, and colleagues of the passenger and also private hire taxi drivers. Typically this groups is interested in flight schedules, flight status and traffic conditions around the airport.
  
• Last-minute travellers. This includes anyone who needs to arrange a flight at very short notice, including customer's who may have been let down by another airline. Typically, they want to check flight schedules and availability and then book a flight (from the mobile site or by using 'click-to-call' to fulfill through a call centre).

So, we have 2 types of user: people who we know and people who we don't know. We reccomend airlines create different versions of their mobile web-site to cater for each group:

1. For passengers, the airline knows who the person is and has lots of contextual information (from the booking data) about their trip. To provide passengers with an optimal mobile experieince, the airline should personalise the mobile site providing information about my flight, my destination, my itinerary. To direct passengers to the mobile-site, the airline should pro-actively kick-off the dialoge by sending a personalised URL embedded in an SMS or by WAP Push.


2. For other types of user, the airline should offer a generic site, which guides people to the content they need. For example:
   
   How can we help you?


• I'm taking someone to the airport


• I'm meeting someone at the airport


• I need to book a flight at short-notice

Let me know in the comments of other communities who would use an airline's mobile-site.