We live in an era of Mobile Communication. In the recent few years there has been a gradual multiplication in the number of companies manufacturing mobile phones. Simultaneously there has also been an equal increase in the number of mobile phone service companies and mobile solution providers. Advertisements from competing manufacturers and service/solution providers of mobile industry time and again seem to harp on the two important aspects i.e. how to target the common public and the affordable rates.

This has certainly influenced the mobile industry (mobile phones, services and solution providing companies).There has been frequent switching among customers. Instead of concentrating on building clientele in the short term the time has now come for the these companies to identify their specific and unique strengths , corporate image , brand value or service , position themselves accordingly and build long term relationship and loyal clientele among specific consumer segments.

In today's circumstances, it is imperative that communication is hassle free and cost effective. Today all over the world, the mobile industry is doing quite well, offering reasonably good products and services at affordable rates. Do you remember when the first mobile hand set came in the market? How expensive it was with thundering mobile service charges and other solutions. Comparatively, now everything seems to be quite under control and affordable. Not only mobile handsets have become in-expensive but various kinds of services and mobile solutions are also available at very cost effective rates. The growth rate of this sector is robust and beyond imagination. Different companies are coming out with innovative schemes and price benefits to consumers practically, everyday. Almost all companies have imbibed one philosophy –keep the tariff low and create a huge customer base; and profit will come through volumes.

With this philosophy of attracting customers at low tariff, almost all companies in the world offer and communicate similar services, network and of course price.

Most of the advertisements are similar and it is difficult to relate which creative goes with which brand. They are probably clamoring about the same features.

You can think yourself, when talking about basic mobile phones

What is the great difference between a Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and other mobile phone?

Yes, the difference is almost negligible. The same is the case with mobile service and solution providers. The services provided by Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Indicom, etc are almost the same. Looking at any of the advertisements of these companies the main communication hovers around network/communication and low tariffs, and not much else. None of these companies is trying for innovation in “Communication”. In order to exaggerate their product, they just talk emphatically about the network and connectivity.

The same is the case with email clients like Yahoo mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and others. All of them are delivering the same kind of marketing communications. The saddest part of this kind of communication is that they don't talk about differentiating factors which might have put their brand above the rest. At the tangible front , the consumers are basically indifferent towards the technology. They just want a product which caters to their needs and falls within their pocket. But if a company can do something so that people perceive different technologies vis-à-vis service differently, and demonstrate how a particular technology can actually give them better satisfaction, consumers will sway towards that company. Creating a perception difference through technology may not be too easy, but if it can be created, it can do wonders.

It takes time to build corporate image. It is not build overnight. It demands a lot of commitment towards the consumers. Companies should carry out continual research to find out what actually makes the consumer tick and take their services accordingly. The high churn rate among consumers from one product to another, clearly suggests that currently people do not trust and stick to any of the brands for the long run.

Brand value is not an isolated concept. Brand value develops when a company has the “Right Technology”, “Right Image” and a “Strong Consumer Pull. These three factors, in the right proportion, can create a strong brand value and difference.

The telecom industry has to offer “Service and a service with a difference”. Without proper service a mobile company just cannot survive, as consumers will soon desert it.

For example: Today, when everybody is accessing their email accounts on their mobile handsets with Yahoo mail and Gmail, Email@mobile created the big difference by offering its users a free service to create mobile email ID from ones basic mobile handset without being limited to the PC.

It actually made a great difference for the mobile population who had the need to access their email accounts but did not have a PC like the students, sales executives or senior/retired citizens to create their email IDs and benefit from the advantages of mobile email.

Thus the mobile Industry and their advertisers should therefore nudge themselves out of the narrow focus of building a huge customer base in the short term based on universal attributes. They should instead move towards developing a communication strategy for the long run that would build on their unique attributes (tangible/ intangible) so as to build loyal clientele among specific target groups.