Mobile technology has developed extremely quickly from a niche position as an exclusive wireless voice transmission technology to a multimedia enabled mass market product. Little is known, however, how mobile services can be used most effectively to intensify customer loyalty.

Christian Zeidler identifies the potential of mobile services for the management of customer relationships. He develops a framework that provides a technical infrastructure capable of leveraging these advantages through a service delivery platform. The author, thereby, provides a valuable tool for the integration of the mobile channel into the traditional marketing mix.

Autorentext
Dr. Christian Zeidler promovierte bei Prof. Dr. Otto Petrovic am Institut für Informationswissenschaft und Wirtschaftsinformatik der Karl-Franzens-Universität, Graz. Er ist als selbständiger Berater tätig und leitet Projekte in den Bereichen Produkt- und Innovationsmanagement sowie individueller Softwareentwicklung.

Zusammenfassung
Companies are increasingly faced with the fact that the communication habits of their customers have changed sustainably not only through the use of the Internet, but even more through the use of mobile services. Traditional marketing and communi- tion instruments are increasingly being supplemented or even replaced by the direct, personalized address of the customer. The most powerful tool for this kind of com- nication is the mobile phone. It provides a direct and interactive communication ch- nel to the customer. For numerous people, the mobile phone is no longer simply p- ceived as another medium, but rather as an indispensable part of daily life, even as part of their personality. At the same time, it is not only used for telephony, but also as a central communication and information hub. While the Internet is increasingly leaving the traditional personal computer, and conquering the mobile phone, the sending of messages via mobile phone has been a standard way of communicating, not only for young audiences. This suggests the assumption that the direct communication channel will be used strongly by marketers in the near future in order to attract new customers and provide extended services to existing ones. Since it is such a powerful tool, its use represents a particular challenge for companies as it represents the direct, sensitive connection to the heart and mind of the customer.

Inhalt
and problem frame.- Requirements derived from relationship marketing and customer loyalty.- Mobile infrastructure perspective on the loyalty framework.- The reference model for the mobile supported loyalty scheme.- Analysis of business models for the mobile supported loyalty scheme.- Reference model evaluation.- Results and recommendations.