>From Niche to Canyon

You saw the commercial ... the kids stuck in a rainstorm cram into one phone booth and call Mom. The phone rings from one location to another ... home ... office ... and finally to Mom's pager. Next thing you know, Mom rescues the kids as they drive off to domestic oblivion in outer suburbia. The selling point is: Be ultimately accessible, especially when it matters. And, what responsible parent cannot view the commercial and think, "Gee, I want to be there for my kids. I do not want them to be stranded in the rain, or lost or abducted by aliens ... I need this service." The ultimate objective of advertising is created, a perceived need.

The commercial they didn't make was the one where the harried executive is sequestered in his office, trying to finalize a report and hide out from meetings, phone calls, voice mail, e-mail and paging. This person does not want to be accessible, at least not to his co-workers. Many companies provide their employees with wireless phones, pagers, and of course, voice mail and e-mail so that they are accessible, but for many executives, this is a special kind of hell because work can find them, wherever they are. This same person watched the "hero Mom" commercial, shuddered and quickly changed the channel.

SO WHO'S BUYING IT? The question about why single-number service is a viable commodity really comes down to the strength of the market segment that is buying the service. For wireless carriers, the number one target customer is the business customer. That's where the dollars are, and in some cases, single-number service is a match:

* The traveling salesperson who is seldom at a fixed point needs to be ultimately accessible because he could literally be anywhere at anytime: the airport, the taxi, the rental car or the client site

* The executive in a start-up venture where daily business is a volatile affair, and the work environment changes faster than New York fashion

* The business with multiple offices in multiple locations where employees are on a constant commute from one location to another

* The consultant or contract employee who may not have a set phone number or location

* The highly mobile executive whose business card looks like it was torn out of the phone book's white pages. His card could list his fax, e-mail, direct, in-direct, home, pager, cellular phone and digital phone, and he wants to consolidate to one number for dialing ease.

OBJECTION The unifying theme here is desired accessibility. When single-number service was first introduced, it was snatched up by the techno-heads and gotta-have-the-newest-thing crowd, but it was not embraced across all market segments. The spin docs of the world wanted to know why this seemingly great solution to many business problems was not fully embraced.

Richard Siber from Anderson Consulting said that privacy is an issue.

"There are times when you want to be reached and times that you do not want to be reached," he said. "User acceptance and overall product awareness is an issue, and customers often balk at a product that appears complex. It must be simple to use. Plus, if the person calling a 1-number subscriber gets bounced from one device to another and finally lands in voice mail, that is only going to create frustration."

Unless you are a highly mobile customer, such as a real estate agent, field technician, salesperson, journeyman or high-powered executive, this product may not be a good lifestyle mix for you, said Peter Nighswander from The Strategis Group.

"A lot of people want to be able to unplug or separate from the office, and they do not want to be that accessible," he said. "Plus, if you do not find that you really need the service and there is not a high degree of usage, this may not be a product you are willing to pay for. Finally, it has got to be something that is simple to use and transparent to the customer. If it is complex, then it is more of a hindrance than a help."

OVERRULED It appears then that this service is undergoing a market strategy refinement as those that offer this service are retooling, tweaking and modifying single-number service to make it more appealing and user friendly.

Melissa May, AirTouch public relations consultant, said that the company might have gotten into the market too soon.

"I don't think that the consumer was ready for this product, and it was a little complex to use. So we withdrew single-number service from the market and have worked in refining it so that it is more simple to use and has a broader appeal," she said.

Air Touch has not decided when it plans to re-enter the single-number service market, but it does agree that it has merit and appeal to the high-end business customer, if not other market segments.

One of the most dynamic products available is Wildfire. Because Wildfire is an intelligent assistant, it can respond to simple voice commands. It also offers features such as conferencing on the fly. It solves one of the biggest objections to single-number service: desired accessibility. It screens your calls so that if you only want to be accessible to your wife who is due to have a baby at any time, or your partner who is waiting for word on a proposal, you can do that. Wildfire's approach has caught the attention of Microsoft and Intel, which have invested in the product. And at CTIA's Wireless '98, Pacific Bell announced that it has entered into a commercial agreement with Wildfire to produce a wireless version of Wildfire's voice-activated electronic assistant for its PCS customers in California and Nevada. PacBell plans to introduce Wildfire in major California markets by this summer.

So, it is not that customers do not value or want single-number service. They just want greater control and different price structures or product mixes.

It is obvious that the marketing spin docs and research and development folks have been burning the midnight oil to make single-number service a powerful tool. For carriers on the fence about whether it's worth it to offer single-number service, consumer education and awareness may turn a niche into a canyon.

Stroud is a freelance writer based in Overland Park, KS.

If you're thinking about offering single-number service, here is some food for thought.

Realize that single-number service isn't for everyone now.

* Price the service competitively. "You're not going to able to have a successful 1-number service that's $29.95 plus the monthly service charge," said Jeff Battcher, BellSouth's manager of media relations.

* Make customers aware that signing up for single-number service does not mean relinquishing control over where and when they can be reached.

Turn your phone off, or take your home number out of the loop, Battcher said.

* Choose a streamlined product. If it's difficult to use the service, customers won't bother with it.