The moderator of the Mobile Health Track is Lubna Dajani, executive advisor for Booz & Co. Eric Collins, the CEO of Montage Systems and Matt Sanders, CEO of iMetrikus, Inc. are also speaking as part of the track’s mHealth Case Studies session.
CTIA Enterprise and Applications 2010
October 5 — 8, 2010
San Francisco, California
SMS text alerts are a big hit for Walgreens Co., a $63 billion drugstore chain which puts its 7,500 stores nationwide at the center of all marketing and commerce.
“Both are growing, but text alerts are hockey-sticking — we weren’t expecting that,” said Abhi Dhar, chief technology officer for ecommerce at Walgreens.
Mr. Dhar was addressing attendees yesterday on the final day of the eTail East show that focused on mobile commerce and social media. (Please see the follow-up video at the conclusion of this story.)
Text is healthy
Walgreens is putting considerable marketing muscle behind not just the SMS program but also its iPhone® application and a mobile site created by Usablenet.
For example, the company recently ran two 30-second rolling videos on a billboard in New York’s Times Square where Walgreens has a store.
The messages on the two-story-high outdoor effort focused on its pharmacy and photo businesses.
Viewers of those spots were encouraged to order prescriptions and photos from the mobile phone and pick them up in-store.
In addition to downloading an application, these consumers were also asked to text the keyword WAG to the 21525 common short code. Those consumers who texted received a coupon for redemption in a Walgreens store.
While Mr. Dhar would not disclose the size of the mobile database, he did say that the SMS registrations were growing. So was the number of Walgreens application downloads.
“The customers want it,” Mr. Dhar said. “What we realized is that we need to educate our customers [about mobile] offline.”
Walgreens has been an early adopter with digital and electronic technology.
The retailer has linked its pharmacies by satellite since the 1980s. In 1999 it put customer prescription history online and, six years later, offered online digital photo services.
Now, like most retailers in this market, Walgreens is bracing itself for a host of macro factors affecting the economy: a healthcare crisis, an aging population, 9.5 percent unemployment and three quarters of declining GDP.
With all these economic woes, consumers continue to adapt to new technology and evolve behavior.
For example, 70 percent of mobile phone owners take photos on their phone.
However, it is the multichannel aspect with technology at its core that works for Walgreens.
“A customer that interacts with us in more than one channel is at least three times more valuable than one who interacts in one channel,” Mr. Dhar said.
Indeed, most Walgreens Internet customers prefer to order online and pick up in store. That is the case for 97 percent of photo orders and 98 percent of prescriptions.
Multichannel approach
Research shows that consumers are interacting with retailers and marketers in a myriad of ways, including social media, tablets, game consoles, smartphones and browsers.
The trick, as Mr. Dhar pointed out, is “how do you, as a consumer, bounce from one channel to another and then another?”
For Walgreens, he sees multiple contacts for one transaction.
For example, the traditional ecommerce Walgreens.com site helps Walgreens customers browse, navigate, search and buy. The smartphone application allows for searching of information and inventory and purchase. The mobile site is used for price-based searches. And then these customers walk into the Walgreens store.
Mr. Dhar concluded his presentation with four points in summary.
First, consumers have changed and retailers have to deal with it.
Next, consumers think of choice, convenience and control. The definition is based on experiences in multiple sectors.
Third, mobile is an essential connecting capability for multichannel transactions.
“[Finally], there is no such thing as ‘ecommerce’ or ‘mcommerce,’” Mr. Dhar said. “Commerce is commerce.”
Final Take
Abhi Dhar is the chief technology officer for ecommerce for Walgreens.
More and more people are using text messaging and smart phones as primary forms of communications in their everyday lives. Walgreens is advancing the use of this technology with the launch of several new features including Prescription Text Alerts (powered by 3Cinteractive), a real-time service which notifies customers via text message when their prescriptions are ready. Walgreens has also re-launched its ground-breaking iPhone® application and mobile site, m.walgreens.com (information on all Walgreens mobile features and applications can be found at www.walgreens.com/gomobile).
Mark Wagner, Walgreens executive vice president of operations and community management, said, “Text alerts are a valuable time-saving tool, and [are] the latest example of how our mobile applications are further connecting the Web to Walgreens stores and pharmacies, giving customers on-the-go convenience wherever they are.”
New Walgreens mobile features include:
Prescription Text Alerts: Receive a text message from a Walgreens pharmacy when prescriptions are ready or if there are any status changes. Customers can sign up for text alerts at any Walgreens pharmacy or online at www.walgreens.com/gomobile. Text alerts are also available in Spanish
Special Offer Texts: Customers can get information about exclusive Walgreens deals and coupons via text message. Messages also provide important information and the latest services available both in-store and online. Customers can sign up through the Walgreens mobile site or by texting Walgreens to 21525 (message and data rates may apply)
iPhone Application: iPhone users can take advantage of new features and functionality in the iPhone application available through iTunes® in the iPhone App Store
Android™ / BlackBerry® Mobile Website Application: BlackBerry and Android users can download the Walgreens mobile site application from their respective marketplaces (Android App Market™) and BlackBerry App World™, providing quick and easy access to the Walgreens mobile site features
Mobile Industry Veteran to Spearhead Company’s mHealth Initiatives & Strengthen Industry Relations
Boca Raton, FL (PRWEB) April 29, 2010 — 3Cinteractive, a leading mobile platform company, announced that mobile industry veteran John Styers has joined the company as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Industry Relations. Mr. Styers will be responsible for strengthening 3Ci’s carrier and industry relationships, as well as spearheading 3Ci’s mHealth initiatives.
“John Styers has an incredible track record in the mobile industry,” said John Duffy, 3Cinteractive’s CEO. “John’s carrier background, experience and industry relationships he has in the mobile ecosystem make him an invaluable member of our team.”
Mr. Styers’ focus on mHealth will cover two areas — sales and business development, as well as industry relations with organizations such as CTIA, who are heavily advocating the utility of mHealth solutions. Mr. Styers believes integrating mobile communications into healthcare is a win for everyone involved — providing immediate improvements in patient care and dramatically reducing costs for the industry.
“3Ci’s mHealth solutions expand the dialog between patient and healthcare provider, well beyond the walls of the examination room,” stated Mr. Styers. “We are focused on solving everyday issues with the device patients already own. This includes appointment alerts, staffing solutions, clinical trial communications, et cetera.”
Prior to joining 3Cinteractive, Mr. Styers co-founded Moblico in April 2007 to provide mobile industry consulting and development services.
Previously, Mr. Styers was the general manager of the Sprint Mobile Media Network. In that role, he guided the development and positioning of Sprint’s growing mobile advertising, search and off-portal content strategies. Prior to becoming GM, Mr. Styers led the development and design of Sprint’s Messaging as director of Data Communications. Before joining Sprint, Mr. Styers was the Global Director of Operations and Finance for Crown Greetings, the mobile division of Hallmark Cards. Mr. Styers’ expertise makes him a frequent speaker at MMA events, 3GSM, the Global Messaging Congress, and CTIA.
3Cinteractive helped Interim HealthCare, the nation’s largest healthcare staffing company, improve their communications company-wide. The organization employs more than 75,000 healthcare workers and cares for nearly 50,000 patients a day.
Problem
Interim HealthCare has 300 offices nationwide. Each office relied on person-to-person phone calls and emails to notify healthcare workers of new opportunities. They needed a faster, more efficient way to share these job opportunities with the right candidates.
Solution
We provided a modified version of our Switchblade® mobile enterprise solution that integrated directly with Interim’s current office management system. We then developed a messaging interface that was familiar to staff members, easy to implement, and easy to use.
Results
The solution enabled employers at 300 offices nationwide to instantly reach thousands of nurses for job openings easily and inexpensively. In addition, it established the foundation of a system that can be used to solve additional business communication challenges.
focusing on how wireless technologies are playing an increasingly important role in the pursuit of health and wellness through the “always-on broadband to the person” connectivity that mobile technologies provide. The mHealth Case Studies session will see Mr. Styers discussing, “Innovative real world uses of mobile products and services in healthcare today“.
SMS text alerts are a big hit for Walgreens Co., a $63 billion drugstore chain which puts its 7,500 stores nationwide at the center of all marketing and commerce.
For example, the company recently ran two 30-second rolling videos on a billboard in New York’s Times Square where Walgreens has a store.
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