A primer for navigating the shoals of applying wireless technology to marketing problems

This paper seeks to help marketers become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the current state of wireless technology that is being applied to marketing problems.

The paper first examines successful applications of wireless technology to connect marketing applications to wireless technology. A total of 11 important issues and questions are presented to help marketers know the key points in building a successful wireless application. A glossary to clarify the acronyms is presented.

The main focus is business persons as they will create the technology environment that will become the research environment. The excitement caused by new developments such as wireless has the potential to have significant impacts on marketing practice or lead to major failures. Mobile commerce (m‐commerce) driven by wireless technology is generating interest from marketers. A partnership between marketers and technology developers is needed to create a successful application. Developers are enthusiastic and speak in acronyms and may overwhelm marketers with the excitement of an application.

The paper presents new developments such as wireless technology that have the possibility of significant impacts in marketing and organizational performance that are counterbalanced by the potential of significant failures. This changing business environment will be the environment that scholars doing research in sales and service marketing must understand in order to design relevant research studies.