WAP as Marketing Strategy in Malaysia - An Assessment

As a fixed line technology the internet has proved highly successful in reaching the homes of millions worldwide. The WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) bridges the gap between the mobile world and the internet as well as corporate intranets. This tremendous surge of interest and development in the area of wireless data in recent times has caused worldwide in many ways and particularly in the field of commerce and trade also. In Malaysia the mobile telecommunication was introduced in 1986. The growth of cellular service was tremendous and it reached the level of 3.2 million customers within this 14 year period. By the introduction of WAP technology in Malaysia by Celcom, Maxis, and Time it has opened an another marketing channel to deliver product and services to the consumers. This has created a new interest to study the acceptance level among the users of WAP as a marketing strategy. The present paper analyses the consumer perception about the use of WAP technology as a marketing strategy. The present study was carried out with a sample of 136 consumers drawn from diversified groups of consumers of Malaysia. The study provided the following conclusions. The WAP phenomenon has led to elevated expectations among the users. The users prefer fixed internet rather than the Mobile phones as a marketing information search tool. This is due to the fact that WAP currently only able to replicate the simple information services that already exists among the consumers. The advent of higher speed and developments in other technologies may enable more compelling applications. In addition certain factors such as advertising images, social groups and government restrictions might also affect the promotion of WAP technology as well as the success of WAP marketing in Malaysia.Key Words: Marketing StrategyWAPService Strategy Assessment

Business · Halal products and consumer behavior · SMEs Development and Digital Marketing · Marketing