Customer Relationship Management

What does Google TV aim at? Well, by combining the power of the internet with the comfort of watching TV on a large screen and not just a small monitor, it aims to bring comfort and convenience to the user. What this means is that people will no longer have to watch a programme on TV and then have to go to their laptops or desktops to watch a related video on the net. The transition will be seamless.

This also means that the advertisers have a chance to get their act together and reinvent themselves. "Every ad on TV has the potential to become interactive," Google TV Technical Director Vincent Dureau said at the I/O developer conference, where the platform was announced. "Your TV content just became more interesting." The last line is not just a marketing gimmick but is quite the truth. Imagine the possibilities; you could be watching an ad on TV and suddenly decide, 'Yeah! I could buy that!' and without actually having to get up from where you are, and without having to have second thoughts or having the time to change your mind, can actually buy it.

What does this do for the CRM space? Well, apart from the obvious effects on advertising, companies could use this platform to efficiently collect feedback. Another area that this could revolutionize is the analytics. Companies can more intelligently look at browsing and viewing patterns. These would possibly give a more clear-cut idea than traditional TRPs. Based on the acquired data, clear cut strategies to target audiences can be created and productivity increased.

Direct connectivity to call centers through VOIP could also come into play. Other services like Tele Marketing could also be taken to new heights by the advent of this interactive venture. Social networking could well be transformed with the advent of Google TV too. Imagine the possibilities of tying up facebook ads with TV content currently playing. The possibilities are limitless.

Google TV is going open source in 2011. This means that people will be free to develop applications that they feel they require. Also, the monopoly over the TV industry and the related technologies that the larger firms hold right now will be a thing of the past. No more will TV be a consumer product alone, it will be an interactive one as well. Since these are inherently paired with the Android Operating System, remote controls could be a thing of the past. Your phone may well serve as your remote control as well. Multi-tasking indeed.

Will Google be successful in this new venture? Well, success is never a guarantee but having tied up with giants like Sony and Intel, the initial signs are quite positive. Other giants, including Apple, have tried but have met with mixed responses. If, however, Google do indeed succeed in pulling this off, brace yourself because the 'idiot box' just became smarter; a whole lot smarter.