By Dean Ross Eaker

There's been a lot said and written about the potential of mobile marketing and why it hasn't reached that potential. Perhaps a lot of this is driven by the news media's need for content -- self-created controversy.

I, for one, believe in mobile's future. My career has spanned several decades, multiple industries and good and bad business cycles. I think there are some core issues we should surface if mobile is ever going to get beyond a novelty.

The first, and perhaps the biggest, is that mobile is completely customer-controlled. It's the most personal medium ever invented and people feel very proprietary about who and what information they let in.

Said differently, the push model is dead. The essence of mobile is interactivity. We can't always be in broadcast mode. We must open our ears and listen -- respect the individual and act only on their expressed likes and dislikes.

This will never be a medium where people are in any way happy to turn on their phone and find an ad. This will be a medium that gains wide respect and participation if we act honorably and provide value as defined by the individual customer.

Next, we've also got to change our view of the numbers -- the economics of marketing. If we adapt the old rules -- that we can blast out millions of messages and be content with a thimble-full of response -- there will be rioting in the streets. Consumers will not stand for it.

Content has to be requested, relevant and timely, first time, every time, or we will be wearing politicians and legislation faster than you can say National Do Not Mobile Registry.

This implies great agility on our part. Each customer's need structure and their interpretation of benefit changes rapidly. We must be in lock-step.

Last, in case you haven't noticed, we are now in the age of accountability. Marketing budgets are not growing and scrutiny is increasing. Every medium and every deployment must sing for its supper. The worth and value of mobile marketing must be proved to the consumer and to the corporation.

The customer is looking for value. The corporation is looking for return on investment. And that's a tall order because mobile will not flourish on its own. It is tightly woven into the media mix -- into the fabric of a customer conversation.

Nevertheless, we must develop the metrics that show return and allow us to continually improve. Because if we look at all those reports of mobile's potential, and look to the European and Asian models as proof points, mobile is the future.

Dean Ross Eaker is founder and chief revenue officer of Wired Assets Data Corp., Greenwich, CT. Reach him at .