According to comScore, “191.1 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (77.1 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in August.”
This statistic alone illustrates why having a mobile marketing strategy is so important to the ongoing success of your business.
Mobile Optimization Is Key
Optimizing the business’s website for mobile devices is a very important way to generate leads and ultimately sales via a smartphone.
As an article in Search Engine Land points out, “When considering their mobile presence, local advertisers should take note of consumers’ preference for mobile websites over mobile apps: approximately 7 in 10 consumers prefer mobile websites over mobile apps when using a smartphone or tablet. This underscores the importance of ensuring that businesses build mobile-friendly websites that consumers can easily access.” (Note: This statistic is based on data collected in 2013 as part of the “Local Media Tracking Study” conducted by Burke, Inc. The study was based on interviews of 8,000 U.S. adults conducted online and by phone.)
It is interesting to note that many businesses haven’t taken advantage of this information. According to survey conducted by Yodle in June of 2013, “A majority of small business owners don’t have a website (52%) or a mobile-optimized website (90%).”
It is important to remember that technology adoption can change rapidly, as can consumers’ preferences. Therefore, since these numbers were collected in 2013, there is a chance that they are already outdated. That said, they still illustrate the importance of mobile optimization and the potential competitive advantage that can be gained.
Things to Consider
Another Search Engine Land article points out several factors that businesses need to consider when designing their mobile website and their mobile marketing strategy, in general.
Specifically, the article points out that a majority of consumers use their mobile devices when they are not at home. In fact, they often use their mobile devices when they are in stores. This means that the interactions that businesses have with consumers on their smartphones can immediately influence an in-store sale.
Furthermore, on-the-go consumers on mobile devices are action-oriented and search with local intent.
These are all important things to consider.
But, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Businesses need to take into account many factors, both digital and physical when designing their mobile websites. For example, if most of your customers are using your website on the go, you need to consider the connection speed of their mobile devices. With this in mind, creating a website that will load quickly and efficiently is key.
Also, people who are using a smartphone tend to want information that is found and consumed quickly.
As Adam Broitman, VP of global marketing at MasterCard points out in an article on CMO.com, “Creating snackable content is critical as content is often consumed on a mobile device in the white spaces of one’s day—waiting for the train, between meetings, or any time between longer stretches of attention or activity.”
Final Thoughts
The number of consumers who own smartphones in the U.S. continues to rise.
These consumers are using their smartphones to interact with businesses in different ways than they do when they interact via a desktop computer or laptop.
Therefore, it is extremely important that businesses make sure that when consumers do interact with them via smartphones, consumers find what they are looking for quickly and efficiently.
Considering the fact that many consumers tend to gravitate to mobile websites when looking for information on a smartphone, it is crucial that websites are optimized for mobile devices.
This includes making sure that the website loads quickly and the format is visually appealing on a smartphone.
It also means that businesses need to try to anticipate consumers’ needs and provide the type of information that they look for when they are out and about.
Providing basic information about the business’s physical address (e.g. hours, location, phone number, etc.) is definitely is a good start.
But, that is just one of many things that businesses need to consider.
If a business can create a website that provides the experience that consumers expect on mobile devices, they can gain a competitive advantage over the competition that can help the business thrive well into the future.
Photo credit: Barn Images on Flickr.
