Bold sales and usage predictions about mobile consumers may still be up in the air, but there are 5 reasons why you need to think about mobile NOW.
Will mobile users really outnumber desktop users by 2014? Does mobile access equate to mobile usage? Can’t you just wait this out until mobile actually takes over? Only up-to-date research will get you the answers you need for your business.
Meanwhile, here are those 5 reasons why you need to think about mobile NOW, as well as five great questions to ask yourself just in case you’re still thinking about putting this off until… until… until… it’s too late:
Think-Mobile
1. Innovation – Could one clever mobile app change your world overnight?
Just because there’s no current app on the market that’s taken the world by storm in your particular service, retail or manufacturing niche yet is no reason to put off doing your research until there is one.
One clever and creative teenager could literally change your world overnight with some new mobile application that will either send all your customers rushing to your competitor or build their steadfast confidence and loyalty in you and your business.
In many cases, what use to take years of research, development, manufacturing, marketing, promotion, and delivery can now take only days to launch and deliver online. The mobile app that revolutionizes your niche may be here tomorrow. Will you profit or perish?
2. Research – Are you keeping current on what research says about mobile?
According to http://comscore.com, 92% of all the world’s data was created in just the last two years. If you’re not keeping up with how mobile technology is changing your marketplace, your marketplace will surely change you whether you like it or not.
To get started, simply do a Google search for “mobile statistics 2013″ or “mobile research 2013.” You may also want to search for “mobile for (your industry)” or “(your industry) mobile tips.”
The good thing about doing simple Google searches rather than pouring yourself into volumes of data is that others have already been there and done that for you.
Read their summaries, tips, suggestions, how-to, and short reports, then click on their links. That will surely save you time while keeping up-to-date. If you see something worthwhile and relevant to your industry, THEN go dive into all those statistical and demographic goodies.
Until then, just keep it short, sweet, and regular, meaning at least monthly. Things change too fast not to make mobile research a monthly habit.
Another quick research option would be to join an online networking group like the free Networking Clubs at http://socialmediaexaminer.com. Once you join, you’ll get instant access to all three Business, Blogging, and Facebook Clubs where you can “Start A Topic,” ask your burning mobile research question, and wait for input from professional members who stay current on such matters.
3. Disability – Can mobile customers and prospects actually see your site?
You’ve already invested hundreds, if not thousands, in your website and online presence. Your target customers may see your website in all its blazing informational glory from their desktop screens, but the minute they grab their mobile devices, they can’t see you at all.
Why? Older websites built for desktop computer audiences were often built with now outdated flash and other technology, rendering your beautiful website into a mess or even invisible on online mobile devices. Thankfully, a good responsive theme or an inexpensive mobile website can easily help you convert all that old non-viewable information into an updated online presence of which you can be proud.
4. Influence – Know who your most influential customers are?
No matter what you’re selling, odds are that most of your customers’ buying decisions are being heavily influenced by one weighty group of social networkers — 35-54 year old female mobile users.
They’re the most socially active mobile group online, as well as have a long-researched reputation for influencing just about every purchase made in their households, no matter who actually pays for the transaction. Know where you’ll find them? Online… actively using mobile devices.
5. Empathy – Can you offer real solutions for your customers online mobile problems?
And last, but probably most important, you need to be aware of the various challenges faced by your mobile-using customers online. While they may not be purchasing your services or products online, using online technology only to do their research before buying in person, they still need your help to troubleshoot online problems they have when visiting your website.
While this is obviously not your fault, there’s an odd psychological force at play here that should surely make it your concern. Most customers visiting your site are having a private conversation with you, whether you realize it or not.
When they have a problem while visiting you online, they associate their problem with you. No matter that you have no control over this. What matters is that you stay aware of this oddity and can offer actionable troubleshooting assistance when needed. Just a little bit of empathy here can go a long way with customers.
By the same token, mobile users expect you to know how to solve their mobile problems when visiting and researching your website online. No, it doesn’t make sense. Still, it’s something that should motivate you to stay current on mobile now so you can offer appropriate guidance or referral support to them tomorrow.
Given these 5 reasons why you need to think about mobile as it relates to your business, it’s clear that the sooner you get that research done, the better you’ll be able to handle your customers’ current and future mobile needs.
