Mobile Internet Has Arrived

Internet Users Go Mobile

Consumers have gone mobile in a big way. Fifty percent of all adults now search the Internet using a mobile device, such as the iPad, iPhone, or Android smartphone or tablet. Fifty percent! For those who are mathematically challenged, that’s one out of every two shoppers are now searching the Internet with their cellphone or iPad.

Nearly forty percent of smartphone owners have made at least one purchase using their cellphone. And one study showed a five-fold increase in online holiday purchases made with mobile devices.

Mobile is here. It’s big. And it’s getting bigger.

So, why are businesses slow to react? Less than five percent of businesses have created a mobile website. Half of all consumers are shopping via mobile. Yet less than five percent of businesses have created a website specifically targeted at their mobile customers.

The reality is that half of all small businesses still don’t have a website of any kind. So, it’s not surprising that less than five percent of small businesses have a mobile website. The larger the business, the more likely they are to have a mobile web presence.

Online retailers, of course, have been leading the way in mobile website development. It’s easier for the online retailer to see the direct correlation between the investment in a mobile website and their revenues.

So, what’s a business owner to do? Go mobile in a small way. (Pun intended.)

Here are three keys to taking your first step into developing a mobile website or Internet presence.

1. Incorporate “mobile” into your business plan. Embrace it as another channel for communicating with clients or patients. Include your mobile website in marketing and promotions. Find ways to utilize your mobile website for expanding relationships.

2. A mobile website is not a Mini-Me version of your main website. Don’t take your main website and try to make it small. Instead, determine the key actions or information you want to make available to mobile users and build your mobile website around that core functionality.

3. Provide mobile users with a reason for using your mobile website. Even in our iPad-world, coupons or discounts are still valued by consumers. Just ask Groupon. Information is also valued. Find out what “value” you can push to clients from your mobile platform.

Remember when building a mobile website, a limited mobile website focused on a core function or purpose is better than a badly designed rehashed Mini-Me version of your main site.

Go mobile. Your customers already are.