It’s Small Business Week, and as a small business owner, you probably don’t think you need to market to mobile devices. After all, your other efforts are working fine, so why bother? You’re reading this article digitally (not in print), and it’s possible you’re even reading it on your own mobile device. And, the younger you are, the more likely you are to read articles like this on your phone or tablet. In this article, we’ll discuss how a mobile-friendly website and/or mobile apps are the big thing missing from your small business.
Why Mobile?
Most people today have a smartphone—and many Millennials have had one since the average age of 10. Being connected 24/7 has become the norm, as people spend hours and hours on their phones and other mobile devices daily. If your small business fails to consider the reality of mobile communications when it comes to marketing, you could be missing out on opportunities every hour.
But your website alone isn’t enough anymore. Remember that your reputation is everything, whether it’s personally or professionally, online or face to face. Today, people notice when they have great website experiences—and are quick to criticize—or even leave if they have a negative experience. If your small business is like most, you can’t afford to deliver less than sterling service to your customers and prospects.
You’ve probably used your smartphone to visit some websites. What experiences did you have? You may have noticed that some websites perform better than others on a mobile device. Websites with poor mobile layouts make the reduced screen size frustrating to navigate. So, you’ll want to be sure your small business website can render properly on any screen. This way, you can ensure a positive experience on a desktop, laptop, mobile phone, tablet, or other devices.
Benefits of Mobile Websites
Mobile users engage with apps and websites during their commute, while also using a laptop or desktop computer, and even while watching TV. It doesn’t matter if your small business has the best products and services offered in your niche. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you won’t be able to hold your users’ attention.
You can stay in contact more easily with customers and prospects who enjoy visiting your site. When your website displays well on a mobile device, you’ll please your users and get more traffic. And, when you get more traffic, your brand improves its visibility. Google has updated its algorithms so that websites that are not optimized for mobile suffer in search rankings—and prioritizes those with responsive mobile designs.
A mobile website enables you to create a design that looks and feels consistent regardless of the device it’s viewed on. And, mobile-optimized sites load faster, which leads to a better user experience. Great user experiences are more likely to prompt users to share your site on social media. All this, in turn, leads to higher search rankings and increased exposure for your brand.
Conclusion
With a good mobile design, your small business will be able to market your products and services to a wider range of customers and prospects who use mobile devices to search the web. An unresponsive website for your small business can work against your best marketing and advertising efforts, so you should seriously consider the benefits. Your company will stand out from competitors and you’ll be more likely to increase conversions, get more sales, and enjoy higher search engine rankings.