There’s no denying the fact that this is the age of the smartphone, and it’s easy to accept the fact that over 80% of all adults now own one of their own personal devices. We see smartphones everywhere, and there’s no escaping that this is the direction technology is taking. As a small business, it’s important to realize the importance that mobile phones have on your company, especially when it comes to offering, providing and marketing your business is the most effective way. In short, if your business isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you’re going to be missing out on a huge range of potential customers, which equals lost leads, lost sales, and your business not operating to its full potential. Today, we’re going to explore three of the key strategies and mobile marketing techniques you need to be thinking about ASAP; ensuring you’re able to reach your target audience and boost your company’s overall revenue.

#1 - Optimize Your Website for Mobile Users

With 51% of all internet traffic processed on mobile devices, there’s a 50/50 chance that your customers are accessing your website through their phones. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, then you can be sure they’re having a less-than-desirable experience. For example, if your customers are having to zoom in and out constantly to view specific elements of your pages, the menus are overhanging the screen in certain places, and not everything fits nicely, you can bet that a large percentage of those leads are going to click off and find a website that’s easier to use. The more difficult it is for your customers to find what they’re looking for, the less likely they are to hang around. Fortunately, optimizing your website for mobile devices has never been easier thanks to the technology and services that are available. For example, if you’re website is running on the WordPress platform, there are plenty of themes out there that are automatically optimized for mobile screens. However, there are plenty of other things you’re going to want to consider. This includes the way you present your text. If your customer is presented with a wall of words, perhaps only equally several lines on a desktop, this can seem overwhelming, and customers won’t bother wanting to read through it. You’ll also want to make sure buttons; link tags and selectable items are also easy to press without pressing anything they don’t want. You’ll also want to make sure your text is displayed in a clean and readable font that’s a nice size that the majority of people can read. Other aspects you’ll want to work out is things like minimizing the use of Flash components since no mobile device will be able to run them. If you have images on your website, make sure they’re optimized in terms of size, so they load quickly. Otherwise, users with a slow data connection will have to wait for the pages to load; a waiting time many won’t stick around for. “A great technique for optimizing for mobile is by placing your contact information at the top of the page. This way, customers can easily get in contact with you as many people will be looking for this information in the first place”, - shares Nick Taylor, a marketing strategist for Origin Writings.

#2 - Enhance Your Web Presence

In many cases, customers won’t even bother going to your website, but will instead be looking for quick information so they can find you and get in touch. You may have seen on Google where you can type in a business name and you’ll be shown their phone number, opening times, contact information and their physical location. So many leads use this Google Business feature, so you’ll want to make sure all the information is there, up-to-date and correct. If you own a physical store, make sure all your social media pages and your Google Business page contains the address that can be quickly loaded into a phone’s mapping app. It’s also very easy to claim your Google Business page by following through the on-screen instructions. Once you’ve claimed ownership, you’ll receive a code in the post to prove the address is yours, and then you’ll have full control over the information in this section. “It’s also incredibly important to remember that mobile search advertising on many search engines is different to web search marketing. The ads will need to be optimized for mobile devices, and the layout can be very different”, - explains Sarah Hindle, a mobile UX professional for WriteMYX and 1Day2Write. When planning your marketing strategy, remember to set aside some of your budget for targeted mobile advertising, so you can maximize the effectiveness and outreach of your campaign.

#3 - Become a Mobile-Friendly Business

Mobile phones have made consumer’s lives far more convenient than they have been in the past, but you won’t be able to monetize these benefits if you’re not a mobile-friendly business. You have must give a read to my post on Google's Mobile first index. For example, many smartphones nowadays allow customers to pay for their items using their built-in NFS payment applications, such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay. Other platforms are also implementing this technology, such as Venmo and PayPal. This is especially important if your small business is a physical store, and customers may come in with the assumption that they can use this method of payment. If you’re unable to accept it, then you’ve missed out on a sale and the future sales this individual may have paid. This is even important if you sell through your social media pages and sell products online. Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest now also allow the ‘Buy’ button feature which allows customers to make purchases from pages and businesses without having to leave the social media platform whatsoever. While this isn’t a renowned feature of the platforms just yet, it’s a feature that could take off massively in the near future, and probably will, so as a small business, you’ll want to be ready and using the feature for when the ‘boom’ takes place.

Bonus Tip - Test to Perfection

As with all the points we’ve listed above, you’ll want to make sure you’re consistently testing each aspect of your business to ensure it’s as mobile-friendly as possible. Regarding your website, try to access your pages from multiple devices from different brands and different web browsers. As annoying as it is, the mobile versions of Chrome, Safari, default device browsers, Firefox and Opera etc. can display certain elements of your website in different ways, and it’s vital as a small business owner that you’re aware of these inconsistencies and addressing them to give your customer the best experience. The same applies to your web presence. Some businesses may have different opening hours throughout the year depending on the seasons, so you’ll want to make sure this is reflected in your business hours. Otherwise, you’ll have customers approaching you thinking you’re opening when you’re not and visa Versa, which can lead to you missing out on customers. All in all, the bottom line to remember is to make sure your customers have the best experience, regardless of how they are accessing and interacting with your business. If you can address all issues and provide them with a seamless and therefore enjoyable experience, you can maximize your revenue and boost the success of your small business.