Today’s consumers are better connected than ever before. Is your business mobile-ready for the m-commerce revolution?
Consumer spending is going mobile, with shopping on devices such as smartphones and tablets now accounting for 51% of all UK online retail sales.
It’s perhaps not surprising considering more than 80% of smartphone owners use their device to search online.
So if you’re not providing a satisfactory mobile experience for your customers, you could be missing out.
What can you do to keep up with the pace of change?
1) Make your website mobile responsive
If your website is stuck in the dark ages and only designed for desktop visitors, it’s about time you created a mobile version of it so it’s easy to read and looks good on smartphones and tablets.
A responsive design is able to adapt to different screen dimensions so people can see information clearly on whatever device they’re using. A mobile-friendly website is now also crucial to your ranking on Google. Check with Google if your site passes the mobile test.
2) Go back to basics
Mobile customers aren’t concerned about how many “bells and whistles” your website has. Large chunks of text and videos that take an age to load are a definite no-no when trying to engage with the mobile crowd. Less is so much more when writing for mobile.
Make sure your homepage is easy to navigate, and use large buttons so mobile users aren’t all fingers and thumbs when trying to hit on a link.
3) Speed up the buying process
Consumers are increasingly making purchases on the go. A mobile visitor to your website is looking for as little hassle as possible if they choose to place an order.
If they have to go through loads of different steps to complete it, they’ll soon get frustrated and abandon the purchase if it takes too long.
Simplifying the process with a secure two-step mobile express checkout can increase mobile sales conversion by up to 30%.
4) Introduce loyalty schemes
Advances in mobile technology have made it much easier to interact with consumers on a personal level.
Analyse how your customers are using mobile to make purchases so you can deliver targeted discounts and coupons. And once you’ve got them hooked, you can retain them through loyalty schemes. The key is knowing exactly what your customers want to receive.
Geo-location marketing allows you to target mobile customers who are in the vicinity. According to Google, more than 40% of mobile web searches are for local businesses, so it’s worth getting yourself noticed online.
5) Reach customers through social media
New product announcements, competitions and high-profile events are all ways to connect directly with people on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.
There’s a massive audience out there, so it can’t do any harm to have a big social media presence.
Keep existing customers and potential new customers updated with what’s going on, but make it fun and light-hearted, and try to respond to as many comments as you can.
