If your company’s website hasn’t been optimized for mobile access, you’ve already begun to fall behind. Photo: ©istock.com/TommL
It didn’t take long, but according to data from multiple sources, consumers are accessing the Internet by mobile device more often than from desktop computers. This is a big deal if you’re trying to keep your pest management business’ marketing vital and effective.
If a company’s Internet presence is isolated to a PC-friendly site that hasn’t been optimized for mobile access, you’ve already begun to fall behind. This is primarily because a mobile-enabled Web presence is no longer the afterthought it used to be — as recently as 2013. In fact, mobile Internet access via smartphones and tablets (such as the iPad) has doubled the amount of time the public spends online.
There are probably hundreds of reasons why this is true, but one evident catalyst is the public’s desire to have greater control over the content they receive. They use their mobile and handheld devices to manage this kind of control.
[ RELATED: Is your company’s website passing Google’s mobile test ahead of ‘Mobile-geddon’? ]
The cold, hard truth is that marketing departments and small-business advertisers are up against statistics like these:
• 86 percent of people skip TV commercials.
• 44 percent of direct mail is never opened.
• 91 percent of people have unsubscribed from company email lists into which they previously opted.
So the question becomes, how can you best reach your customers and potential customers electronically? One answer has become increasingly obvious: Provide them with easy access to your business from the screen of their mobile device. If for no other reason, consider more than half of all mobile searches lead to a purchase of some sort.
Optimize for success
It’s important to recognize the difference between having a web presence and having a web presence optimized for mobile devices.
A nonoptimized site can look ugly and become confusing when its content formatting and usability are squeezed into a mobile device’s browser. Worse yet, usability can take a huge hit. Clicking on links to move to different parts of a site becomes exponentially more difficult when you’re trying to do it on a typically sized smartphone. So, in addition to making it look like your web design is the work of Picasso, your customers might become wary of misclicking and going to the wrong place — or worse yet, inadvertently making a purchase.
Mobile optimization means taking what you have online and essentially modifying it for smaller technology, particularly smartphones and tablets. It takes effort and budget, though. Optimization requires more than checking a box on your web platform’s list of preferences.
Speak to the individual or agency that designed your website, and ask about optimization options. Your company might even develop its own mobile app, to give your customers ease of access to do things such as schedule appointments with your company’s techs without having to make a call or speak to anyone. (Like it or not, this sort of impersonal engagement is becoming increasingly popular.)
Mobile optimization is a significant investment for companies of any size, especially for small-business owners. But just as the competitive realm of web-based marketing required business owners to leap from display ads in phone directories and go digital, mobile technology is forcing the industry’s hand once again. In the long run, it’s an investment that will bear fruit in the form of increased visibility — and a growing pool of clients who will appreciate how easy you’ve made it to do business with them.
[Sources: NewsCred, Forbes, Social Fresh, CNN.com]
You can reach Will Nepper at wnepper@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3775.
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