There are great opportunities for Business Owners who upgrade to a mobile site

Mobile internet usage is not a trend, but a reality.   Your customers live in a mobile world and expect it to be easy to find your products and services across many devices.

Now a days, your customers and prospects are on the move and often in a hurry. And it’s likely they’re on a mobile device while looking for products or services on-line. This means it’s vital you have a well-designed and well-written mobile site to make a great first impression and increase sales opportunities.

It's estimated that 57% of mobile users will leave your website if it doesn't load after three seconds. And 30% of users will abandon a purchase if the shopping cart isn't designed for a mobile device.

How are mobile sites and apps different?

An app is a piece of software created for a specific purpose. It’s built for a certain type of device or mobile platform.

A mobile website is just a version of your website viewed on a mobile device. In the early days of mobile technology, most businesses had two versions of their site: the desktop version and the mobile version. Today, well-designed websites are built to be mobile-friendly or “responsive”. A responsive site adjusts seamlessly to work on mobile devices, tablets and desktops. Mobile sites and mobile apps have different purposes. You need to understand these before deciding where to invest your time, energy and money.

Think about what your customers need

Rather than think about mobile sites or apps as tools to choose between, consider the needs of your customers first. What will be most beneficial to them? Consider where, when, how and why they want to interact with your business. This will help you decide whether you need a mobile site as well as a mobile app.

The advantages of a mobile site

1. You can reach a broader audience
   Every mobile user has access to a mobile browser. So any new customer or prospect using a search engine will be able to find your business.
2. It’s easy to publish and update content
   with a mobile website, it’s easy for you to make updates and changes to your content. Changes and updates can be instant. Apps often take longer to update.
3. Mobile sites are available across multiple devices 
   A mobile website works on any device. You don’t need to create and maintain a different website for different browsers or platforms.

4. You have flexible design options 
   You don’t need to comply with the standards, guidelines and requirements of an app store or marketplace. You just need your website, a domain name (URL) and web hosting.

The advantages of a mobile app

1. Your customers can focus on a specific task or purpose 
   Think about the common tasks your customers perform, for example, buying food, checking their account or browsing products. An app can provide a clean and simple interface that lets your customers do this quickly and easily.
2. You can provide a customized or personalised experience 
   An app collects lots of information about your customers. This makes it easier to offer them personalised communication based on their interests, location, usage, contacts and more.
3. Apps handle complexity well 
   Apps are perfect for calculations, charts or reports for your customers. For example, an app can quickly provide financial history or fitness reports.
4. Your customers can use an app offline 
   Apps provide your customers with access to your content or functions without an internet connection.

5. Extra functions are available
   A mobile app can be designed with a lot of elaborate functions. These are based on the gestures people use on a mobile device. Examples are ‘tap,’ ‘swipe,’ ‘drag,’ ‘pinch,’ ‘hold,’ and more.

Think about your business goals to get the most out of mobile

Here are a few fundamental things to consider:

• What are your business objectives?

• What do you want people to do when they find your business on a mobile device?
• What do you need to provide to get new customers or prospects to take that action?
• What are the costs and benefits for your business ?

Mobile usage surpassed desktop computer use years ago. Now it’s not just about having a mobile plan in place – but about how fast you can implement it. For more information on how to go about upgrading your on-line presence, contact Joanne on 053 9170507 or email jfenelon@rda.ie