KaitAU

It’s no secret that mobile usage has overtaken desktop usage. Even in 2008, experts were predicting this would happen by 2014, and boy were they right! Today it’s no longer an option to have a mobile or responsive website. If you sell anything online, or care about your online customers, it’s a necessity.

But something else that has changed over the past few years is who these mobile users are, and why they are choosing to not only access the internet, but make purchases on their mobile devices. When smartphones were new and a novelty, people used them when they were out, on the go, or it was simply a more convenient choice than firing up the desktop. But today it’s a different story. Anyone that believes mobile users are “people on the go” might still be stuck in 2014 with those data predictions.

Consumers are now using their smartphones and tablets by choice, in their homes, with their laptop sitting right beside them. They’re becoming the device of choice, and can no longer be considered just a convenience or luxury. I am typing on my laptop at home right now, with my iPhone beside me. I decide to take a break and check Facebook. What device do you think I am going to use? Certainly not my laptop. That would require extra effort. I’d have to open a tab, and sign in. For someone who is in an office setting, that ads another layer. No one wants to get caught using Facebook at work, or have their personal information enlarged on the screen for the entire office to see. Part of the allure of smartphones is the privacy and ease of use. Typically, no one else has access to your phone. You don’t need to sign out of your personal networks, and you can be fairly certain that what you do will be private.

So even though my screen is smaller, I’m still making the conscious choice to use it. I’m now so accustomed to my mobile version of Facebook and Twitter that I don’t even recognize or know how to navigate the desktop versions anymore. I stumble and get frustrated the odd time I do need to use the regular version, which is completely backwards from how I would have acted just 3 years ago.

So as the world becomes more faithful to their smartphones, businesses need to get on board. They need to stop treating mobile optimization as a nice to have, and realize that the majority of today’s consumers are choosing to use a mobile device, even when they have other options right in front of them. Consumers are choosing to navigate on a smaller, hand-held screen for numerous reasons, and they have expectations. They expect to have a good customer experience. They want things to be legible, fast, and easy to navigate. They want to make purchases with the swipe of a finger, and make a phone call with a simple click.

If consumers have a bad experience, they’re often gone forever. If they can’t access the information they want, or easily make a purchase, they will move on to someone who can give them what they want. They won’t be back to give you a second chance. They came to your site, wanting to buy, and you let them down. It may sound harsh but it’s the truth. Luckily, there’s lots you can do to ensure you’re creating a great experience for your shoppers.

Are You Giving Consumers What They Want?

Take the time to really consider this. If you were a potential customer, would you be happy with the mobile experience your business is providing? If not, here are some tweaks you can make that should instantly have a positive impact on your customer’s experience.

-Your site needs to be fast. If someone has to wait for even 3 seconds for your page to load, it’s too long. That feels like an eternity. It needs to be instant.

-Get rid of pop-ups. While these are an effective way to grow your list and increase sales, they can often present a major hurdle on mobile devices. If it’s difficult to close it out, the damage to your conversion will be even higher.

-Enable the click-to-call and click-to-email features. This may sound obvious, but I still see it. Mobile sites that look great, but don’t have a click-to-call button. Am I seriously expected to write down your phone number, on a piece of paper I don’t have, exit out of your site, and dial the number? This is simply too much work.

-Ensure people can find what they’re looking for. This can mean different things, depending on the structure of your site. If you have a lot of inventory and choices, you want to provide filters than only require a few clicks for the customer to easily navigate narrowing their search. You need to make it easy to find things and remove all possible variables.

-Make sure the text is legible and properly fills the space. No one wants to squint, zoom or hold the phone up to their face.

-You often don’t need to include all the content from your full site. Some information that isn’t pertinent to facilitating a sale, such as that 4,000 word company history you’re so proud of. Only include the most relevant content to facilitating the sale. Also consider reducing the number of images. This will help for your speed as well.

-Give them something to get excited about. You can easily offer mobile-specific deals to try and push that sale through by creating a sense of urgency. For example, offering a 20% discount (for the next 24 hours only!) after a shopping cart has been abandoned can be extremely effective in getting that sale back.

-Make the mobile check-out fast, secure and easy. People do not want to spend their time filling out forms and struggling with their fat fingers. Make it as easy as you can. Small things like having an address suggestion through the Google Maps plugin or a visual option to click a calendar for your delivery date can go a long way.

-Change your advertising to specifically accommodate mobile devices and mobile shoppers. A campaign that works great on your desktop may not perform the same way on mobile, due to the nature of what consumers are expecting from their mobile experience. For example, landing pages and images will need to be modified to suit the layout, space and expectations for mobile devices.

-Think about the apps that your consumers are using when it comes to your mobile advertising strategies. Studies shows that consumers spend the majority of their time on a mobile device within apps, so in-app advertising is extremely effective. Don’t stop with social media, there’s plenty of other options out there.

hassanov

thnx for this oustanding article