If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One?

Jay Moreno · 12th Feb 2015, 01:39 PM

Having a responsive site really only skims the surface of being mobile friendly, for me responsive is far from being mobile optimized.

The majority of the sites we do are RESS/Adaptive - if you are not sure what this is think how WordPress uses a theme.... we use a responsive theme for desktop and tablets, and select a mobile optimized theme for mobile visitors, so when someone is looking at the site on a mobile device the mobile theme kicks in and presents a mobile app type of experience instead of the desktop theme, this mobile theme just compliments the desktop theme but offers greater control over the mobile usability of the site to the site developer and also gives a much more improved mobile end user experience, for those that don't want to see the mobile theme no problem they can switch back to the responsive layout just like you can from a standalone mobile site, however thats not the case for if you are only stuck with one choice for responsive. I have experienced many responsive sites where i simply wish it wasn't responsive since the responsive experience is far from a pleasant one....

Using this approach is a totally acceptable method by Google, like a responsive approach it uses the same Urls, there is no duplicate content since it can use the same content on the same url just like a responsive site - or you can modify your content so it reads better for those people on the go, its much more lightweight than a regular responsive site since if done properly you are not loading tons of bloated code or making unnecessary HTTP request so its faster to load too. Basically an RESS/Adaptive approach takes the best of both responsive and standalone mobile sites and compliments your existing desktop site regardless if its responsive or not.

The cool thing is you can also use this approach on non responsive WordPress sites so you don't waste time rebuilding a site to be responsive all you are doing is adding a mobile friendly theme and a plugin to tell WordPress to show the mobile theme when someone is accessing the site from a mobile device..

Overall an RESS/Adaptive mobile approach compliments the desktop version of a site with very little effort. If you look you will also find most of the sites listed in the top 100 Alexa also use this method. Even Googles own search page uses this approach and you dont get much simpler than a single search field on page! lol Don't believe try expanding the Google page it doesn't change format or anything unless you access the same url with a different user agent... funny how much Google recommends responsive but yet dont practice what they preach....

However in some instances there is simply no getting away from doing a standalone mobile site - but i personally try to avoid that wherever possible.

At the end of the day there is no one glove fits all - while responsive is an extremely popular approach for mobile and dare i say "lazy" approach for mobile, it isn't the ONLY approach that's accepted by Google or necessarily the approach that is best for your end user.... a good understanding to the pros and cons of each approach will help you determine whats best for you and your clients.

Hope that helps!

Jay

Tim Franklin · 12th Feb 2015, 02:26 PM

It does make sense to optimize for mobile, (there are other methods that produce even better results) Its all about what the business needs, its not all about functionality, though there are times when its definitely needed.

Responsive is a good fit for many small business owners, but I think that its not really about the technology, at least from the business owners perspective, many do not know what a mobile site is or even if they need one. More businesses these days "think" that having a Facebook page is just fine.

"Why go to the trouble and expense of building any kind of website when all you need is a Facebook page."

Actually had this happen, recently, while working with an account, the guy just says "Yeagh we have a Facebook page" my wife handles that.

LOL, (at that point I just thanked the man for his time and went to his nearest competitor)

A week later I got a phone call from the business owner who's wife let him know how "really nice" xyz competitors website was than their own Facebook page,

I just smiled because I knew what was going to happen next.

Overall,.

I do not see a huge reason for a dedicated mobile site unless you are offering specific functionality that may be difficult to offer otherwise.

Web applications can be much more effective than a mobile website, for many small businesses.

Its all about the fit and its about making it an easy process for the buyer.

Davmac40 · 12th Feb 2015, 10:55 PM

Hi Mak25,
I have an offline business that deals in promoting small to medium enterprises and we have just celebrated 34 years in business.............. So I guess we're doing something right or we'd have gone broke ages ago.

In making this statement I'm assuming you are a trained salesman and able to paint a picture of the benefits of your mobile site..... Not technical benefits but bottom line benefits to your potential client, they're not interested in your technology.

Assuming you get the foreplay out of the way and have a satisfied client wanting to do business with you we come to price. You mention that you're asking $29 a year? Now that may sound like a good and honest price to you but I am going to get into the shoes of your prospect here:

I have taken a second mortgage on my home to set up this business, I struggle to get sufficient bookings to pay my staff and overheads, I'm working 60+ hours each week and this jerk believes he can put that right for $29 a year? No way Jose!

Take a good look at your pricing because 99% of your clients will think like the above paragraph. You've heard the sayings: Pay peanuts and employ monkeys - Or: In business what's cheap is dear. Now if you were to offer this service at $199, plus $19 a month maintenance I'm sure you'd turn it all around........... Providing you can sell.

By the way when I mentioned jerk earlier it was for effect, I certainly don't know you so it wasn't personal.

Good luck
davmac

steffanmax · 14th Feb 2015, 07:50 PM

I once tried this.. I made the mobile websites, then i contacted the companies and told them that "hi we already have a custom made website ready for you.."

This was on the top list of stupid things..

Never believe in the hype.. never trust a marketer.. When he has sold you the book he is out.. and never mistake the power of words.

Now some marketer will come by and call me a liar.. But the truth is he has never listened to anybody.. That people are listening to each other are absurd, we are all just walking inside our own bubbel.

mrfixit341 · 22nd Feb 2015, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by mak25

That's what I would love to know.

After spending the better part of one month calling on restaurants
and pizza shops, and any eatery that isn't a hole-in-the-wall, I've come
to the conclusion that Mobile sites w/QR codes just doesn't cut it.

I've done it 2 ways: setting appointments via the phone, and walk-ins
pounding the pavement.

Either way, it's grating on the nerves. Why? Simply because there is a
very SMALL window to work with.

You've got about an hour or so in the morning, then you're SOL until
after 2, when things slow down and they'll give you some time.

Then the clock strikes 4 and you're basically done for the day.
Call or walk in then, and you're told to come back tomorrow, or whenever,
but around 2.

All in all I did about 65 in person, eyeball to eyeball demos.
Some already had websites, others did not.

Either way, most responses were 'Hey, pretty nice. You do nice work'.
And I do. Attached is a sample.

But when push came to shove: No deal. No sale. Not something they
want to part with their money for.

Don't call us, we'll call you. I did though, sell 2. That's T-W-O.
In a month. Geez. I just don't know where to spend all of that big time
cash I just made.

So now my brain is thisclose to giving up. But there's one small problem:
I'm not a quitter. But I am also not one to continue to have my self worth
and pride to be shown the door.

Then I started thinking that maybe this niche is just full of idiots and morons.
They're either too old to get it, or in most cases, too stupid to see the value.

In the beginning it seemed reasonable to think that this niche would be ideal
for mobile sites. Menus. Coupons. Tap-to-call. All right there for their customers
to easily use and order from.

But maybe I'm too naive. It does make sense. To me. But not them.

So now I'm thinking about others niches and getting the hell away from these
backward thinking, stuck in the past nitwits.

But who? And why?

Dentists? What's the benefit for them?
Contractors? Same question.
Retail shops? Again, same question.
Locksmiths? Ditto.
Hair Salons? Ditto. Ditto.

For eateries and the like, I get it. Menus, coupons, specials.
For anyone else, I don't really know what the selling point is.

If I owned a hardware store, why would I want one?

So what's your story? Or is it just me? Or my area? Or the niche?

Any and all responses would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

I have the same problem trying to sell mobile marketing to local business owners.I did manage to get a couple of clients who only wanted social media posts done. One problem is they low ball your services.The other problem is most business owners don't want to spend money on advertising but wine when they have no customers. All the hype about the next big money maker is crap.
Mark Whitney
Marketing and Advertising Club

mrfixit341 · 22nd Feb 2015, 02:05 PM

Sounds like I bought the same course you did

oildrops · 25th Feb 2015, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by mak25

Yes this an OLD thread. Responsive may be good in certain cases, but not mine.I sell dedicated mobile web apps to restaurants. More correctly take-out restaurants. They are getting huge ROI from them. Don't believe the hype that says otherwise. I hand code all of them, and make them unique to their needs. It serves them well. And me too

Looks like you finally broke the code on marketing mobile sites to restaurants.

How did you do it? Can you share DOs and DONT's?

Thanks for starting this informative thread.

MikeR

ilyass Leader · 15th Apr 2016, 09:44 AM

waw $29/month is not a lot :) thanks

MattB27 · 16th Jun 2016, 11:38 PM

Market data will always outsell product data - I think 92% of all local searches start from mobile devices - do the research get the real data and promote the market data like you havnt before - having a mobile optimized site is a necessity - go after law firms - large ones, accounting firms, franchised restaurants and dont be shy to charge premium prices - this will align you with the right people to work with instead of the low hanging fruit so to speak. Good luck!

Tim Franklin · 11th Aug 2016, 06:16 AM

Wow, yes I can certainly understand where your coming from, people in that niche, they are hard to reach and yes some of them may actually be morons, (hey its not their fault) but if your talking to someone that works 60 plus hours a week for a demo during a time where they traditionally might be out back smoking a cigg, chances are you may not really have their attention.

This niche, it is really difficult to enter and most of them are struggling, Im not saying that it is impossible to sell but I do think that there are more profitable niches to enter.

The only way to actually reach the "owner" is outside of normal business hours or at a time when you can be assured of their attention, over all to be honest, I would be looking for a different business model and a better niche.

12th Feb 2015, 01:39 PM	#351
Jay Moreno Mobile+WP = JumpMobi.com War Room Member Join Date: 2009 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 1,270 Thanks: 301 Thanked 449 Times in 309 Posts	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: Having a responsive site really only skims the surface of being mobile friendly, for me responsive is far from being mobile optimized. The majority of the sites we do are RESS/Adaptive - if you are not sure what this is think how WordPress uses a theme.... we use a responsive theme for desktop and tablets, and select a mobile optimized theme for mobile visitors, so when someone is looking at the site on a mobile device the mobile theme kicks in and presents a mobile app type of experience instead of the desktop theme, this mobile theme just compliments the desktop theme but offers greater control over the mobile usability of the site to the site developer and also gives a much more improved mobile end user experience, for those that don't want to see the mobile theme no problem they can switch back to the responsive layout just like you can from a standalone mobile site, however thats not the case for if you are only stuck with one choice for responsive. I have experienced many responsive sites where i simply wish it wasn't responsive since the responsive experience is far from a pleasant one.... Using this approach is a totally acceptable method by Google, like a responsive approach it uses the same Urls, there is no duplicate content since it can use the same content on the same url just like a responsive site - or you can modify your content so it reads better for those people on the go, its much more lightweight than a regular responsive site since if done properly you are not loading tons of bloated code or making unnecessary HTTP request so its faster to load too. Basically an RESS/Adaptive approach takes the best of both responsive and standalone mobile sites and compliments your existing desktop site regardless if its responsive or not. The cool thing is you can also use this approach on non responsive WordPress sites so you don't waste time rebuilding a site to be responsive all you are doing is adding a mobile friendly theme and a plugin to tell WordPress to show the mobile theme when someone is accessing the site from a mobile device.. Overall an RESS/Adaptive mobile approach compliments the desktop version of a site with very little effort. If you look you will also find most of the sites listed in the top 100 Alexa also use this method. Even Googles own search page uses this approach and you dont get much simpler than a single search field on page! lol Don't believe try expanding the Google page it doesn't change format or anything unless you access the same url with a different user agent... funny how much Google recommends responsive but yet dont practice what they preach.... However in some instances there is simply no getting away from doing a standalone mobile site - but i personally try to avoid that wherever possible. At the end of the day there is no one glove fits all - while responsive is an extremely popular approach for mobile and dare i say "lazy" approach for mobile, it isn't the ONLY approach that's accepted by Google or necessarily the approach that is best for your end user.... a good understanding to the pros and cons of each approach will help you determine whats best for you and your clients. Hope that helps! Jay

12th Feb 2015, 02:26 PM	#352
Tim Franklin VIP Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,547 Thanks: 264 Thanked 507 Times in 300 Posts Blog Entries: 83	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: It does make sense to optimize for mobile, (there are other methods that produce even better results) Its all about what the business needs, its not all about functionality, though there are times when its definitely needed. Responsive is a good fit for many small business owners, but I think that its not really about the technology, at least from the business owners perspective, many do not know what a mobile site is or even if they need one. More businesses these days "think" that having a Facebook page is just fine. "Why go to the trouble and expense of building any kind of website when all you need is a Facebook page." Actually had this happen, recently, while working with an account, the guy just says "Yeagh we have a Facebook page" my wife handles that. LOL, (at that point I just thanked the man for his time and went to his nearest competitor) A week later I got a phone call from the business owner who's wife let him know how "really nice" xyz competitors website was than their own Facebook page, I just smiled because I knew what was going to happen next. Overall,. I do not see a huge reason for a dedicated mobile site unless you are offering specific functionality that may be difficult to offer otherwise. Web applications can be much more effective than a mobile website, for many small businesses. Its all about the fit and its about making it an easy process for the buyer.
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12th Feb 2015, 10:55 PM	#353
Davmac40 HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 144 Thanks: 94 Thanked 26 Times in 21 Posts	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: Hi Mak25, I have an offline business that deals in promoting small to medium enterprises and we have just celebrated 34 years in business.............. So I guess we're doing something right or we'd have gone broke ages ago. In making this statement I'm assuming you are a trained salesman and able to paint a picture of the benefits of your mobile site..... Not technical benefits but bottom line benefits to your potential client, they're not interested in your technology. Assuming you get the foreplay out of the way and have a satisfied client wanting to do business with you we come to price. You mention that you're asking $29 a year? Now that may sound like a good and honest price to you but I am going to get into the shoes of your prospect here: I have taken a second mortgage on my home to set up this business, I struggle to get sufficient bookings to pay my staff and overheads, I'm working 60+ hours each week and this jerk believes he can put that right for $29 a year? No way Jose! Take a good look at your pricing because 99% of your clients will think like the above paragraph. You've heard the sayings: Pay peanuts and employ monkeys - Or: In business what's cheap is dear. Now if you were to offer this service at $199, plus $19 a month maintenance I'm sure you'd turn it all around........... Providing you can sell. By the way when I mentioned jerk earlier it was for effect, I certainly don't know you so it wasn't personal. Good luck davmac
	http://otecpromotions.com/

14th Feb 2015, 07:50 PM	#354
steffanmax HyperActive Warrior Join Date: 2012 Posts: 197 Thanks: 49 Thanked 17 Times in 16 Posts	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: I once tried this.. I made the mobile websites, then i contacted the companies and told them that "hi we already have a custom made website ready for you.." This was on the top list of stupid things.. Never believe in the hype.. never trust a marketer.. When he has sold you the book he is out.. and never mistake the power of words. Now some marketer will come by and call me a liar.. But the truth is he has never listened to anybody.. That people are listening to each other are absurd, we are all just walking inside our own bubbel.
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22nd Feb 2015, 02:05 PM	#356
mrfixit341 Attraction Marketer Join Date: 2013 Location: Tennessee Posts: 3 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: Sounds like I bought the same course you did
	https://ministrydude.com

15th Apr 2016, 09:44 AM	#358
ilyass Leader Warrior Member Join Date: 2016 Posts: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	RE: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: waw $29/month is not a lot :) thanks

16th Jun 2016, 11:38 PM	#359
MattB27 Warrior Member Join Date: 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 20 Thanks: 4 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: Market data will always outsell product data - I think 92% of all local searches start from mobile devices - do the research get the real data and promote the market data like you havnt before - having a mobile optimized site is a necessity - go after law firms - large ones, accounting firms, franchised restaurants and dont be shy to charge premium prices - this will align you with the right people to work with instead of the low hanging fruit so to speak. Good luck!

11th Aug 2016, 06:16 AM	#360
Tim Franklin VIP Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,547 Thanks: 264 Thanked 507 Times in 300 Posts Blog Entries: 83	Re: If Mobile Sites Are So Hot, Why Is It That Nobody Wants One? Share on: Wow, yes I can certainly understand where your coming from, people in that niche, they are hard to reach and yes some of them may actually be morons, (hey its not their fault) but if your talking to someone that works 60 plus hours a week for a demo during a time where they traditionally might be out back smoking a cigg, chances are you may not really have their attention. This niche, it is really difficult to enter and most of them are struggling, Im not saying that it is impossible to sell but I do think that there are more profitable niches to enter. The only way to actually reach the "owner" is outside of normal business hours or at a time when you can be assured of their attention, over all to be honest, I would be looking for a different business model and a better niche.
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