Are Mobile Sites Still Hot?

Good point also...

Just approaching people to provide a mobile site for them is a pretty difficult sell because there's not much upfront value you're offering them.

I agree. Many small business owners are stuck in the old days, doing the "same old" marketing. Newspaper ads and mailings typically have a lousy ROI, esp. when not professionally written.

Mobile is like copywriting. Most small biz owners (SBOs) don't think the words matter enough to pay a writer to do their communications. Poor demand = hard to make sales.

These SBOs will come around later rather than sooner, so the future is bright for mobile. For now, you just need to find the hotter prospects for mobile, like retail, restaurant and personal services like salons.

Charles

That includes any mobile device like ipad/tablets as well as phones.

Great comments on this thread, and all of them are valid.

A balanced view of the mobile landscape is what is really needed in the over-hyped world of internet marketing, and I am sure we can all agree that much of what we find promoted on the internet is over-hyped. Mobile is no exception.

Like all new niches - mobile websites, mobile apps, mobile marketing and advertising; mobile niches are also over-hyped in the beginning because those who first see the incredible opportunities encased in the eggshell of the developing niche of "mobile" get excited about it, and, as in their nature to promote what is now their new love, excitedly do so. More credit to them, for they have the vision for it. Props!

Mobile is not an easy sell, like all new things. The old habits of SBOs are not easily broken. I know this from my experience in selling "space framed" short TV commercials to SBOs in the 90s.

However, human nature is an interesting thing. At first I could only sell to the independent minded SBOs, and that was a small group in the beginning. I had to hit the pavement and do the face to face hard slog, and to be honest I almost gave up if it wasn't for my tenacious attitude.

But then a remarkable thing happened. Once I reached a certain number of say, 20 or 30 clients under my belt, the flood gates opened! Within a year I had made over 300 clients happy. People are like sheep (baaaaah). We all know that. All you have to do is look at politics. If enough SBOs start going in one direction, the whole flock follows. Mobile hasn't reached that turning point yet.

I blog daily on what is going on in the mobile world. Biz-Zoom Marketing | Mobile Marketing – Accelerate – Elevate- Dominate

Mostly re-posting breaking news and opinion pieces for my own knowledge and to keep my prospective SBO clients informed as I look for a good solid toehold to climb the mobile mountain, and believe me the learning curve is very, very steep! You do not want to start off going in one direction only to find it is no longer the best path to success. If you rush into mobile you may misstep and fall flat on your face. I suspect that some who are negative towards mobile in this thread may have done exactly that.

Saturation stats vary for mobile penetration depending on the country. Anywhere from less than 1% up to a maximum of 14% in The USA and UK. That alone tells you something. SBOs were the last to embrace static websites and will be the last to embrace mobile websites.

The confusion over mobile websites vs. mobile apps does not help, nor does the valid and insightful comments regarding stand alone mobile sites by Google CEO Larry Page, "I’ll just add on the mobile question. We don’t necessarily want them to have mobile sites some are too simple and I find I get kind of frustrated on my phone sometimes when I have these mobile specific sites because I am using a modern Nexus 4 that can actually view up the full site and I just find it confusing." (full article here
Biz-Zoom Marketing ).

Larry Page is the true visionary. He sees well over the horizon, and we can listen carefully to what he is saying and adjust our thinking accordingly. He knows that people like the modern static (as opposed to mobile) user-friendly websites because they are so interactive, and most people feel that they have finally come of age, while mobile sites look so juvenile.

Also if you desire to sell mobile websites you have to decide whether you will become a reseller or a developer, or both. The market is so fluid at the moment, and if there are too many choices, as is the case right now, the SBO will make the choice not to choose because they are confused. Confusion is a deal killer.

So where does that leave us? It seems to be 'six of one and half a dozen of the other', and this alone will cause not only marketers to stall but SBOs to sit on their wallets.

Larry Page has indicated recently that the answer is FLUID DESIGN. One website that suits all devices! He is absolutely correct. This is the answer, or at least one part of it - the basic part that is necessary to then begin to build the rest of your marketing plan upon.

What does this mean? It means that if you are going to be in this game for the long term as opposed to the snatch and grab attitude, then you need to start learning fluid design, or find someone who is, and sell UP, not down to mobile. Sell your client a whole new (and profitable to you) package that has in it the answers to all their objections. A totally new website that has all the bells and whistles plugged in to it and one that will work perfectly on any mobile device.

And never forget that your future client is like all those sheep that are suddenly running in one direction because a few are (in their minds) running from the wolf, even if there isn't one! Fear of being left behind and eaten is a powerful motivator. And, when mobile does truly and finally break the dam that is holding it back, the flood will be enormous. If you are not prepared for it when it happens you will be washed away in the flood of marketers who are. It will then be too late for you to play catch up.

Get ready now, and don't listen to the naysayers because mobile is going to be massive. Learn fluid design. Learn how to generate QR Codes. Learn SMS marketing. And, learn how to integrate old school marketing and advertising techniques with the new and exciting mobile ones. When you can give your prospective client more than what they think they need, and do it in such a way that it seems seamless for them with as little headaches as possible, then you are truly in the mobile marketing business.

I'm still learning something new every day, and I know without a doubt that the future is very, very bright for mobile!