We stand on the cusp of a revolution of the internet. Sometime in the next two years, mobile search and traffic will surpass desktop traffic (Source). With any revolution, there will be a level of disruption. It will cause certain industries to fall, others to rise. For any CEO looking to solidify their position or use the coming disruption to seize market share, there must be a level of adaptability.
While changes to marketing, web presence, and customer service don’t have to be dramatic in nature, those changes will need to be made. The scope of these changes will vary by industry, company, and product offering, the trick will be in identifying your current position in each and applying the necessary resources to those needed changes.
For retail, companies must make the online and offline shopping experience a seamless interaction. Most mobile users, performing searches while in a brick and mortar store, are performing that search specifically for their shopping experience (source). To avoid losing sales to Amazon and Ebay, brick and mortar businesses must ensure that their online message is strong and ever present when searches are being performed for their products. Through the use of mobile optimization and search engine optimization, business owners can keep those customer dollars whether they’re spent online or offline.
For companies with online presence, mobile optimization must be made a priority. In a recent survey, it was discovered that 72% of customers expect to see a mobile optimized site while browsing the internet on their phone or tablet. However, 96% of those same customers encounter sites that are not optimized for mobile traffic.
It is essential that CEO’s take the required steps in optimizing their online presence to take advantage of this surge in mobile traffic. There are many firms that can accomplish these optimizations. However, most in house development teams should have the expertise to do this. I’ve heard developers opine that their workloads are already at capacity with other projects, and that mobile optimization is something of a luxury when they will have the time. This opinion could not be more wrong. Mobile optimization is no longer a luxury, it’s becoming a mandate. Businesses will lose customers if they fail to act immediately.
The mobile customer is also a more engaged customer. For businesses that pride themselves on customer care and customer loyalty, mobile optimization is essential. Google found that 73% of mobile searches trigger additional actions and conversations (source). This clearly shows that mobile increases customer interaction and creates a long term customer, not just a one-time purchaser. For a company with a high lifetime value on a customer relationship, the overall ROI of mobile optimization will justify any sacrifices required to achieve that optimization.
The mobile revolution will not be a comfortable experience for a lot of companies. Many executives will be caught flat-footed and will scramble to adjust to the changing landscape. However, those that are aware of what’s on the horizon will have a clear plan to take full advantage of the coming turbulence.
