The rapid adoption of mobile devices is changing the face of marketing so fast that it’s hard to keep up. Consequently, a lot of companies are operating on some mistaken assumptions. For instance:
“I don’t need to worry about it now.” Are you among those that say, “I know mobile is surging, but I’m selling to older buyers who aren’t tech-savvy. I don’t have to worry about mobile now.”?”
Don’t assume without checking your analytics. Some companies selling to older buyers still get 20% or more of their traffic from mobile devices.
“Customers behave similarly on desktops and mobile devices.” Not so. Users are turning to different devices for different purposes.
Desktops are increasingly a workplace tool. Mobile phones are used for socializing and on-the-go research. Tablet use soars in leisure hours for entertainment and shopping.
Savvy merchants are optimizing their sites to take advantage of the surge of shopping on tablets.
“My navigational buttons are large. That’s all I need.”That’s only a start. Pages need to load faster on mobile. Screen widths are smaller. Typing is harder. Glare may make screens tougher to read.
In addition to large navigational buttons, two features are especially important for mobile: 1) prominent phone numbers or “click to call” buttons on every page, and 2) Paypal payment options to eliminate the need to fish out a credit card and type in a long string of numbers.
Mobile commerce sales rose 31% in Q1 2013 alone. You need to adapt, and quickly, to take advantage of shifting trends in buying behavior.
