Mobile marketing: first choice or a secondary consideration?

You’d have to live under a rock to be unaware of the importance of smartphones in our lives. We can waste hours each day scrolling mindlessly through endless web sites and pages.

If we want to know something, unless we’re sat in front of our PC, perhaps, out come our phones. If we need to purchase something, this is commonly done via our smartphones using ecommerce checkouts.

Our phones are practically glued to our hands.

According to statistics, the percentage of websites visited via a mobile phone in 2009 was just 0.7%. In 2018, this figure was 52.2%, and it will continue to rise as each generation – brought up with technology - comes through.

With all that in mind, how should you, as a business owner, answer the headline question? Should you place more emphasis on your website for those accessing via PCs, or concentrate more on your mobile offering?

We apologise, it was a bit of a trick question. The answer should be: pay equal attention to both.

We’d go one further than that and suggest that you have two separate sites - one for PC users, one for mobile – which are both recognisable as being from the same brand, but which are otherwise quite different.

Someone accessing your site via a mobile won’t want to scroll through pages and pages of text. Nor will they want to stream a huge amount of inconsequential video content that will eat into their data allowance.

Simplicity is key, such as a good filter/sorting mechanism if you sell a lot of different products. Mobile usage is fluid and quick, users expect the information they seek at their fingertips within nanoseconds.

Good design is key to both sites, as is attractive imagery. A well-taken picture can be the difference between a sale and no sale, and it doesn’t hurt to change/refresh these images every now and again.

Have a clear call to action in plain sight across both sites, but more so on your mobile version. Make it easy for someone to buy: add a ‘purchase’ button or ‘call for more details’ icon that connects to a person rather than a machine (this is where VAs and call centre services come in handy – you’ve got to sleep!).

Think of the fonts you’re going to use and where. Too small a font on a mobile site will frustrate visitors; too large, and you’ll only be able to fit three words on their screens at any one time. Size matters, in case you didn’t already know this.

Navigation is important for both sites. No user wants to be clicking or scrolling all over the place. When designing your site, consider what information is the most prevalent and make this easily accessible, then work your way through the rest of your text on the same priority basis.

You don’t need to tell them everything, as this encourages them to get in touch with you to ask for more detail. That said, do not withhold vital information, i.e. the things they need to know to make their buying decision. For example, so many businesses leave prices off their sites, believing that this will make a user call them, but without the price, the customer can’t tell if it’s anywhere near their budget or if the product/service is good value. The answers to these questions are intrinsic to their decision, and only when they’re interested will they act – therefore, hiding your prices does not help in this regard.

Good design is a must. It involves all the things we’ve already mentioned. Both your website and mobile pages should be visually attractive, but this needn’t cost the earth. Designers charge by the hour; creating a beautiful site is therefore not the issue - the complexity of its sitemap, the number of pages it will have, and funky functionality are elements that may affect its price. A simple, elegant, purpose-driven site may be more affordable than you think.

Contact Novus Marketing Solutions on 07983 575934 and let’s talk through your ideas.