Go Mobile or Go Home

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, being available to your customers online 24/7 was enough. But then along came the smartphone – and its even more agile cousin the tablet – and the expansive mobile data networks needed to support them. Suddenly the Internet came unfettered from desktops anchored to offices and homes and became a ubiquitous presence in our lives. Today 24/7 just doesn’t cut it. You must be available to your customers not only anytime but anywhere. At the corner coffee shop. In line at the supermarket. At the airport. In the very aisles of your competitor’s store. You may not know for certain when or where your customers might be looking for you, but you can be absolutely sure that you must be there if you want to stay competitive in today’s market. Consider this statistic: smartphones and tablets currently drive nearly seven percent of digital traffic in the U.S. If that number doesn’t wow you, try this on for size: experts predict that by 2013 – that’s next year – more people will access the Internet via phone than computer. It all boils down to this: the proliferation of smartphones and tablets in the past few years has changed the game. If you’re in it to win it, you have to go mobile or go home. But where do you start?

Look before you leap.

Before you take the plunge into the world of mobile, it’s a good idea first to figure out where you currently stand so you know where you need to go and how best to get there. Peruse your website on as many different devices as you can get your hands on. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers, and evaluate the quality of your experience as you navigate through your site. How easy or difficult is it to select the specific link you want? If you have a lot of images on your site, how long does it take to render on a mobile device? Can you quickly and easily complete critical actions like locating contact information, filling out an inquiry form or even making a purchase? If you identify any obstacles, or if the overall experience is frustrating in any way, you need to take action to make sure you give your business the best chances of capturing and converting mobile browsers. There are a number of ways you can bring your site into the mobile era. To decide which approach is the right fit for your business, you must weigh your options based on your growth objectives and your customer’s browsing habits.

Option 1: Build a dedicated mobile site.

A good mobile website is not simply a shrunken version of your primary site. It’s designed specifically to deliver an experience that’s optimized for the needs and preferences of the mobile user. Keep in mind that these users aren’t typically casual browsers; they’re usually after a specific bit of information or seeking to accomplish a specific task. As a result, mobile websites don’t usually offer all the bells and whistles of their desktop equivalents. Rather, the content and functionality are pared down significantly to offer only those features that are most useful to those on the go. For example, while mobile users frequently comparison shop on their phones, they might not be as likely to actually go through the entire purchase process on their handheld device. As a result, you may not need to offer a full-fledged shopping cart on your mobile site. Instead, you might offer the capability for customers to log in to their account and save desired products to a wish list so they can quickly and easily complete their purchase later when they return to their desk. Great mobile websites have certain elements in common. They focus on critical needs, such as providing access to key services and products and contact information. They limit the use of images to minimize page load time. They offer easy, intuitive, finger-friendly navigation. If forms are included, they are streamlined and ask only for the most essential information. They don’t employ Flash, since Flash-based content is inaccessible to all iOS users.

Option 2: Employ responsive design.

Responsive design is the concept of building a website so that the layout of the site adapts and changes according to the resolution of the user’s browser, which means that it looks just as good and performs just as well on a 27-inch desktop display as a 3.5-inch iPhone and all screen sizes in between. The design is fluid and adapts to the the browser and the platform on the fly. However, the change is more than just a straightforward scaling effect; rather, certain key elements within the design – such as navigational menus, links and search fields – shift and transform according to the resolution of the browser. Employing responsive design allows you to deliver a robust experience to all users without the need to build and maintain a separate dedicated mobile version of your website.

Option 3: Get app-y.

A native app can be a fantastic mobile marketing tool, if done right. However, it’s not the right solution for everyone. Before you go down the app-building rabbit hole, there are a lot of questions to answer and obstacles to overcome. How big is your customer base? Apps require a certain scale to make sense. If you’re a mom-and-pop bakery, for example, you could theoretically develop an app that would let your customers design their own cupcakes and place their order right from their phone. While it would surely be a fun gimmick, it doesn’t fulfill a broad-based need, and the app’s ability to generate additional revenue would probably never offset the cost to create and maintain it. That brings us to another point: you must carefully consider your ROI. If you sink many thousands of dollars into development and get it approved, will people really use it? If you can’t develop an app that offers something people want and will use frequently – whether that’s in the form of utility, convenience, content or all of the above – chances are good that your investment will end up buried in the app marketplace collecting dust. Remember, too, that when you’re dealing with apps, you either have to develop a version for each operating system (Android, iOS, etc.), which can be a costly proposition, or choose just one and ignore the needs of a huge percentage of your potential customer base, which is never a smart business decision.

Be a contender.

When it comes to mobile, convenience and conversion are the name of the game. From a business growth perspective, it’s critical to ensure that your products or services are easily accessible to mobile users so you can boost your chances of capturing and converting an increasingly untethered customer base.

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Death by Liking

What if you create a good product that everyone likes? What if you keep feeding the demand by making more and more of that product? What if you maintain this endless rinse-and-repeat cycle with what you know works? What if you never stray from the safety of the familiar? How could you not be successful?

Blockbuster brands

Simple math will tell you that you will be successful for awhile – years, even – if enough people like your brand. Therein lies the problem: people like your brand. They choose your product when it's convenient for them. They tolerate it in the absence of a more appealing option. But what happens when you hit a bump in the road? What happens when a new competitor arrives on the scene? What happens when they realize they can live without you? Let's ask Blockbuster, shall we? For years, it was smooth sailing for Blockbuster. At the height of their success, there was a store on practically every street corner. People went there as a course of habit. Going to Blockbuster to rent a movie became as deeply ingrained in our routines as going to the grocery store or the dry cleaner. And it was good to be Blockbuster. That is, until Netflix happened. Suddenly, the idea of driving to a store and paying $4 to rent a movie for a few days didn't seem like such a nice convenience. Driving it back to the store according to Blockbuster's timetable wasn't so tolerable. People discovered they didn't like Blockbuster quite as much as they thought they did. One by one, the once ubiquitous blue and yellow signs started disappearing. No one cheered their departure. And no one felt the sting of their absence.

Apple brands

What if you create a product that some people love? What if those people tell everyone who will listen how great your product is? What if they are willing to seek out your product even when they have to pay more or drive farther to get it? What if they still choose your brand even when someone else comes along with an alternative that is cheaper, newer and flashier? The flip side of that coin is that there will be people who hate you. They'll align themselves with other people who share their hatred. Hating you will become their rallying cry. How do you survive when you've polarized the market? Ask McDonald's. Ask Starbucks. Ask Apple. Hardly anyone is just lukewarm about their fast food preference. For everyone who must have a regular Big Mac fix, there's someone else who will gladly give you an earful about why Wendy's is a far superior choice and they'll never set foot within 100 yards of a McDonald's. You could stage a re-enactment of West Side Story with the Jets who take pride in bearing the white cup with the green seal and the Sharks who feel their own smug sense of self-satisfaction in sporting the nondescript cup from the locally owned corner coffee shop. For everyone who evangelizes for Apple, there's someone on another message board tearing them to shreds. You don't even have to be a computer geek to have a dog in this fight. There's a reason the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ad campaign resonated with people on both sides of the aisle. If you're a Mac, you're a Mac through and through, and you probably own an iPhone and an iPod, too. The Apple brand is part of your identity.

Make waves or drown treading water

Doing things as they've always been done is comfortable and safe. You're not going to offend anyone. But you're not going to inspire anyone, either. Everyone who likes you one day can be gone the next. But people who love you stand by you. In every industry and in every market, there is the opportunity to be a revolutionary. You don't have to invent the next iPad. You might just develop a network of trustworthy, reliable home maintenance professionals that can be reached with one call to one phone number and dispatched to solve any problem that might arise. You might start a car-buying concierge service that saves your clients the hassle and guesswork of negotiating a car deal. You might bring an authentic 24-hour French bakery and cafe to a mid-sized southern city. Everyone who likes you one day can be gone the next. But people who love you stand by you. Give the tribe of people who share a passion for what you do something meaningful to rally around. Show them that you understand them and you care about meeting their needs. Draw a line in the sand. Demonstrate what you stand for. Be equally proud of what you are and what you are not. Be bold. Be unapologetic. Be arrogant if that's what it takes. It shows passion. It shows conviction. It's better than being imminently forgettable. Let go of the safety net of liking. Make waves of love and hate. You'll make the choice for your customers an easy one every time.

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