The year is 1996. It’s Friday night and your dad is still at work, so you can’t ask him to drive you and the guys to the DVD store then to get pizza.
You could call the pizza place and order, at least, if your landline hadn’t been down for routine maintenance all afternoon. Since mobile phones aren’t popular for personal use yet, you can’t send them a text, so your only choice is to beg your mum to take you instead.
If you and your mates were having a wild night in (2022 style), that pizza restaurant would have a mobile-friendly version of the site or, more likely, an app you could order from to get pizza without ever stepping out of your door. Getting a DVD would be completely unnecessary as well- not only because there’s probably not a single DVD store left in the world, but because you’d be watching Netflix from your tablet while ordering pizza from your phone!
Mobile is the new PC, and if your business isn’t checked in to the evolution of mobile technology and engaging with its customers via mobile platforms, you just can’t compete. There’s no end to what you can do with your mobile; learn a new language, play mobile slots, bet on your favourite sports team, order groceries, and book a holiday. Mobiles are always in our hands, bags or backpacks, on the coffee table, or in our pockets. They’re never more than a grab away, and mobile technology has advanced so far so fast that mobile phones have truly become the new PCs.
Any business owner would be a fool not to take advantage of the hours that many of their customer bases spend scrolling through social media, playing exciting mobile games, chatting with friends across the world and crushing enemies on the battlefield. Let’s take a look at why ensuring that your business is mobile-friendly is the most sure-fire way to ensure that you can compete for the attention of the modern customer.
Access to mobiles
As of June 2022, experts estimate that of the world’s 7.95 billion inhabitants, 6.648 billion currently own smartphones. That number is simply staggering when you consider the fact that the first mobile phone was only invented in 1983. The vast majority of the planet’s inhabitants have access to smartphones; 5 billion of those smartphone owners have regular access to an internet connection. Those two things could lead them right to your business when they google “roofing in London” or “best Armenian restaurant in Brighton” or “pet shops in Surrey”,…but not if your business doesn’t have a mobile-friendly site or dedicated mobile app. As a business owner, you should meet your target demographic, whoever they are, where they are, and that’s usually browsing something on their mobile.
Sales
Let’s say you’re looking for a suit or dress for an upcoming wedding. Thankfully, you know your size and measurements off-pat, and you’ve got an idea that you know the perfect shop to try online. You pop yourself down on the sofa with a cup of tea and open your mobile browser, ready to shop your cares away. You look for that store you were thinking of, and as the website starts to load, you heave a sigh of disappointment. The text is all over the show in different shapes and sizes, and the images are stretched and pixelated; how can you get your dream outfit from looking at this mess? Instead of getting up to sit at your desk and turn on your computer, you google for other sites that might have what you’re looking for and start shopping somewhere else.
Instead of losing sales because of frustrated mobile customers abandoning your hopeless site, make sure your site design is mobile-friendly and keep them coming back for more.
Brand reputation and image
If the customer above has one friend, you can bet they’re going to tell that friend about the awful experience they had trying to shop with your business, and you can bet that friend won’t want a repeat performance for themselves. If you’re going to satisfy your customers and earn a glowing reputation for offering impeccable service, a mobile connection is a must. If your brand or business isn’t available via mobile browser or app, your business will gain a reputation for being out of touch and not up to scratch, which is not a good look for any business. Mobile technology is not going away; in all likelihood, it’s going to become even more indispensable than it already is with technology constantly becoming smaller, lighter and easier to use. Ride the wave and get with the program!
Wrap up
Ensuring that your business is mobile-friendly is no longer an optional extra. Mobile apps, websites and marketing are an essential part of the life of any successful business!