Thinking About Going Mobile with your B2B Website?
Considering taking your B2B website mobile with a B2B mobile site? Take a look at the facts and options available to you.
Mobile is here, and is growing exponentially
Consider the growth of mobile and what’s expected to happen over the next two to three years. If you are an aggressively growing company, you may need to start on mobile now so you are ready. Some facts:
- 60 million smartphones in the USA today
- $15B in Apps sales in 2010. Predicted to be $35B by 2014
- $15 Billion in iPad sales the 1st in the first 5 months of 2011
- 72% of the USA workforce is mobile
- Between 2013 (Gartner) and 2015 (Morgan Stanley) mobile web usage will exceed PC usage
- 70% of executives under 40 consider mobile their primary communications tool
Now is the time to start. If you are an International company, many regions such as Asia are on the leading edge of this wave of mobile use and the need is likely even more critical. If you are a small, purely industrial company with low growth aspirations, you may delay going mobile for a max of one year. COMPANIES THAT START THINKING MOBILE FIRST NOW, WILL WIN IN THE FUTURE. Let's discuss your business goals and how mobile can improve your web presence.
The case for and against a mobile website
We can agree that mobile is here, however if you're not sure if you really need a “mobile friendly” version of your website? Ask yourself and your internet marketing team these key questions:
- How many visitors come from a mobile device each month? This is easy to see in Google analytics. Our clients run from 2% to 15% with the average about 5%.
- What is the mobile device of choice? Most websites look OK on an iPad, but only core information can be gleaned using older smartphones. Does flash hinder any delivery of information?
- What pages do these mobile users visit most frequently? Can you better cater to what these mobile visitors are looking for? Are these pages optimized for mobile devices?
- What does your current website look like on the most popular mobile devices? The Big Four are iPhone, Android, iPad, and Blackberry. Android and iPhone will look the same, so you only need to look at one of them.
- Are there things that are “obvious” that mobile visitors might come looking for and can you make money if you simplify those visits? What could you be doing with mobile that you are not? No matter the business size, vertical, or niche, there are times when someone has tried to access your site via a mobile device, even if it is simply to track down contact info.
- Are there advantages to adding a mobile website or landing pages to your offline advertising? More and more companies are using QR Codes and mobile sites as a major part of their newspaper and magazine advertising. Can you improve the experience from your ads, or provide some interactive information (say a video) from your offline campaign?
With these answers, the question isn't if you need a mobile site, it's when. Even in more complex B2B sales, discovery, research and decision making is going mobile as mobile devices become our primary tool.
4 Options for building your Mobile Website
The 'Mobile Friendly' website
Ideal for small businesses with little mobile need
Modify your current website to be “more mobile friendly”. This is probably the minimum investment, but will not really make your site mobile and may make compromises in your current website that reduces its efficiency to generate leads. Make sure the phone number is easily found, that the site loads in a few seconds, and site navigation can be found in a reasonable number of scrolls, with options to 'skip navigation', in addition to making sure there is no flash.
Mobile Version of Existing Site
Best for businesses with mobile need, but smaller budgets
Many website Content Management System software packages have a mobile option built in or available as an add-on module. This option allows you to show a different and simpler navigation and greatly reduce the content in your mobile version, but still draws the content from the regular website. It makes your mobile website easier to use, but and does reformat your site, but still isn't meeting the unique needs of a mobile user.
Custom Mobile site
Best for Most B2B Businesses
A separate mobile website built with its strategy, content and goals. This includes optimized design, style sheets, mobile best practices (basics of this are discussed below), and with its own much reduced content. This site will have unique content, custom videos, mobile call to actions, and just what your mobile users need and no more. This approach can create a great looking and easy to use mobile site. The downside is that you now have two websites to maintain as changes are made to your content.
Fully Functioning Mobile Platform
Ideal for Fortune 500 and Large Enterprise Needs
Ideal for ecommerce, larger companies, and unique business models. This mobile platform is the equivalent of your business model converted to a mobile device. What solution do you offer and how can this be applied to a mobile device. Typically, these are custom developed platforms integrated with your own ERP systems and databases that provide a complete solution. This is also developed with the inate characteristics of mobile devices built in (location tracking, social media, custom developed applications).
Top 5 B2B Mobile Design Best Practices
- Think small! Sing the Disney song “It’s a Small World” over and over before you start designing
- Speed is everything. Your mobile web pages have to load fast or you will lose visitors, guaranteed
- Know what visitors are looking for and give it to them. It’s probably different from their laptop to their iPhone. Do they need to contact you, status on an order, troubleshooting guides, or what?
- Design for big fingers. A mouse is so easy to precisely place where you want it but fingers (particularly in a moving car) are not that easy. Buttons have to be BIG.
Use Audio and Video. Complex topics that we used to use, long web pages, or whitepapers for executives to read now have to be on audio or even better on a video. Video runs great on an iPhone and can be used to explain almost anything in 2 min or less
Ready to Go Mobile?
Let's discuss how a mobile website can better serve your potential customers, improve customer service, and increase your bottom line. Call (866) 731-2271 or contact us today to discuss the right mobile solution for you.