Let me qualify that headline: way too many marketers have no idea about what’s going on with regard to their customers and the mobile space. That’s no surprise to us and we rant on a regular basis about how important mobile websites and mobile experiences are for customers and prospects. What about you? Do you know what percentage of your customers are using mobile devices and are you tailoring your marketing tactics accordingly?
In Marketing Sherpa’s Mobile Marketing Benchmark Report, some 50% of marketers surveyed had no idea what percentage of their customers and prospects interacted with their companies on a local mobile basis. So while their customers might well be engaging in social check-in (Foursquare, Facebook, etc.), finding and redeeming coupons, looking at online reviews, etc., (and they are), a significant number of marketers aren’t even thinking about local mobile efforts for their companies. As a result, they’re likely leaving customers and prospects high and dry, not to mention ignoring what could be potentially significant amounts of money (and income). This. Makes. Me. Crazy.
Knowing what your customers are doing, how they are coming to your business (and your website), and what they do when they get there is as easy as looking at your web analytics. And if you’re using Google Analytics, they’re free. That’s F.R.E.E. — so there’s absolutely no excuse for not having them. Yet I know for a fact, based on what I see and hear as a result of all the speaking engagements I do, as well as when I’m meeting with prospective clients, that a huge number of marketers, and business owners, don’t know what they’re missing because they’re not looking at their data. They don’t know because they either don’t collect data or they are collecting data and not looking at it. I might need to go lie down just thinking about this topic, it makes me so nutty.
What about you? How often do you look at your analytics? Daily, weekly, monthly? I’d love to know. Me? I look at my site’s analytics, and all my clients’ website analytics every morning. Every. Single. Morning. Before I even get out of bed. I know, it’s geeky. But it’s the truth. And that data? It tells me everything I need to know about what’s going on with all of our businesses.
Sherpa’s post about their report mentions the Ritz-Carlton’s Destination Club, who noticed a significant amount of their web traffic was coming from iPhones, so they optimized their site accordingly. That little tweak to their marketing efforts (based on what their analytics told them their customers were doing) resulted in the development of iPhone targeted landing pages. And those landing pages–they boosted their conversion rate by 40%. Well hello.
Bottom line — don’t be one of those marketers ignoring the HUGE impact of local mobile on your business. Look at your analytics. Regularly. See where your customers are coming from and what percentage of your site traffic is from mobile devices. And tailor your marketing efforts accordingly. The downside? It might cost you a little bit of money (and yes, you NEED a mobile website and no, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg). The upside? It could make you a heck of a lot MORE money than you might make if you don’t pay attention to your mobile presence.
Image: cogdogblog via Compfight cc
Shelly Kramer is the founder and CEO of V3 Broadsuite (V3B), Senior Analyst and one of the founding partners at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked with some of the world’s largest brands to lead them into the digital space, embrace disruption and the reality of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of Digital Transformation. As a brand strategist, she has decades of experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, and driving strategy and growth for B2B brands across multiple verticals.
