Mobile and tablet purchases will account for over $114 billion in sales by the end of this year, which isn’t so surprising considering that over half of the U.S. population owns a smart phone. That’s 163.9 million people texting, browsing, and buying on their handheld devices. No longer can businesses put aside the inevitable: It’s time to optimize your sales funnel for mobile.
This sounds like eating broccoli to many businesses — unpleasant, but good for you. Still, it’s not as unappetizing as you might think. By optimizing just a few key places in your sales funnel, you can reap the benefits of an increasingly mobile world.
Advertising
If your business relies on a PPC campaign such as Google Adwords, you can actually target mobile buyers through the bid modification option. This means that you pay more for your ads to be shown to mobile users than you do when they’re shown to desktop users, increasing the incentive for Google to target your ads.
In order to do this, go to the “Settings” tab on your Adwords campaign and click “Devices.” You will then be able to increase your bid amount per device. Even so, you can’t ever completely rule out showing your ads to desktop users. A recent study by Brad Geddes showed that almost 20% of these mobile-targeted PPC campaigns are shown to desktop viewers.
Website Design
In a recent study of a website with over three million sessions last year, mobile users spend almost half as much time per session as desktop users. This can be disastrous if you’re one of the 80% of companies whose current website is non-responsive (i.e. not mobile optimized).
Fortunately, there are inexpensive ways to create a more mobile-friendly version of your website. Popular site builders like WordPress have responsive designs that range from free to over $1500. You can also build a custom site, which can range in price from $5000-$20,000. And if you can’t optimize your current site for mobile for whatever reason, consider a parallel URL that links to a separate design based on the user’s device.
Whichever style of responsive design you choose, make sure that your site looks attractive on a number of popular devices – iPhone, Windows Phone, and Androids. Also, make sure to include phone numbers, large shopping icons, and clear calls to action in the most visible parts of your responsive web design.
E-mail Marketing
As mobile usage increases, so does email marketing value. In fact, a recent MailChimp survey showed that 44% of businesses expected to receive up to a quarter of their entire holiday revenue from email marketing. That’s because mobile users spend more money per email campaign (138%, according to Convince and Convert), and they are 40% more likely to become new customers due to email marketing.
In order to optimize your email marketing, make sure that you choose a responsive email template that will look good on mobile browsers. Share your email to several popular styles of device before you send it generally, or use an application like MailChimp that gives you a preview of what the design will look like. Then, make sure to limit the number of images in your template, as they often won’t load automatically. In addition, avoid line links in favor of buttons, which are easier to press on small screens.
Mobile Apps
Even though website optimization is important, online is not where mobile consumers are spending all of their time. According to the U.S. Digital Consumer Report from Neilson, smartphone owners spend a whopping 86% of their phone time on apps – not websites. This means that your business could be connecting with many more customers if you could create a helpful app that integrates and personalizes your sales funnel with their online activities.
CRM & Sales Support
Another way that mobile optimization can help your sales staff is by making your CRM instantly available while they’re on the go. In a report by Nucleus Research, surveyors found that sales professionals with mobile access to customer relationship management (CRM) software were 14.6% more productive.
In addition, mobile access to a CRM can do more than just allow easy input of contact information. The Nucleus report highlights the example of a dental equipment manufacturer that added the functionalities of integrated reporting and geo-tracking. The result? A 9% increase in sales, widespread knowledge about product availability and location, and more managerial insights as to which accounts needed attention.
Shopping and Purchasing
According to Jumio, “While a majority of smartphone and tablet users (68%) have attempted to make a purchase on their advice, two-thirds (66%) failed to complete the transaction due to obstacles encountered during checkout.” Problems with mobile integration at the checkout point can mean huge losses – potentially robbing profits by over 90%.
In order to make money from mobile, your shopping elements must be in place and ready to perform under any circumstances. Regularly check your mobile design or application for hiccups and problems in the underlying code. In addition, create a purchase support line or chat so that users who have problems with their purchase can report a problem. This will increase your mobile integration over time, and ensure increasing mobile sales as problems become profit.
What do you think?
Although mobile optimization might make you cringe, it doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Through simple, steady progress towards full sales mobility, your organization can become more profitable, more agile, and more prepared for future sales.