Prospective customers are just around the corner for many small businesses, and mobile can bring them in the front door. During a recent “Digital Front Door” webinar, Borrell and Netserve stressed that the world has changed for retailers.
“The Main Street location is no longer the front door to businesses,” according to the webinar. “Rather, the front door to businesses is their online presence.” Consumers are smarter and more media savvy, with 97% of using online media to shop locally, according to Borrell. The webinar likened this to a “moving Main Street.”
There are a number of other stats that show the importance of mobile to SMB revenue:
- 80% of mobile search-triggered store visits happen within five hours of initial searches.
- 40% of mobile phone users have turned to competitors' sites after bad mobile experiences.
- 68% of mobile searches actually occur at home, where there are larger screen devices readily available.
- 30% of mobile searches result in consumers visiting stores, purchasing items from mobile websites or calling businesses.
How It Worked for Corcoran Realty Group
The Corcoran Realty Group of New York City relies on social, local and mobile efforts. The firm runs mobile ads that leverage proximity and time of day to get people into open houses. “If there’s a client on 23rd Street getting a coffee, we want to reach out to tell her that there’s an open house listing three blocks away that starts in 30 minutes,” said Matthew Shadbolt, director of interactive product & marketing at the Corcoran Group. “New York has a competitive real estate market. An apartment can go on and off the market in 45 minutes. This means access to real-time information is crucial.“
Mobile is growing in importance, and it’s time for SMBs to get on board. As their trusted partner, you can white label AffinityX’s digital marketing services (e.g., responsive websites, social media profiles, mobile ads, call/direction button features, SEM, etc.) to allow advertisers to be found on tablets or smartphones.
