Fifteen years ago, the concept of computing on a phone barely crossed consumer minds. Since the iPhone was released in 2007, however, our lives increasingly revolve around our smartphones. A 2011 Cisco survey estimated that there will be one mobile device for every person on earth by 2015. Businesses need to catch up.
Mobile researchConsumers are harder to reach than ever and traditional methods are becoming obsolete. Market research needs to go mobile — and fast.
Here are some ways to grow your business using mobile research.
Do your research
Analysing where you currently stand in relation to your mobile customers is an important starting point.
Are your customers using your site on their mobiles, or is most traffic coming from a desktop? What is your current social media presence? You need to know where you currently are to figure out where you’re going.
Have someone do it for you
If you’re a small business owner, tackling mobile research with little experience can be a tricky undertaking.
Many marketing research companies realise the future in mobile research — called m-research in in-the-know circles — and specialise in mobile panel research, which can make your job much easier.
Develop a strategy
While 71% of business leaders see mobile presence as strategic, only 18% have a comprehensive strategy. That’s where experts can help you work on improving your mobile presence and boosting your conversion rate.
No matter what your current statistics are, having a strong online presence will be useful for both growing your business and capitalising on your mobile research.
Make your website mobile friendly
It will be difficult to aggregate data about your users if your site is unusable and no customers visit it. 71% of users expect a mobile site to load as quickly as a desktop site, which won’t happen if your home page is bogged down in flash coding and large images.
To reduce your bounce rate and attract more customers, a user-friendly mobile site is essential.
Create an App
In January 2013 alone, mobile users in the UK downloaded 165 million Android apps and 81 million Apple apps, according to app statistics aggregator XYO. If you don’t have an app yet, it’s time to get one.
Keep in touch
39% of online users aren’t opposed to ads as long as they are relevant, according to the 2012 YouTube-Nielsen’s Multiscreen Audience Study.
Profiling your users using mobile research may be the next step to growing your business. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offer powerful ways to increase brand awareness and interact with your customers on an instantaneous basis.