Increasingly, your customers are on mobile.

The pace of technology can be overwhelming even for the best and most informed, and it can seem like, after you’ve got a website up and running, you should be done. But without a mobile website, you’re missing out on more than you might realize, like these five things.

Sheer Simple Exposure
The most common loss? Eyeballs. More and more search queries are being submitted via mobile, even if the visitor to your site is sitting at home. Often a customer will search local businesses on an idle whim and, from the search results, will firm up plans to make a purchase or visit a business. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re simply not going to peak their interest and be seen.

Potential Customers
Location-based services are more common than you might realize. In fact, 74% of all smartphone owners use some form of location-based services, whether it’s something like Foursquare where they check in to local businesses, or a location-based search engine that provides them with information about nearby businesses. But many of these services are dependent on having the right mobile website available. Even if you turn up on search results, your website may put off potential customers because they can’t quickly access what they need to know from your site.

Happier Customers
Two-thirds of the population owns a smartphone in America, and this is a number that’s on the rise. And again and again, it’s been shown that they want a more efficient mobile experience on their phones while they’re on your site. In fact, many customers will use their smartphones to access information about products while they’re in the store. Some do it because they’re shy, others because it’s more efficient, but regardless, a mobile site will help your customers find what they need to know about your products.

Word Of Mouth
Multi-national conglomerate or small storefront, every business thrives on word of mouth. The good word of customers is often worth more than even the most well-targeted and effective advertising you can buy. But without a good mobile site, a lot of that goodwill simply evaporates. In fact, it’s been found that a business with a bad or hard to use mobile website will see 57% of its customers refuse to recommend it, even if they’re happy with you in all other respects. And in fact, 40% will even visit a competitor’s website to see if they can get a better experience there.

Consider this a green light for mobile.

Sales
Finally, there’s the hard cold fact that without a mobile friendly responsive site, you’re losing sales. It could be indirectly, via having customers leave your store because they cannot easily navigate your site, or by losing word of mouth traffic, but more often than not, it’s a direct loss. Without a mobile site, customers may think twice before converting on your site, and instead will go somewhere else on their phones. Lack of a mobile site can cost you a lot in lost sales.

So, if you’ve got a business, no matter what you sell, make sure you have a clean, clear mobile site. Nicasio Design can help you bring your website up to date and develop a mobile friendly site that will ensure you keep your customers where they belong… in your store.

Photo credits: Stuart Miles of freedigitalphotos.net