The Trend is Your Friend
Trends are marketing opportunities (maybe)
In the financial world there is a saying, “the trend is your friend”. In the Internet world trends are only friendly if you are on the right side of the trend and are in a position to leverage the momentum.
Identifying trends helps predict the future
Today, the most important trend in Internet technology is the meteoric growth of smartphones and Tablet PCs. Internet access is now ubiquitous, instantly accessible and users have come to use it and depend on it in a way that no one had predicted. This trend will only continue to grow to the point that smartphones and tablets will soon eclipse laptops and desktops as the top Internet access devices. Ready or not, the future is here; the trend is established!
Positive trends
This is a blessing to businesses in that their reach to prospective customers has increased substantially, but only if they have modified their websites to be “responsive” to the smaller screens. In essence this means that their website displays properly on any size device; from a smartphone 3 inch display to a 50 inch TV.
Just as all website designs are different, adapting websites to be responsive can require a number of varied solutions. Such a project may only require a few hours of tweaking a WordPress theme, or it may result in a complete website overhaul that could take weeks to create and require a substantial financial investment.
Regardless of the time required or the investment needed, updating a business website to be responsive must become a top priority. If we know that most of our online visitors will be viewing our website from a mobile device, we must accommodate them or they will find a competitor’s website that meets their needs.
Embracing the trend
Convenience and added value are two of the primary driving forces behind most innovations and almost all consumer products and services. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the world of cellular phones and mobile computers. My recommendation to all businesses is that you not only adapt to this trend, but fully embrace it as a huge opportunity to grow your business.
There is another often quoted financial idiom that says, “How do you ride a bull or a bear? In the direction it’s going!” The trend in mobile Internet is now fully established and will continue to grow.
Leverage the trend in mobile
The photo below graphically illustrates that today, this is what your customers look like; they carry smartphones - not to take photos of important events, but to manage their day to day lives.
Photo courtesy of 8 Million Stories website, http://goo.gl/JzFfeb
They use their smartphones to manage their email, text message friends and associates, keep up with their Facebook activity, watch videos, read the news, listen to music and to SEARCH for everything from lunch specials to where to get their tire fixed and their hair cut! Smartphones have become our personal assistants and most Americans are never more than 3 feet from their phone!
The trend is your wake-up call
You MUST make it a priority to convert your website to a responsive design and seek out mobile marketing opportunities. This is where the Flathead Guide can help you leverage this trend to its fullest advantage. Your listing in the Flathead Guide acts like a ‘mini website’ that is optimized for mobile and channels ready-to-buy customers to your website or connects them to your business phone.
How to make your website mobile-friendly instantly!
All you need to do is add your business to the Flathead Guide. This will will create a mobile-friendly website giving visitors everything they need to know about your business. (Get more details here).
Once your listing is public, we will send you a ‘script’ via email to insert in your website that will automatically redirect mobile visitors to your Flathead Guide listing. Or, you can have your webmaster use any ‘redirect’ script of their choosing. When a visitor using a smartphone or a Tablet PC visits your main website they will automatically be redirected to your mobile-friendly Flathead Guide ‘mini website’. You get your business listed in our local business directory, with tons of marketing & SEO benefits, and you solve your mobile website dilemma.
