Mobile shoppers make up an enormous percentage of all consumers today, first outpacing desktop users in 2014 according to Comscore. Today this continues to grow at an astounding rate.
In 2015, mobile devices accounted for 51% of total daily digital media use for adults. Desktops came in at only 42%.
Local businesses can capitalize on this mega mobile market with local search engine optimization (SEO), mobile-first web design, and marketing campaigns tailored to mobile users.
A mobile marketing strategy is only as good as the number of conversions it achieves. If a local business has a hard time converting mobile shoppers into real sales, it may need to rethink its strategy.
Micro-Moments Are A Big Deal And Getting Bigger
An online shopper’s experience is saturated with micro-moments – small, automatic inclinations toward mobile that stem from the need to learn, do, or buy something. These moments of intent shape the way a shopper thinks, feels, acts, and (most importantly) makes purchases.
Thanks to mobile, micro-moments now dominate consumer behavior. Capitalizing on micro-moments is the key to converting mobile shoppers into sales at a local business.
Over time, online shoppers grew accustomed to pulling out their mobile devices and browsing the web instead of hunkering down behind a desktop. The trend toward mobile greatly impacts the way shoppers think of a brand and how they expect a company to approach marketing. As the intimate relationship between consumers and mobile devices continues to strengthen, local businesses must adapt their sales funnels to prioritize mobile shoppers.
Hundreds of intent-driven micro-moments dominate the consumer journey. Each presents a crucial opportunity to seal a conversion and turn a mobile shopper into a lifelong customer. Making the most out of so many real-time chances may feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
A brand must first prioritize the micro-moments on a customer’s journey to decide when to intervene with its message. Moments include the initial stage of gathering information and the decision to buy from a company. A local business must select the ideal micro-moment to join in on the customer journey and interject with relevant, well-designed, and non-disruptive content.
Meet Consumers In Their Micro-Moments For A Smooth Journey To Checkout
A modern brand must battle for consumers’ hearts and loyalties through smart, effective micro-moment strategizing. Micro-moments must be an active component in any mobile marketing or website design strategy for today’s savvy consumers.
Beating the competition for micro-moments as a local business is possible with the right marketing tools and ideas:
- Create a mobile-friendly website.
If a small business is part of the 46% without a website, it needs to join the 21st century.
Today’s consumers not only expect legitimate local businesses to have a website, but for the site to make mobile navigation and micro-moments a priority!
Mobile-first web design will differentiate a small, local company from its competition. Google also rewards mobile-friendly sites, displaying them first in mobile search results.
- Optimize for local shoppers.
Modern online shoppers, especially millennials, are keen to support local businesses instead of industry bigwigs. A local business can capitalize on this fact by tailoring their website, blog, and social media content for local SEO.
For example, searches including the keywords “near me” have doubled in the last year. Including customized local information on a site translates into higher search-engine rankings.
- Maximize relevance.
According to a Google study, 65% of smartphone users say they look for a site with the most relevant information – regardless of the company providing it.
Modern marketers need to ensure constant content relevance to stay ahead of competitors. This is a good habit for turning any shopper into a customer, but especially mobile shoppers.
Connect consumers immediately to what they’re looking for to convert them into lifelong local shoppers.
Taking full advantage of micro-moments requires a marketer to understand a local company’s audience – especially their immediate needs and desires. To become a consumer’s go-to brand in crucial moments of “I want to know,” “I want to do,” and “I want to buy,” a business must understand how to use micro-moments to their fullest potential. Optimizing mobile-first web design, local SEO, and content relevancy are cornerstones for converting mobile shoppers at any local business.
How Micro-Moments Will Shape The Future Of Mobile Shopping
Businesses have already seen the strong impact that micro-moments have on mobile shoppers and their purchasing decisions. As more shoppers replace desktops with their mobile devices, local brands will be more hard-pressed to keep up with evolving consumer needs. Shoppers will expect a company to make its content hyper-relevant, its site mobile friendly, and its brand connected to the modern world. A small business that fails in these aspects can’t hope to turn mobile shoppers into sales.
A local business can stay relevant today and well into the future by understanding and capitalizing on the mobile consumer market. Micro-moments dominate a mobile shopper’s experience and determine whether or not the consumer will purchase from a company.
To be the brand mobile shoppers want to support, a company must take advantage of every intent-driven second of the target audience’s time on a mobile device. As new mobile trends come into play, a local brand must stay up-to-date and on top of micro-moments to be relevant.
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* Adapted lead image: