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The future is mobile, but the present is also pretty mobile too. People are using their mobile devices more than ever, including smartphones, smartwatches and tablets. If you run a business, you can expect that people will be using their devices to view your website and search for the things that they need, and that they will want to use them for payments as much as possible too. You don’t want to be left out of the loop when it comes to going mobile, and there are plenty of things that you can do to make sure your business won’t get left behind.
Introduce Mobile Payments
Do you run a physical store or serve your customers in person in some way? Whether you have a retail store or you provide services to customers in their homes, people want to be able to pay using the method that is most convenient to them. Mobile payments are becoming more popular, with various options to use, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more. Offering mobile payments to your customers is convenient for them and for you. Your card terminals can take contactless mobile payments, making it easy for people to pay by simply waving their phone or watch.
If your business is mobile itself, mobile payments can be even more handy. Whether you sell at trade shows, set up pop-ups or go to people’s homes, your mobile card readers can also take payments from mobile devices to offer extra convenience for customers. They won’t have to have cash or even their card on them to pay for your products or services. Devices and systems such as Square and PayPal here make it easy to accept mobile payments so that you can make your customers happy.
Get Social
Businesses that want to be more mobile-friendly should be working hard on their social media strategy. Not only does it ensure people can find you when they’re using various social apps, but it’s an essential way of advertising and can even allow you to sell your products directly. Social media apps such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have options that allow users to shop without having to leave the app. These can be great tools for your business to use if you want to give your customers more ways to shop and pay while using their mobile devices.
Social media is an excellent way to promote your brand both organically and with paid advertisements too. You can get the attention of new and existing customers with the right content and ads. Through organic posts, paid ads, connections with influencers, and more, you can use social media to its full potential to reach your mobile-using customers.
Use Responsive Web Design
Your website needs to be set up for mobile devices too. Whether people are heading straight to your site or getting there through a search or social media, they want to have a good mobile experience waiting for them. Responsive website design is a must for your website, ensuring it looks good and works well on any device. When you use responsive design, the design of your site adjusts to fit the device being used. So, no matter the screen size, the browser or whether the person is using a touch screen or a computer mouse, the website still offers the same excellent experience.
While having a separate mobile version of your site is an option, the preferred choice these days is to use responsive design. It means you don’t have to keep two separate sites updated and it usually results in a better-looking website on all devices too. Good website design for mobile devices means making sure everything loads quickly, that your site is easy to navigate, and that there are no unnecessary elements. It’s especially important on a smaller screen that you don’t waste any space or make it harder for people to find what they need.
Think About Mobile SEO
As well as what your site looks like and how easy it is to navigate on different devices, you also need to consider SEO. People are using their mobile devices for searches more than ever, both through their browsers and using voice search. Website design links into SEO because factors such as how fast your site loads are taken into account by search engines when ranking your site. On top of this, you should consider the different ways people might search for things using different devices and methods. For example, they might be shorter and more concise when using their mobile keyboard to type in their search query. However, they might use more natural language when using voice search to ask a question or search for something.
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Consider Creating an App
Not every business needs an app, but it can be a useful addition to your mobile-friendly offerings. Your app might provide information for your customers, allow them to shop, show them exclusive offers, and let them control their customer account. Before creating an app, consider what value it’s going to offer to your customers. How is it going to benefit them and how will it benefit your business? It could make things more convenient for them, allowing them to shop straight from your app instead of your website, which might not look as good on mobile devices.
Improve Security
Everyone is now so connected that their mobile devices can be very useful for security purposes. Many businesses are now using mobile phone numbers to provide extra verification for everything from logging in to customer accounts to making purchases. When the customer provides their number, you can send them a text with a code that they use to log in or to complete their purchase. It offers another level of security and it’s an easy thing to do, often turning out to be more convenient and safer than sending a verification email that requires them to click on a link.
Get your business ready not just for the future but for things that are happening right now by ensuring you’re mobile-ready in a variety of ways.
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