Customers expect to have information about your business – and your competitors – at their fingertips. If you’re not on mobile, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to gain customers.

Four out of five consumers use smartphones to shop, and 70 percent of mobile searches lead to online action within an hour.

Despite these staggering statistics, many CEOs are still hesitant to jump on the mobile bandwagon. But mobile is the future of business, and it won’t wait for you to catch up before it sweeps your competition right past you on a digital wave of connected clients.

Mobile Boosts Business

In nearly every area of commerce, a mobile presence can boost your business by providing:

• More leads. Making yourself easier to reach than your competition will generate more leads. Our company’s tracking indicates that a company without a mobile presence reduces its potential client base by up to 49 percent.
• More customers. More leads should equal more clients and a higher market share. If 27 percent of the Internet is mobile, for example, then simply going mobile should increase your total addressable market by 27 percent.
• A better customer experience. A mobile site makes you accessible to customers whenever they want to reach you. You can also improve your customers’ experience by sending real-time updates on current services and offers so clients have all the information they need.
• Customer retention. Your mobile site can help you build some serious brand loyalty. A smartly designed app can make your services easier to use and save your clients valuable time, setting your company apart from the pack.
• Administrative relief. Apps can help you collect and organize client information and harness the power of analytics. They can also reduce the number of customer calls by sending automatic updates and notifications.
• Brand recognition and credibility. The more your company is “out there,” the more brand penetration you’ll have. A strong and professional mobile presence establishes your company as a worthy player in your industry.

Can’t Afford Mobile? Stay Competitive Anyway

Despite the benefits of a mobile presence, many small businesses simply can’t afford the expense of developing a mobile site or app. If this is the case for your company, it’s possible to survive (for now) without depending on mobile.

Identify other aspects of your business that can be improved with less investment and more potential ROI, and focus on developing those areas. Try these strategies to stay competitive without a full mobile presence:

1. Optimize your non-mobile site for mobile devices. Consider investing a little money to make your site minimally operational on mobile devices. If at least some information is accessible on iOS and Android devices, you may be able to hold off a bit longer before developing a full mobile site.
2. Keep your local listings updated. Check your Google search results and make sure your contact information is correct. Your prospects and clients should be able to leverage Google’s click-to-call feature to contact you from their mobile devices.
3. Ensure your marketing plan and branding are current and relevant. The best marketing plans can be undermined by a tone that sends the wrong message. Pabst Blue Ribbon’s tired brand made its comeback only by accident. Don’t count on that happening to you.
4. Develop a social media strategy. Become active on social media platforms, and you’re instantly mobile. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have already done the hard work for you. Note that not all social media platforms work well for every business.
5. Map out a long-term mobile strategy. While it is possible for a small business to survive for a while without mobile, planning for the future means developing an app. Ten years ago, any company without a website effectively didn’t exist. Pretty soon, a company without a mobile site will find it impossible to survive.

Today’s consumers are constantly on the move, and small businesses need to go mobile to keep them engaged. Taking advantage of existing technology, such as Google features and social media, can be a great way to boost your company’s mobile presence until you can afford a full-scale mobile presence.

About the Author:Joshua Conran is a senior partner at Deksia, a branding agency that has been successfully developing companies for the past decade. Joshua’s focus is on winning for the client while expanding Deksia into multiple markets by utilizing systems and processes.