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Is Mobile Making Your Online Brand Invisible?

It will hardly come as news that our world has gone mobile. However, just how fast this sea change is occurring is astonishing, and the potential impact on your practice, brand and marketing strategy can no longer be ignored.

While statistics vary slightly, one fact stands out as a call to action perhaps more than any other: As of January 2014, more consumers are accessing the Internet via mobile devices than via desktop computers. Most web searches and website visits are now conducted on a mobile device, primarily the smartphone. According to the Pew Research Internet Project:

58% of American adults have a smartphone
42% of American adults have a tablet computer
81% of individuals with annual incomes over $75,000 own a smartphone
61% of cell users browse online using their phone, with 35% using a smart phone as their primary browsing device

And all of the above percentages are all increasing … rapidly!

Mobile browsers viewing habits also differ from desktop browsers in a couple of very important ways:

Action Oriented: 70% of mobile searches lead to online action within an hour. They do not spend time casually browsing as they might on a desktop computer. “Action” can mean anything from making a reservation or a purchase — or contacting your firm for information or a consultation.
Hit and Run Browsing: You have less time to capture a mobile browser’s interest. They tend to be looking for specific information — perhaps contact information, service information or a product. Therefore, mobile usability of your website is paramount. If your website doesn’t function well on a mobile device, visitors will leave.

Many industries, including financial services, have lagged in their response and adaptation to the realities of the mobile marketing environment. The vast majority of financial services practice websites (more than 80%) are still not optimized for mobile viewing. At best, they are cumbersome to navigate on a smartphone, requiring a visitor to constantly manipulate the screen size with their fingers to access information they are looking for. The browsing habits of mobile users mentioned above clearly indicate that they won’t take the time to do that.

The result is that the online brand and marketing of many financial services firms, otherwise so thoughtfully crafted, is rapidly becoming invisible.

Addressing the Problem

There are essentially three ways to address the issue of website mobile compatibility and achieve a mobile presence to better serve your prospects or clients:

1. Convert your existing website to mobile — the ‘appified’ website

Using special software and an experienced developer, it is now possible to convert your existing website to full mobile compatibility without having to rebuild your site. You can even deploy what I call the “appified” website, which provides app-like features such as “click to call,” “click to email” or “click to map.” These features appeal to the behavior of action-oriented mobile browsers by making key information easily accessible and viewable. Once the mobile version of your site is built, a code is dropped into your existing website that enables it to detect whether a visitor is using a mobile device. Those visitors will only see the “mobile compatible” version of your website. (To view an example of an “appified” website, visit my website, www.sell401k.com, on your smartphone.) On average, this alternative costs: $800-$1,500 depending on the size of the website.

2. Rebuild your website ‘mobile responsive’

Considering a website overhaul anyway? Rebuilding your website with mobile compatibility at the same time will save you time and money. You should verify that the website designer you select is using a “mobile responsive” template on a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. These “open source” CMS platforms benefit from the collaboration of hundreds of thousands of web developers worldwide, allowing you to take advantage of new features, technologies and trends seamlessly — and often without cost — in the future. (To view an example of a mobile responsive website, visiting www.rivardretirement.com on your smartphone.) The average cost of this alternative is $2,500-$4,500 depending on the size of the website.

3. Downloadable mobile apps

Hardly a week goes by in which I am not asked about the merits of developing a downloadable app. They are all the rage, and app salesmen preaching the merits of these solutions abound. My advice about apps for financial services practices comes with a warning that merits careful consideration. Simply put, if your app is not compelling (or “sticky”) enough to attract frequent use by your clients, they won’t download it to their mobile devices. Thus, the apps become white elephants. For most independent financial services practices, an “appified” or responsive website is all that is necessary, and is far more cost efficient.

Mobile apps are more practical for TPA firms, record keepers, RIAs or similar service providers who wish to provide direct account access to their clients anytime, anywhere they may be. For the right company, an app is an exceptional tool that can help you lock in customer loyalty and differentiate your firm from the competition. The cost of this alternative varies widely depending on functions and programming requirements, ranging from $2,000 to $40,000.

For more on this topic, visit my website, www.sell401k.com, or email me at [email protected].

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