Businesses Without Mobile Support Are Losing Money

How Did Mobile Support Become So Important?

Even companies like B2B organizations that don’t sell online or “don’t do business on mobile” are very likely to be losing business to their competitors if they don’t support mobile users. In order to really understand the impact that mobile has on ALL businesses, we need to take a look at what has changed.

A Shift in User Behavior

The advent of smartphones and 4G wireless service has transformed our lives. Information is more accessible than ever before, and we are taking advantage of it. As of February 2018, 77% of Americans own a smartphone, and 96% of smartphone owners say they use it to get things done. With such a powerful tool, it’s no wonder that we turn to our phones in moments of need.

Research from Google in 2016 found that when a question or need arose, 87% of people STARTED their search for an answer or a solution on a search engine. This is especially important, because most purchases are based on the search for an answer or the solution to a problem.

This behavior shift isn’t isolated to the general consumer. A 2013 study from Forbes and Google found that over 70% of senior-level executives used a smartphone to research business purchases. Over 50% of these executives said that their use of mobile resulted in purchases of at least $10,000, and over 25% reported making purchases over $100,000. However, the report goes on to highlight that:

“While many executives are embracing mobile to purchase business goods and services, issues with B2B companies’ mobile websites or apps often hold back research and direct purchasing.”

The Internet Evolves to Accommodate Users

In response to this shift in behavior, the entire web landscape has evolved. Organizations like Google have made massive changes to accommodate the needs of mobile users, and the rest of the web has followed suit. For example, in just the last few years we’ve seen several major changes to Google’s search engine:

• Direct Answers – Instead of linking to websites, mobile searches increasingly provide direct answers.
• Mobile-Friendly Ranking Factor – Mobile-friendly support has become a ranking factor, and web sites with mobile support rank better for searches on mobile devices.
• Mobile-First Indexing – Google’s search index now uses content from the mobile version of a website instead of desktop content for ALL searches.
• Page Speed Ranking Factor – Google’s “Speed Update” begins using page load speed as a ranking factor starting in July, 2018.

Most organizations have already adjusted their digital presence to accommodate mobile users, and the most widely used web companies have set the bar high. Overall, mobile experiences have evolved to meet the needs of consumers, and users have noticed.

User Expectations Grow as a Result

With the biggest organizations investing heavily in optimizing the mobile user experience, the expectations of users have shifted, too. When the web design industry was just becoming familiar with supporting mobile platforms, amazing mobile experiences were few and far between. But as the industry matured and best practices were developed, consumers became less forgiving. Every time a visitor interacts with an elegant, polished mobile experience, the bar is set a little higher.

Omni-Channel Experiences

The process of making a purchase is much more than the actual transaction – it’s an entire series of decisions that can be traced back to a need. But this purchase process does not always take place on a single platform. Customers often switch devices throughout the buying decision process, choosing the device they are most comfortable with at that moment. They want to be able to transition seamlessly from mobile, to desktop, and back again as they move towards a purchase.

Today, users expect smooth and understandable mobile-friendly websites that are just as powerful as their desktop counterparts. They expect to be able to interact with your brand on mobile, and then switch to their desktop without skipping a beat. In addition, the consequences for not meeting these bigger expectations can have a huge impact on brand perception. Further research from Google finds that only 9% of visitors will stay on a mobile site if their needs aren’t met, and 29% of visitors will immediately leave and go to another company’s site to find what they need.

How Are You Missing Out?

How much of an impact does this really represent? What does this mean for the bottom line? We can quantify this boost by looking at real data for a few of our clients. In this example, I’ll look at both an e-Commerce website, and a lead generation website. With a new mobile-friendly website, we can expect the site to retain new mobile visitors much better – that is, instead of leaving the site immediately, new visitors using mobile devices will continue to use the site and we can expect performance similar to desktop.

Estimated Lost Leads & Revenue

By multiplying the actual number of NEW mobile users by the average conversion rate and transaction value, we can see just how much these sites are missing out on:

• eCommerce: 32% increase in e-Commerce transactions (revenue), or an average of just over $38,000 / month!
• Lead Generation: 30% increase in leads

Estimated Lost Leads & Revenue (Conservative)

What if the performance is NOT similar to desktop? To be conservative, let’s say we get just HALF of the new leads or transactions we expect, instead:

• eCommerce: more than a 16% increase in transactions, or just over $19,000 / month.
• Lead Generation: 15% increase in leads

These conservative estimates don’t even account for all the other additional improvements that are likely to occur with a redesign which would push the conversion rate even higher. With these kinds of results, most major website upgrades have the potential to pay for themselves in less than 3 months.

Next Steps: See for Yourself

Even organizations that currently support mobile users can see a big increase in leads with a more robust mobile implementation. If your site doesn’t currently support mobile visitors, or your current mobile website experience doesn’t measure up to the desktop one, you should take a closer look.

• Mobile-Friendly Test – For starters, try using Google’s Mobile-Friendly test. This simple tool analyzes your website and highlights some key issues to address. Most of the time, if your site fails the test it will be more cost-effective to redesign your site so you can take advantage of additional ways to increase leads and revenue.
• Website Assessment – Contact a website design company and ask them what they think. Depending on your site, a skilled digital marketing expert may be able to use your Google Analytics data to provide you with strong evidence. This should paint a clear picture of what your organization stands to gain with an upgrade.

If you have any questions about the information in this article, or you are wondering about your own site, please reach out to us! Use the form below to get in touch and we’ll get back to you right away. Otherwise, sign up for our newsletter to receive updates about articles like these.