Being Available When It Matters Most

by Amy Hoglund

We live in the ‘now’. With mobile devices always being within arms reach, we have the ability to learn, find, do, or buy something at any given point in time. It’s incredible to think about the information we have at our fingertips. To put it in perspective, we got to the moon with a computer less powerful than your cell phone.

As a business owner, you need to be available for these new “I-want-to” moments online:

• I-want-to-know moments – when a consumer does research online to gain more information.
• I-want-to-go moments – when a consumer uses a search engine to find a local business. Also known as “near me” searches.
• I-want-to-buy moments – when a person uses their smartphone while in a store to make a buying decision.
• I-want-to-do moments – when a user turns to their phone for ideas while doing a task. Also known as “how-to” searches.

After reading through these “moments”, are you available? According to Google, “near me” searches have grown 2X in the past year. And 82% of smartphone users say they use search to find a local business. If your website is not optimized for mobile, think about the business you’re missing out on.

Being there for these “moments” on mobile can drive big results for your business.

Here’s why, Google explains:

• Many consumers aren’t brand-committed. 90% of smartphone users are not absolutely certain of the specific brand they want to buy when they begin looking for information online.
• You get a shot at your competitor’s customers. 1 in 3 smartphone users have purchased from a company or brand other than the one they intended to because of information provided in the moment they needed it.
• Your presence can drive brand awareness goals. Studies have shown you can increase unaided brand awareness by 46% simply by showing up in mobile search results. More than half (51%) of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product when conducting a search on their smartphones.

How do you make sure you’re there for the “I-want-to” moments?

1) Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. With mobile search surpassing desktop search, this has become a must-have. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, let’s get started today.

Related: One Easy Step to Figure Out if Your Website is Mobile-Friendly

2) Print QR codes in store leading to pages on your website with product or service descriptions. QR stands for “quick response”. A QR code is a mobile phone readable bar code that can store a website’s URL’s, plain text, phone numbers, email addresses and basically any other alphanumeric data.

By using a QR code that links to a special deal on your website, this captures the audience who use their phone in the store to find out more information about a product and influences their buying decision.

3) Social Media posts with a special promotion. Social media is a great way to get the word out about a special / promotion. For your loyal followers, offer a special that only your social media followers are able to utilize at checkout. Make sure to mention your social specials and promotions to your customers. It will help grow your social following!

4) Remind people to check in and leave a review. Have your clients “check in” on Facebook and leave a review about their experience. This helps your business gain more credibility when people are in the “I want-to-go” moment.

For example: When people are looking up “restaurants near me”, they will see your restaurant has more reviews, than say your competition, and will choose you over a restaurant that doesn’t have any.

5) Ask people to share photos on social media from one of your events using a specific #hashtag. When people are looking for something to do, they will see your event and search the #hashtag. This gives the option for other people to see what’s going on at the event, and what others are doing there!

Being available for these “moments” will do wonders for your business. With so many people using their mobile devices to do their research online, influencing their buying decision, your business needs to be available!

If you need help building your online presence, contact us today!