On our Net-Craft.com blog you will find web experiments, examples, tutorials, how to’s, articles and other tips. If you would like to learn about the complete range of internet development services we have to offer, please visit our full website located at www.netcraftmedia.com.
Mobile devices are now used for much more than making calls and sending text messages. Mobile shopping is a growing trend that is sweeping nearly every retail industry. People are becoming much more responsive to the idea of shopping for their favorite products via their mobile devices, and mobile phones and tablets are reshaping the buying landscape. According to research from IBM, Black Friday mobile sales surged to 9.8% from 3.2% just over the past year, and this is an example of a larger trend that is expected to grow in the future
To understand the buying preferences of mobile shoppers, the following facts may surprise you and give you a new perspective on their buying preferences:
#1. Mobile Browsing doesn’t Necessarily Translate to Purchasing
Browsing for products on a mobile device or tablet is increasing in popularity at an unprecedented rate, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that browsers will complete the sale on their mobile device. Of all of the activities that people use their mobile devices for, purchasing is one of the least popular. A concern over site security is the overwhelming reason that most people cite as to why they don’t purchase with their mobile phones.
#2. Men Shop with Their Mobile Devices More Often than Women
Men are more likely to use their mobile devices to shop than their female counterparts. Men use their mobile devices for everything from gathering information on products or services to making price comparisons. Men are also more likely to use their mobile devices instead of shopping in traditional retail settings.
#3. Mobile Shopping is Still Popular in Places where Computers are Readily Accessible
Mobile shopping is often performed in places where computers are readily available, but shoppers may prefer to browse for products on their personal devices rather than to use a company computer to research products or make price comparisons.
#4. Mobile Shopping doesn’t Impact Buyer Behavior
Mobile buyers often say that they would buy the products or services that they are shopping for regardless of how they choose to shop. While mobile shopping may not have a profound impact on the type of goods and services purchased, it does open up a new and innovative commerce platform.
#5. Customers Enjoy the Mobile Shopping Experience
People enjoy shopping for products and services on their mobile phone, according to a recent study by Mashable. 69% of participants indicated that their experience was either ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ when using a mobile device to shop. People enjoy mobile shopping because it is very convenient and eliminates many of the in-store problems that shoppers face, such as long wait times, out of stock products, etc.
#6. Mobile Shopping can Still Improve
Despite the fact that the mobile shopping experience is viewed as very good or excellent, there are still areas that can be improved particularly with user experience. Optimizing online stores for mobile devices and tablets will help vendors eliminate areas that customers are dissatisfied with, e.g., difficult navigational tools, lack of product information, etc.
#7. People Prefer to Shop on Mobile Devices with a Touch Screen
Most customers who use their mobile devices to shop prefer to use touchscreens. These devices offer the optimal web browsing experience and are a no-fuss, natural alternative to more outdated devices.
If you would like to learn more about developing a mobile web site or improving your mobile website, please contact Net-Craft.com today.
Your website is a central piece of your branding and marketing puzzle, especially as a small business. When visitors arrive on your website, they will have a specific purpose for being there, whether it is to learn more about what you offer, to have some questions answered, or to buy your products or services.
With a great website design, you can entice users to stay on your site longer and improve the user experience. An attractive, effective website design is also valuable because it will give you the basis to build your brand, increase sales, and drive more conversions.
Grow your business and build brand awareness by following these web design best practices, and avoid the common mistakes that small business owners often make:
#1. Value Designs that Appeal to Your Target Market over Expediency
Understanding your target market, e.g., needs, preferences, pain points, etc., is invaluable when developing a branded web presence. Once you have this information in hand, you can coordinate the design of your website to your users’ preferences. To improve the user experience, make sure that your design speaks directly to your target market and encourages them to stay on your site longer.
As an illustration, a younger generation may access your site through their mobile phone or tablet computer, so make sure that your website is optimized for those channels. In contrast, if your products or services appeal to an older generation, you should make sure that the font size on your website is large enough to be easily read.
#2. Choose a Simple, Attractive Design instead of a Busy, Flashy Design
While it may be tempting to create a website with flash animation and lots of graphics, avoiding a flashy, overly busy website design is the best idea in most cases. Simple, yet aesthetically pleasing website designs are much better for the user and translate to more conversions. Make sure to include clear navigation tools so that users can move quickly through your site to find the information that they are searching for with ease.
#3. Put a Clear Call to Action on Every Page
A call to action gives users the incentive to take the next step on your website, and putting a call to action on every page is absolutely essential to increase conversions on your website. Before you write or design a call to action for each page, determine the Most Desired Action (MDA) for that page, e.g., to buy a product, contact you, fill out a form, etc. After deciding what you want your customers to do next, put a clear, concise call to action to help them make the right move.
#4. Quality is Important, but Expensive isn’t Always Best
A great design will bring you a lot of business, so emphasizing quality from start to finish will give you the best results. While there are many reasons to avoid inexpensive designs, e.g., poor quality, lack of branding, etc., it is also a good idea to not break your budget with your design. A great design that is moderately priced will bring you the best return on investment as a small business.
#5. Update Your Website with Fresh, Engaging Content Often
Engaging your customers with up-to-date information and interesting insights will help you drive more traffic and create a hub that your customers will enjoy visiting. Updating your website with fresh content also shows you are an innovative business and that you are keeping up with the competition. Providing the latest industry information and insights will also help you establish yourself as an authority and improve your credibility.
#6. Define Your Target Market
One common mistake that business owners make when creating a website is to target everyone instead of defining the target market and marketing directly to them. If you don’t know exactly who you are targeting, you won’t be able to design a website that appeals to them and addresses their desires, pain points, etc. To create the best possible user experience, make sure to deeply understand your target market and appeal to them with your website design.
#7. Let Professionals Design Your Website
If you’re web savvy, a DIY website may seem like a pretty good idea since it’s cost effective and allows you to get up and running quickly. There are some drawbacks to designing a website this way because a professional will often be able to create a branded, interactive website that incorporates the latest innovations and technologies. To do your business justice, allow a great web designer or design team to make the first impression about your brand and your business.
If you would like to learn more about custom web design & development services, please contact Net-Craft.com today.
Social media is a valuable tool for building brand awareness, increasing customer engagement, and generating new leads, but the question that everyone seems to be asking now is – how do I translate social media users into new customers? Even though businesses have different challenges facing them in terms of increasing customer acquisition via social media, there are still a few techniques that you can incorporate into your social media strategy to drive more sales, build brand loyalty, and increase customer acquisitions.
#1. Start Searching for Potential Customers
Twitter is a great social tool that gives businesses the opportunity to reach millions of people instantly through the use of hash tags and targeted content. With more than 340 million tweets per day, Twitter users are probably referencing your brand in some way, and you can take proactive steps to locate the people that are interested in your band and communicate with them directly.
TweetDeck is a great tool to use for search, and you can target users that are tweeting about your brand or the products or services that you offer so that you can engage with them directly. You may also want to look to the people that are engaging with your competitors to see if they want to check out your business.
#2. Engage Your Audience with Visuals
Photos are responsible for driving twice the engagement as posts that only feature content. In order to attract new fans on Facebook, start taking pictures that your target market will find interesting and post them to your social sites. Instagram is a great platform to post all of your images and to attract a loyal following that will translate to other social media sites as well. Pinterest is another great social photo platform that you can use to promote your products and engage your audience.
#3. Customize Your Social Profiles
Instead of posting the same content to every channel, make sure that each of your profiles has a distinct persona, and work to bring a new perspective to each social media channel. If people see that you are posting the same information on all of your social media sites, they may decide that they only need to follow you on one platform instead of all of your branded social media profiles. Another great technique is to develop exclusive offers for each channel to incentivize people to follow your brand and acquire new customers.
#4. Get Personal with Your Customers
Mass messages don’t go very far in helping businesses attract new customers via social media. People like to feel as if they are communicating one-on-one with the brand. Creating posts that speak to your target audience in a very personal way will help you build strong relationships and create more brand loyalty.
#5. Acknowledge Your Customers and Let Them Shine
Consumers love to get noticed by their favorite brands, so take the time to acknowledge or honor your customers. If you can make it a point to show your loyal fans or followers that you appreciate them and value their business, you will be able to develop a powerful social media presence and increase customer acquisitions through social media.
If you would like to learn more about starting or managing your social media presence including Facebook, please contact us today.