Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/146145
MARKETING CONSULTANT Your Best Salesperson is Looking Tired... BY SCOTT STROUD We need to talk about your website. Yeah, ber, though, is the kicker – it shows why you I'm talking to you. need to give serious attention to an additional I know, you don't want to hear this. You investment. just spent a bazillion dollars updating your site A typical scenario: two years ago… and you probably aren't seeing A family is shopping for a new home. They a big difference in traffic or sales… and to be found you while sitting in their living room honest, you got talked into the site and never through a web search for 'affordable new homes really wanted it to begin with! After all, peo- in [your city].' Now, they are in their car and ple buy on site, NOT online! headed your way. She's got you website open I hear you. on her iPhone, looking for directions and Websites are a pain in the rear. They're like checking out your offerings and inventory while children – always crying for more they drive. He's askattention, continuously deing her to research spe...your website cific questions, like: manding the latest gizmo to make them more effective, and "What's available… they never seem to do everyis your first im- and what's this gonna thing you want them to. cost us?" By the time Even so, your website is your pression, your they get to your sales first impression, your #1 emiscenter, they are no sary, and your undisputed best #1 emissary, and longer first-time visisalesperson. Consider some tors; they've researched facts: your undisputed you thoroughly, edu86% of homebuyers shop cated themselves about online and eliminate 'unworthy' best salesperson. your product and know candidates before visiting a exactly what they're model or sales center (You have looking for. to make the grade or be eliminated.) Except that, if you're site isn't configured to 58.1% of your traffic (industry average) is be viewed on their mobile device, then they've coming from online searches (86.4% of that gotten frustrated and have most likely changed from Google;) direction and are heading for your competitor – 35.1% of your site visitors are looking at the one who upgraded his website to be mobile you on a mobile device – their smart phone, friendly. An exaggeration? I wish it were. But that's iPad or tablet – that's up 566% in just 30 months and 7% in the last 6 months alone! exactly what's happening in our industry every Those first two numbers show the importance day. Either you're getting new buyers by keepof keeping your 'online billboard' polished; first ing up with the technology, or you're losing impressions are everything. That third num- them to those who do. End of story. AUGUST 2013 20 THE JOURNAL Creating a Mobile Friendly Website The good news is that it will most likely require very little investment to make your site mobile friendly. In fact, if you're site is built on a platform such as WordPress or Joomla, the two most popular platforms, it could be as easy as installing a free plugin that will recognize the type of device that a site visitor is using and automatically configure your site to be viewed for that device. But, while those plugins work well for most simple sites, more complex websites might need a bit more tweaking. I've converted a number of older websites to new Mobile Friendly themes – templates that are designed to be viewed on either a computer or a mobile device. The themes themselves can be purchased for $80 $150 and then customized by your web developer to your specifications. If you love your current site, then it's a simple matter of moving your existing content into the new theme, and viola – a site that looks good and conveys your message accurately to every site visitor, no matter what device they use to view it. Do you really need to upgrade? Mobile browsing is the single biggest trend in the online world. We're currently seeing an average of 1% growth in mobile computing per month – and that's still increasing. So, if you revamped your website just two years ago, there are now 5 times as many people viewing your site on a mobile device as there were when you launched it. Yes, you need to upgrade! If you're still not convinced, do the following: First, pick up your iPhone or Android and point your browser to your website. Do you like