Mobile = Harmony
A century ago merchants located their stores on main street because that’s where the customers were. A half century ago they started consolidating and moving to super stores and/or malls. Well, “times they are a chang’n” again but this time we’re going mobile. Mobile retail is up to almost 4% of all retail even though virtually no local merchants even have a mobile presence where consumers can shop or buy. Most merchants I’ve talked to about this phenomenon dismiss it but the simple fact is that they are going to have to change. Main street is going away again and their customer bases are already starting to dry up. Mobile is here to stay and will provide a huge oppotunity for SEO and Social Media consultants and service providers because this new mobile centric world is going to expand their customer base to include every business and government bureaucracy on the planet.
And here are some of the key functionalities I feel are driving this mobile explosion.
1. Smart phones will replace credit cards – I know, I know. Square has that neat little thing that attaches to smart phones and you swipe the card but this is temporary. Eventually Square transactions will be “click to pay”. No credit card required. The financial infrastructure that will eventually replace the Credit Card exchange is already starting to form.
2. Mobile search will totally replace the yellow pages – Virtually all business search will soon be done on the mobile. It will be Google Places, Yahoo Local, and/or Bing Business Portal. I personally think Google Places will prevail but all offer mobile optimized search. The rapid switch to these new mobile yellow pages will be a huge opportunity for Social Media and SEO service providers and consultants to offer products and services that move businesses from the old main street to the new main street.
3. Every business will soon have a mobile storefront – They may or may not have a brick and mortar storefront but Social Media, SEO, Design, and Web Dev professionals are going to stay very busy working with businesses to spec out this new mobile centric main street and to make sure that each storefront is optimized for maximum return.
4. Mobile = Harmony – All these new storefronts will, of course, allow consumers to quickly send in orders for and pay for products and services but they will also offer functionality that goes far beyond what any storefront has ever been able to offer before.
a. Businesses will now be able to Capture, Track, and Engage with all their customers not just the ones who are gabby or the 2% that fill out feedback forms.
b. Tools are being developed as I write that will allow Place pages, web pages, mobile devices, text messaging, traditional talky phones, coupons, analytics, geo-location, QSR, SEO, SEM, social media campaigns, coupon initiatives, etc., etc. to be coordinated in a manner that maximizes each merchant’s unique customer acquisition and customer retention efforts and initiatives.
c. The new mobile storefronts will ultimately even allow businesses to start integrating commercial activity originating from customer mobile devices with other business tasks like bank loan applications, accounting, and government reporting. This will mean a lot less time in the back room doing paperwork and a lot more time up front with customers.
Yes, Mobile = Harmony and harmony is on its way.
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