3 Ways to Optimize Your Small Business for the Mobile Movement

It is difficult to imagine your day without using or encountering a mobile phone. Texting, instant messaging, checking your Facebook, answering calls in your car using a mobile app, finding local deals for happy hour, avoiding traffic with another app, are all things designed to make our lives easier. It is no wonder that businesses are frantically trying to find a way to connect with mobile users.



Mobile usage has permeated virtually every aspect of our lives, and for small, local businesses, it can be overwhelming trying to keep up. The fact is, though, that switching your marketing tactics from traditional to mobile-driven is easier than you might think. Here are some tips on how to optimize your small business for the mobile movement:



Location, location, location!



Make your business easily searchable by putting your location and contact information on all the major search engines. Google maps, Bing business portal, and Yahoo local listings are good places to start, and everything is free!



Many apps now use geo-positioning to allow for locations-based services. Listing your business on these apps will put your listing at consumers’ fingertips as they search for something to do.



Get Social



Facebook and Twitter are the two most common social networks, and are a great way to reach out to your customers. Yelp.com is also a great way to connect with customers who write reviews about your business, and most social networks now have mobile apps.



Continually update your social networking sites; it will be of no use to you or your potential customers if you site is just there. The idea is social—interact, enlighten, inform, and inspire!



Don’t just delete a bad review or comment—this is your opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition: contact the reviewer, ask them what you can do to improve your service and ask them to give you another shot! It is important to take negative responses seriously, this will show others who view your interactions that you care about your customers, and aren’t just in it for the profit.



Make Use of Small Business Apps



There are many apps out there that can aid you with anything from payment, to tracking your energy usage, to business expense reports.

Many companies are now enabling mobile payment options. Starbucks uses a barcode reader to allow users to pay using their Smartphone, and Paypal now has a mobile app that allows you to accept or make payments on the go.