Local Business: Boost Growth with a Mobile Website I live in a small town in Silicon Valley – well, as small as any town is in the Bay Area. Every Monday evening, the train station parking is shut down and traffic becomes miserable. Why? Foodtrucks. They’re everywhere and people sit in 20 minutes of traffic just to get to them. Then the same thing happens every Sunday afternoon. This time it’s a Farmer’s Market and, despite the name, there is a wide variety of industries represented. Everything from farmers selling their produce, to chefs selling food and packaged products can be seen at the Farmer’s Market. Do you have a small local business? It can become the next big thing! Increase your online visibility and get a mobile website for your business. In the business world, we call this an opportunity. The U.S. is becoming more and more inundated with technology, while much of the population is moving away from overly processed food purchased from a supermarket chain. People, especially here in Silicon Valley, more and more want their food to be locally sourced, organic, and from a small end producer. These type of events are an opportunity for local business to debut their services and products to their neighbors. Organic farmers sell their produce directly to the consumer, while the local bakery is selling pastries from the next stall over. More important is the other business that can and do take advantage of these and similar events. Social groups frequently take an opportunity like this to arrange a meetup where like-minded folks get to meet one another. I personally have met a few of my best friends from meetup events like food truck gatherings. My point here is that all of these industries have something in common: they’re non-tech businesses that could greatly benefit from the addition of technological innovations like a mobile website. Local businesses that target local consumers tend to be less technologically oriented. Likely, the thinking here is that if your business is local, why is a strong web presence needed? The truth is that mobile websites help any business from any industry. The modern consumer expects their favorite companies to have a vibrant mobile experience. With an easily accessible website, your company will reach more customers (local and otherwise) and be better equipped to answer the needs of a mobile consumer base. Let’s take a look at how mobile websites can boost your SMB growth. 1. Information A mobile website is a great way to disseminate new information relevant to your business. For instance, a local baker may want to let his clients know about his new earlier hours. A mobile website is perfect for this because what are people trying to find when they access a mobile website – hours or a location. Speaking of location, a mobile website is a great way to help get your customers to where you are. For a Farmer’s Market or a food truck, this is especially relevant. With the help of an good development partner, the mobile entrepreneur can incorporate an existing API tracks the truck or the farmer. This keeps the customers constantly aware of where their favorite food source is, not to mention the best way to get to their location. 2. Engagement At SDI, we talk about engagement a lot. At least once a day, someone in our office is talking about engagement. We don’t do it because it’s a fun word to say; we do it because it is the single most important factor to the success of a business. Mobile are a perfect way to drive continued engagement if they’re done right. Websites designed with Responsive Design techniques (either RWD or AWD, find out more which would work best for you here) make for an excellent UX. It also makes your company seem hip and trendy – a design-must these days. Take the Meetups as an example. A meetup SMB that focuses on people who love books can drive engagement by informing users of local deals and sales. Even better, loyal users can be offered promos and coupons not available elsewhere. As we all know, offering people free or discounted stuff is a great way to keep customers coming back. 3. Increased Exposure The modern consumer is mobile. That’s just simple fact. People check their email, bank accounts, movie times, and everything else all from their mobile phones. In order to reach the biggest potential market, a mobile website or mobile app (preferably both) is necessary. For a real-world example, imagine a world where your Main Street restaurant builds a mobile website that incorporates the OpenTable Affiliate link. Now you not only provide your customers with the opportunity to quickly and painlessly schedule a reservation, but you also drove further engagement. OpenTable will ask its users to rate your restaurant – a rating that goes out to interested parties in the area. With more exposure comes more business, which means more revenue. Small Investment, Big Return Creating a mobile website isn’t as easy as pie – but it isn’t as difficult as you think either. For a small amount of investment liquidity, you can get started on your mobile website today. The path to growth and succeeds leads is paved with mobile websites – don’t get left behind. So, if you have a local business or a home business, the time is now to start a mobile website. Find out how to build your mobile website from scratch. Give expert mobile web builders a call at 408.805.0495 now or email team@sdi.la and we can get started on your project today.