Failing to have a website optimized for mobile devices could be costing Hawaii businesses countless dollars.
That sort of mobile marketing is the focus of tech entrepreneur Gerd Graumann’s new service.
About 80 percent of mobile searches trigger store visits or phone calls within five hours, he said, citing Google research.
The span is often far shorter for restaurant visits.
"These kinds of conversion rates from search to paying customers have never been seen before."
THE RESOURCE PARTNERS Address: 575 Cooke St,, Suite G, Honolulu 96813
Phone: 725-2033
Website: www.theresourcepartners.com/portfolio |
Just about every business has a website, but not every site is optimized for mobile devices, whether for iPhone or Android, said Graumann, founder of The Resource Partners. The company has offices in San Diego and Honolulu, where Graumann now lives.
Many local companies have advertising agencies or marketing firms that handle this sort of thing, whether in-house or contracted.
However, Graumann believes it is important for businesses to step up and compete, especially since many of their potential customers spend considerable time on a mobile device.
Getting in front of those eyeballs right away, via keyword- or location-based searching and a simple, thoughtful, mobile website design, can turn on-the-go clicks into cash for local businesses, he says.
Were Graumann’s company to simply set up a mobile website for a local business, it would cost $470, "but then if we talk complete package, then these numbers change," as a comprehensive marketing package "helps in all areas."
Part of the comprehensive service could include an audit to determine strong and weak points of a client’s digital marketing strategy followed by planning on how to make changes for driving in new business and creating repeat customers from the new business.
Ubiquitous social media also is factored in to the options.
The new service earned The Resource Partners a testimonial from Leakmaster Roofing President Frank Rogers, who said the strategies have helped the company gain significant revenue.
Mobile marketing represents a "paradigm shift" from which businesses of all sizes can reap great benefits, Graumann said. Their marketing can be nimble and specifically targeted to customers who opt in to the service, as well as to those who simply happen to be in the neighborhood.
"Let’s say you’re out there and you’re getting hungry. You go to your mobile phone and punch in ‘Thai food’ or ‘Mexican restaurant,’" he said. "If the restaurant doesn’t have a Google-optimized presence, the restaurant doesn’t show up," but he can change that, he said.
Searches that do turn up the desired type of cuisine nearby are likely to get a click-through to a restaurant’s mobile site, which should be "reduced to the essentials and 100 percent focused on instant conversion," he said. Such sites usually have about a 30-second to one-minute window as "everyone gets impatient." Users will want to see "how does the food look? Maybe a short video. Next you want to see a call button staring at you, that you hit and get connected and see if they take reservations and thirdly, you might want to have driving directions," he said.
"That’s just the beginning." Text services regularly offering dining coupons or, say, spur-of-the-moment deals when business is slow also could drive customer traffic.
"What happens is now, from this one-time customer," a business can build repeat visits. Say a restaurant has a database of 400 customers, and each one gets a text during a slow period. "Who knows, 30 might show up within the hour."
Graumann also cited professional offices that stand to lose hundreds of dollars in an hour if a patient or client is a no-show. A text-based service could remind clients of appointments and enable them to text back if they are running late, for example.
It’s no surprise Graumann figures his service could help other types of businesses, such as cab companies hoping to rake in the fares, Realtors working hard to make commissions, and others.
It is also likely Hawaii’s long-established marketing companies will begin more heavily promoting their abilities in the mobile marketplace.
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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
