Six mobility tips for law firm business development
The increase of smart phone usage, and now the tablet, have absolutely exploded over the last couple of years.
Consumers and business people constantly on the go with the capabilities of smartphones and tablets don’t spend near as much time on a desktop or laptop computer. This is completely changing how law firms and other businesses connect with and market to their target audience. The mobility business development revolution for law firms is underway.
Tim Hayden (@TheTimHayden), SVP of Mobile Strategy for Edelman Digital, helps us understand the current and future landscape of mobility in his report, “Mobile Business is Everywhere. Today.”
As more than 50% of cell phone-carrying Americans now own a “smartphone”, no one can deny that we are well underway into living each day as a mobile society. As the United States eclipsed this veritable and undeniable tipping point of smartphone ownership in the first quarter of 2012, a tremor ran up the spines of CMOs and media executives who believed they had seen it all, surely knowing what to plan and budget for the coming 3+ years.
Mobile business development will evolve over time as the number of smartphone and tablet users continues to grow. However if you haven’t started planning your mobile marketing strategy you are quickly falling behind. These changes are happening rapidly. According to the report, 36% of smartphone-owning Americans have owned such a device for less than one year and 20% of Americans 18+ owns a tablet computer.
Like any business development strategy, one of the hardest parts of coming up with a mobile plan is deciding which tactics to invest in first. Hayden states that if there is one must-have item in your 2013 marketing plans, it is a mobile web strategy.
Mobile search, as the predominant consumer utility on smartphones, and sideways traffic (links shared through social media and email that are primarily accessed via a mobile device) are together responsible for the majority of all mobile web traffic. Those brands that are delivering brief, actionable content to the arrivals of this traffic stand the greatest opportunity to convert it into business Those who do not optimize a mobile web presence and mobile search strategy are missing a significant portion of their existing or inquiring audience.
Hayden also shares with us six “Mobility Tips for the End of 2012” that can be used for thought starters when discussing your own mobile strategy.
- Mobility is About Behavior, Not Technology: It is important to learn about your target audience and research how they spend their time before making decisions on where to focus and invest.
- Don’t Forget, It is Still a Phone!: When building apps and on the mobile web always have a clickable phone number or “click-to-call” button on each screen of navigation.
- Capitalize on the Intimacy: With smartphones we have opportunities to curate personal feedback and data direct from the user on top of objective metrics on the use of the technology.
- Mobile is Busy: When people are using their mobile phones, many times it means they are on the go. When they are out doing things they don’t have the time or attention span for long messages. Keep it short and simple.
- The “Push Button” Life: Simplicity is key when it comes to mobile marketing. As Hayden says, ”If an 8-year old cannot navigate any of these without parental guidance, then you cannot expect your customers to consistently use them.”
- Don’t [Always] Believe the Hype: Not everyone can afford a new smartphone or tablet with the latest functionality. Keep things versatile. Don’t go overboard on fancy marketing technology that many consumers’ phones might not be able to support.
Smartphones and tablets are always at hand, and could be one of the finest business development tools to ever exist for lawyers. There is too much competition for any lawyer or law firm to cast aside mobility as just another technology trend.