If you haven’t already, you need to start thinking about how consumers may interact with your business via mobile devices. According to comScore’s latest report, “2012 Mobile Future in Focus,” smartphone ownership nearly doubled in 2011 alone (more than 100 million Americans now have a smartphone) and a growing number of consumers are using them to perform activities such as search, email, social networking, and shopping.

Here are a few highlights from the report and why these mobile trends should matter to you.

Nearly 50% of U.S. and Canadian mobile subscribers used mobile browsers. That means they’re potentially visiting your website while on their smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device with access to the web. If your website is not optimized to look good or be functional on these devices, you could be providing an unsatisfactory user experience or even losing customers.

Tips on getting your site ready for mobile devices: choose blog/website templates that utilize responsive design or that are mobile-friendly; choose an ecommerce solution that offers a mobile version of your store site in parallel with the ‘regular’ version; or use tools like Mobify to create a mobile version of your existing site.

40.8% of U.S. consumers used email via their mobile device. If the emails you send to prospects and/or customers—like eNewsletters, promotional offers, order confirmation emails, etc.—are not optimized for viewing on smaller screens, then you could be providing an unsatisfactory user experience or missing out on opportunities to close more business.

For tips on designing emails that work well on both desktop and mobile devices, check out the article, “6 Tips for Optimizing Email for Mobile.”

26.5% of U.S. consumers accessed maps on their mobile device. Maps give consumers the ability to search for businesses around their current location or find routes to get to a local business. To reach these consumers, ensure that your business’s location not only shows up on the maps that they’re accessing, but that the information about your businesses is accurate and kept up to date.

Now, you may be asking, “How do I get my business listed on iPhone maps?” Much of the data displayed on mapping applications comes from Google. If you haven’t already, set up a Google Places page for your business. Be sure to choose the category that best describes your business from a consumer’s perspective and include a keyword-rich description. For example, people often use these maps to search for local businesses via general terms like “restaurants”, “shoe repair”, “book store”, and so on. Additionally, if there are industry specific mobile applications that have mapping features that help consumers find local businesses, make sure your business has a profile set up on those too (I’m thinking about apps like Urbanspoon, for example). Read More »