Dealers urged to grasp mobile opportunities

With OFCOM confirming 94% UK consumer penetration for mobile devices and more people now estimated to be using mobiles than PCs to access the internet for information, news and entertainment, dealers are being urged to look at how they capitalise on this shift in consumer behaviour.

Statistics from Google are said to reveal just how prevalent mobile search has become with 95% of smartphone users now regularly searching for local businesses and services online, and this local search includes driving phone calls and visits to franchised dealers.

According to the Mobile Marketing Association, 70% of all mobile searches will result in action within one hour. Crucially, 68% of these local information seekers go on to call or visit a business after finding information on their phones.

For Ian Bowen-Morris the CEO of internet meets telephone firm Telnames, the implications are clear. To thrive and survive in this age of instant information access, dealers need to establish an effective online presence to maximise showroom and forecourt footfall as well as aftersales trade.

According to Bowen-Morris, Today's smartphone wielding general public wants their information served right now, in the palm of their hand, the minute they need it and they get extremely frustrated if that information isn't optimised for mobile.

Data from Google provides some thought provoking insights into what mobile users expect from an online website, with 61% of mobile searchers telling Google that if they didn't find what they were looking for on a mobile site right away they'd quickly move on to another. Ease of use was another high priority, as was ensuring that information loaded fast and displayed perfectly on a small screen. Top of the consumer wish list was being able to locate key information about a business upfront on the home page – in particular a contact phone number, business address together with directions or location information like a map.

The Telnames boss reckons that smartphone users were telling Google all they really wanted was the essentials - enough information to decide if this was the right service provider for their needs - and ease of use in making fast, efficient contact. Which is why these mobile users stressed having the essentials such as a click-to-call phone number for the business was a 'must have' alongside click-to-email, plus a fast to download location map. When it came to delving deeper, these mobile information seekers said they valued having a hyperlink that would take them instantly to the business' full website. This gave them the option to undertake longer, more detailed research, should they have the time and inclination.

Google's in depth research highlights exactly what motor dealerships need to engage with today's mobile users who are searching for goods and services using a smartphone. Rather than transposing all their website content for mobiles, what is required is a simple business profile page containing essential 'click to contact' information, including social media links, together with other useful but lightweight content such as images and video displayed in a mobile-friendly way.

To help dealers capture mobile savvy customers, a new service from Telnames provides a .tel name and the ability for dealers to create a mobile optimised presence that's easy to set up, displays perfectly on smartphones and other mobile devices, and includes a top level domain name which is claimed to help with search engine visibility. A single page .tel business profile can include the dealership location, opening hours, deals and offers, plus a link to the firm's full website where mobile searchers can review inventory.

More information about Telnames can be found at telnames.com.

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