Irish SMEs need to think mobile-first

“The world was a very different place 10 years ago, the internet was accessible predominantly from your desk. Instagram, Airbnb, Snapchat and Spotify didn’t exist and the world saw the introduction of the first generation iPhone,” reflected John Brennan, Director at ePresence Online Marketing, as he and his team mark 10 years in business.

Fast forward to 2018 and we live in a constantly connected community. The importance of immediacy has spiked. In the last two years, Google has seen a 120% rise in mobile searches related to ‘same-day shipping’, a 150% increase in travel searches for ‘today’ and ‘tonight’, and three times as many ‘open now’ searches.

John, also a Digital Marketing Lecturer at CIT, is urging  Irish companies, especially other SMEs, to be more invested in their mobile online presence. “In the US, 45% of all online sales are expected to be on mobile by 2020. Looking at our top clients, 50% to 70% of their traffic can already be traced back to a mobile devices with approximately half of all revenue generated on mobile devices. With over 90% of the country having access to a smartphone, and 87% of smartphones owners using it as their first resource for information – it is a critical source of business for Irish SMEs.

“With the growth of social media, wearable technology and personalisation, more and more people across all demographics are constantly connected. This is driving a significant increase in mobile purchases. The use of near-field communication such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay will see this increase double year on year.”

Having spent over 10 years building a strong capable team and becoming a trusted partner to his clients, John feels that poor online presence will drive business into the hands of your competitors. He said, “According to PayPal, Irish online shoppers spent €2.7billion overseas last year. Almost half-a-million people, 19% of all online shoppers, solely bought from websites outside of Ireland. The shift is not exclusive to retailers, business to business is not immune with recent statistics reporting that 71% of B2B researchers beginning their research with generic Google searches. Without ensuring that each interaction with your company is positive and seamless – crossing mobile, desktop and offline interactions – organisations will lose customers who will not return.”