If you haven’t already seen, we would like to point out that Ryan Stemkoski our Interactive Director was featured in an article in the latest edition of the Spokane Journal of Business. The article , “Web developers here go mobile” which appears on the cover, discuses the pros and cons of mobile marketing both through mobile websites and mobile applications. In addition, the article highlights several Spokane businesses that are using mobile technology to reach their target audiences.
Here at Zipline, we work very hard to stay on the cutting edge of web technology. Recently, an important part of this effort has been centered around adapting traditional web technology to work on a number of new web enabled devices, including smartphones and tablet computers. Our team was creating mobile websites long before the introduction of smartphones and as devices have improved in ability, we have continued to improve our mobile website offerings. In 2009, we directly integrated smartphone rendering technology (InstantMobile) into our popular ZLCMS content management system to ensure that all of our client websites were easily accessible on both desktop computers and mobile devices.
Since the addition of InstantMobile in 2009, mobile usage has continued to grow at a mind boggling rate. In response, we expanded our services to include mobile application development in late 2010. Mobile applications, provide a unique way for business and organizations to reach customers and to provide them useful tools that can enhance their experience with that business or organization. The article in the Spokane Journal of Business highlights an application we currently have in development for the The Northwest Rockies Ski Association. This cool application, planned to launch in late 2011 will provide skiers with a suite of tools to enhance their skiing experience with the region’s most popular ski areas and offers a number of features to continually draw users back into the application.
If you haven’t already read the article you certainly should. While mobile applications are not for every business, depending on industry, it is very likely that 5% to 15% of your customers are engaging with your current website through a mobile device and that number continues to grow quickly. If you haven’t given much thought to the experience these customers are receiving from your organization, it is time to start paying attention. You wouldn’t turn away 10% of the customers that walk in your door, why would you do it online? Don’t let the mobile web overwhelm you. If a full mobile website or application isn’t in the budget, there are a number of small changes that can be made to your website to improve its ability to be navigated on mobile phones and tablet computers.
If you have questions regarding mobile websites, mobile applications, or optimizing your current website give us a call and we can talk about your specific situation and provide you with recommendations on how to best reach your target audience.
If you are not a subscriber to the Spokane Journal of Business you can read the article on their website here: http://www.spokanejournal.com/article.php?id=7486
You may also want to like the Spokane Journal of Business on Facebook to keep up to date with Spokane area business news: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spokane-Journal-of-Business/178922715477354
