The customer experience of today - think mobile!

As 2014 drew to a close, marketing experts predicted that 2015 would be the year in which mobile searches would surpass desktop searches on Google. These predictions have proven to be correct. For local business owners in 2016, this means that whether you like it or not, mobile marketing needs to be a priority. It is no longer reasonable to deny the importance of targeting mobile customers. With so many options available to consumers, it's absolutely essential that you make it easy for them to get in touch with you.

A mobile-friendly website used to be an option, now it's a requirement. The easier you make it for your customers to interact with your business, the more likely they are to buy your product. This type of outreach is especially important for local businesses. Google's recent "Mobile Path to Purchase" study showed that around 93 % of customers who researched a business on their mobile device went on to make a purchase. With this in mind, here are the four best ways to engage mobile customers in 2016.

#1: Use text messaging to reach customers on the go

Text messages or SMS are a surprisingly underutilised form of marketing. They are inexpensive to send, and text messages are more likely to be opened than traditional marketing emails. In fact, the open rate for text messages is around 99 % - a statistic you can't ignore. Text messages can be used to send information about sales and promotions. Mobile users like to feel like they are getting something exclusive. Therefore, mobile-only coupons can be an effective way to attract customers to your shop.

You can even time the release so that the coupons reach your customers before they leave the workplace - a good option for restaurants that offer happy hour promotions. You can also use text messages to remind customers of upcoming appointments. Keep in mind that your customers must opt-in to receive text messages. However, many people prefer to receive text messages rather than emails. So it's a good idea to collect mobile phone numbers. One service that offers cheap SMS services is SumoText.

#2: Optimise marketing emails for mobile inboxes

In general, people spend more time accessing the internet via mobile devices than desktop computers. Your marketing emails need to pick up on this trend and make it easy for customers to read them on any device. Here's what you should do, for example:

1. Limit subject lines to 35 characters or less
2. Use a responsive design
3. Implement a single-column layout for easy reading
4. Use alt attributes for images
5. Make your calls to action large and easily accessible on mobile devices

It can also be helpful to keep your emails relatively short and as clear as possible. An email that consists of a single column of text, a meaningful image and a clear call to action is easy to read for both mobile phone and computer users.

#3: Improve your local SEO

There's no point in being mobile-friendly if you're not doing everything you can to make it easy for your customers to find you. This means that you need to optimise your mobile website for local search so that your customers can find you when they search for you on a mobile device. Google set its guidelines for mobile-friendly websites in 2015. Here are some things you can do to make sure your customers can find you:

1. Standardise your business listings on social media sites, online review sites and online directories. Your NAP listings (name, address and phone number) must be identical on every website if you want to achieve a high search ranking. If you use "Avenue" on one website and "Ave" on another, you will dilute the impact of your listings.
2. Make sure you use local keywords on your website. A long-tail keyword like "plumbing service in suburban Chicago" will improve your local ranking, while "plumbing service" will not.
3. Optimise your entry in Google Maps so that smartphones can calculate where you are in relation to a mobile user's location.

You want your mobile users to be able to find you when they're on the move - and that means doing everything you can to make your business visible and accessible.

#4: Use Facebook adverts with a local connection

One of the great benefits of advertising on social media is that you can target customers based on detailed demographic information, including their geographic location. One option to consider for mobile marketing is using Facebook to target ads to mobile phone users in your area. A targeted Local Awareness Facebook ad will reach customers when they access Facebook on their mobile device.

For example, someone running errands on a Saturday might see an ad for your shop and decide to stop by when they're in the neighbourhood. The advantage of this type of advertising is that it's inexpensive - on Facebook, you can set a daily budget as low as one dollar - and highly targeted. You're only charged for the people who engage with your advert, and you can be sure that your advert will only be seen by the customers you want to target. If you haven't yet collected mobile phone numbers from the people on your list, now is the perfect time to start.

You could send out an email (in a mobile-friendly format, of course) where you give your customers the option to sign up for text messages. It's a good idea to start with a voucher or special offer - think of it as a mobile lead magnet. Once customers have signed up, you can use the data you collect to send information about new products, sales, special offers and more. Mobile marketing was once the wave of the future, but the future is here now.

Every local business should be targeting mobile customers, and the four simple techniques outlined in this article will help you get started right away. 2016 will be the year of mobile marketing, and you don't want to be left behind.