13 Mobile Stats Your competitors Already Know
What are You Willing to Give Up for your Smartphone?
I will admit, I was intrigued by the title of Craig McGuire's most recent posting: "What Do Beer and Chocolate Have to Do with Law Firm Marketing?" Read his article below to find out the connection.
How do consumers find law firms online?
Understanding consumer behavior can give you an advantage when planning your law firm's online marketing.
For instance, one in three U.S. consumers responding to a recent survey reported that they would rather give up television than be deprived of their smartphones.1
Moreover, 43 percent of surveyed consumers said that they would 
be willing to give up beer for a month if it meant they could keep accessing the Internet on their smartphones. And, 36 percent of survey participants stated that they'd be willing to give up chocolate.1 Here are some more findings from the survey:
- 62 percent have used their smartphones every day in the past seven days
- 80 percent do not leave home without their device
- 66 percent access the Internet from their smartphone every day
Why a Mobile Strategy is Essential for Law Firm Marketing
By 2015, for the first time ever, more U.S. consumers will be accessing the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs.2
Smartphones are rapidly becoming an indispensable part our lives. But what does this mean for your law firm's marketing?
Have you ever visited a website on your smartphone that WAS NOT optimized for mobile viewing, where it was nearly impossible to read and navigate, let alone find contact information? Then you would know how unlikely mobile users are to actually turn into leads after such an experience.
To remain competitive and generate a healthy stream of leads, you need to ensure your law firm's website and profiles are easily found with a mobile optimized website, to be accessed and utilized around the clock by mobile device users.
And whatever marketing channels you leverage for 2013, make sure there is a mobile component, or you will be neglecting a key segment of your target audience.
Is your law firm positioned to tap into this wave of mobile activity? Find out by requesting a free Law Firm Website Evaluation and Consultation: Contact a LexisNexis Law Firm Marketing Specialist.
1 "Our Mobile Planet: United States," Google/Ipsos OTX MediaCT, May 2012
2 "International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide New Media Market Model," IDC, Oct. 2012
Craig McGuire is Product Marketing Manager, LexisNexis® Web Visibility Solutions (Websites/SEO/Social Media), solutions that enable solo practitioners and lawyers at small law firms to establish a successful, comprehensive, and manageable web and social media presence.
New Data: Law Firms Must Create Mobile-Friendly Websites
Half of smartphone owners say "It's My Life!" A majority of smartphone users are fully integrating their devices into every aspect of their daily lives, according to a new smartphone survey conducted by Prosper Mobile Insights.
The survey found that 52.9% say they utilize all of the functions of their smartphones, 30.4% say they use the basic functions of their smartphones and 16.7% only use their smartphones for calling, texting and emailing.
Calling features, GPS, and Facebook are also necessities to some. Despite privacy concerns - such as someone tracking their location - 55.9% of smartphone users say they prefer using their smartphone to access the Internet over using a computer (35.3% prefer to use a computer while 8.8% aren't sure).
The vast majority of smartphone users say they use their smartphone to browse for products or services. Three quarters use their smartphone to locate stores or look for store hours. Reading reviews and researching specific products are also top smartphone activities, and half say they have made a purchase via their smartphone device
Law Firm Marketing Takeaways
If your law firm website can't be viewed well on a 2-1/2 inch screen, you are missing a lot of online traffic. It's time to put a mobile marketing plan in place.
82% of businesses plan to increase their spending on mobile phone marketing over the next year, as I reported in May. In response, 33% of businesses currently have a mobile strategy in place, a
The LawMarketing Channel, which I operate, has had a mobile-friendly version for two years. I took a cue from my own personal habit, which is to view websites on my Samsung Droid Charge with 4G capability whenever I have even two minutes of downtime.
Call me compulsive, but law firm clients are just like me. For further evidence, read The M-dot Revolution is here. Has Your Law Firm Marketing Joined It?
The M-dot Revolution is here. Has Your Law Firm Marketing Joined It?
Law firms are faced with a growing installed base of mobile devices among their clients. Clients use smart phones for email, the Web, texting, and even working on documents. In response, 33% of businesses currently have a mobile strategy in place, and among those who don't they plan to have one within the next 12 months. Relationship marketing -- customer loyalty and retention -- is at the heart of the perceived benefits of mobile marketing.
Mobile marketing involves:
- Creating mobile-friendly websites
- Apps for clients
- Methods to conduct business with programs “in the cloud” using a smart phone.
It’s called the M-dot revolution, because the URL of mobile friendly websites is usually “m.lawfirm.com.”
The spark for the revolution is the new HTML5 web code standard which makes the browser the universal computing platform – not the operating system (such as Mac OS or Windows). It helps overcome the weak processors in smart phones so they can run tasks quickly. The average smart phone user now spends more than 11 hours a month using apps, according to a March 2011 study by Zokem.
Many clients use smart phones to read news, which is accessible with an app or a browser, the information is stored in the cloud, and billing information and preferences can be easily shared.
CMOs will need to push their teams to develop compelling mobile-advertising strategies and create opportunities to use video more often. Who knows, maybe a law firm will develop a mobile app to monitor the purchasing activity of clients and offer them real-time, location-specific legal solutions.
You can see what your website looks like on a smart phone by visiting http://mobilesimulator.info. Check out this video which explains the importance of mobile marketing and has details for us techies.
