The SMB Mobile Web Site Opportunity for MSPs

In what seems to be a situation tailor-made for MSPs, a majority of SMBs with less than 100 employees want to leverage mobile marketing, but lack the time and resources to effectively do so. A new survey of these smaller SMBs from Web.com shows about seven in 10 (69 percent) say mobile marketing is key to their growth in the next five years and will consider increasing their mobile spend this year. However, while 60 percent of SMBs surveyed have a website, only 26 percent have a website that could be considered “mobile-friendly,” and a mere 14 percent have a website specifically designed for mobile access.

Of the 14 percent of surveyed SMBs with stand-alone mobile sites, an impressive 84 percent have seen an increase in new business activity due to their mobile marketing efforts.  And SMBs do generally recognize the potential value mobile marketing can deliver. About two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) plan to increase their mobile marketing investment this year, while one-third (33 percent) plan to keep it level and a mere 3 percent are planning to decrease their investment.

Top motivations for respondents to invest in mobile marketing include providing better service to customers (38 percent), attracting more local customers (36 percent), and gaining competitive advantage (34 percent).

MSPs Can Capture SMB Mobile Marketing Spend

While SMBs recognize the value of mobile marketing and are in many cases willing to increase their spending to obtain that value, as mentioned above, time and resources often limit their capability to employ mobile marketing technologies. About two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents have a one-person marketing team consisting of the owner, who undoubtedly has numerous other pressing issues on their plate and may also serve as the HR administrator and financial manager, among other roles.

Managed Services Open Mobile Marketing Door

Managed services can open the proverbial door for SMBs to enter the world of mobile marketing. MSPs can manage the entire mobile marketing process, from site design and hosting to managing more advanced functions such as customer segmentation and targeting, and even full-fledged transactions. MSPs can also offer specific services to fill in gaps, such as managing the day-to-day operations of a mobile site an SMB has already built and launched, or creating and running a mobile loyalty program.

Whatever is preventing an SMB from reaping the rewards of mobile marketing, MSPs should be able to remove the obstacle, and take a reasonable reward for themselves in the process.