Top Benefits of Mobile Payments and Apps for Small Businesses

We’ve been hearing every mobile SEO company talk about it over the past few years – how there are more smartphones on earth compared to toothbrushes, that mobile traffic will overtake PC/desktop traffic in a couple of years. It’s living a virtual life on the go.

And it’s more than just a bandwagon. Looking into a recent study conducted by Ganter, approximately $170 billion in mobile payments will be made by the end of 2012 and in 2016, this could go up to $617. Another study spearheaded by Pew Internet & American Life revealed that 75% of smartphone internet users utilize apps to access details related to restaurants and other local businesses.

Are Mobile Payment Options and Mobile Apps Applicable for Small Businesses?

Advancements in business operations such as these can easily be equated to high costs, especially when a mobile SEO company talks about them in really technical terms. This often alienates small business owners such as local family-run enterprises who would rather stick to the old-school methods of processing transactions and promoting their brand.

Here’s what small business owners need to know: refusing to cope with these changes is rejecting the opportunity to make more sales. Based on the numbers presented above, it is not unlikely that mobile payments will one day emerge as the most preferred transaction method of customers and mobile apps as the best form of brand promotion. And what will you do when this happens? Close shop? Not an option, right.

A Mobile Payment Option for Your Need

Think of advertising. Before, only multinationals can afford to run campaigns that would reach millions. But when the Internet came and pay per click services mushroomed, it leveled the playing field. Even the quaint shop in a small neighborhood can reach audiences far and wide with the right strategy. In many instances, the online alternatives to doing business are proving to be more cost-efficient and the same can be said about mobile apps and payment systems.

The first step is for you to determine your revenue in order to appropriately select the right mobile payment mechanism for you. You can even subscribe to PayPal’s merchant account and grow from there. The important thing is to have this option ready for consumers. Having these on-the-go online payment capacities in place has a number of benefits including:

• Quick set-up
• Easy training for your sales staff
• A hook for customers
• Better understanding of how consumers purchase online

Mobile Apps: Promoting Richer Mobile Interactions

The same goes for mobile apps. You don’t need to be a Fortune 500 company to have one. In fact, there are a lot of “dorm-room” apps out there – this is how easy it is nowadays to create one. An experienced mobile SEO company should be able to provide you with different options that are tailor fit to the scale of your business.

The key to the success of mobile app and mobile payment is how you promote them. Subscribing to pay per click services is a good option if you need to build awareness in a short period of time. The key is that you should be aggressive in getting the word out that you have all these things going.