The impact of Mobile on the Accountancy Profession

Our team is immersed in the mobile and technical arena for accountants.

So we wanted to share with you some of our research findings along with our own view of the impact of mobile on the profession as a whole.

We all know that mobile is growing like mad. It’s the becoming more and more common in both business and personal lives. What you might not realise yet, is how big an impact this is having and how this impact is already affecting accountancy firms.

By the end of this year mobile phone searches will overtake desktop PC!

This needs some thought to really allow the penny to drop!

By the end of 2013, more people will be looking at your practice website via a mobile device than they currently do via a desktop computer.

More of your clients and prospects will be using a mobile to replace what they did on a desktop! The days of desktop search are over, and we are entering the year of the mobile and the App. Naturally, this brings with it many questions, perhaps the most notable of which is ‘How should accountancy firms respond?’

Over 95% of accountants don’t have a mobile ready website!

According to Google, by the end of this year your website will be viewed by more mobile visitors than desktop visitors! So it’s perhaps a little scary to think that over 95% of accountancy websites are still not mobile enabled! Many website agencies are still designing websites for desktop first and not mobile!

Mobile is local. This is something that should interest every regional accountancy firm, as over one half of local searches are already performed on mobile devices.

So if you want to reach and interact with your clients and prospects when and where they are most receptive, and in ways they expect, then you need to consider how your website looks and appears to a smartphone user.

If it’s not enabled for mobile users, then the visitors will leave.

Mobile Impact on Accountants

How does your site stack up?

Take a few moments out and carry out a quick ‘mobile’ check of your current website.

1. View your website from a smartphone and a tablet – how does it look?

2. Can the viewer get key/critical/important information with minimal pinch or scrolling?

3. Review your Google Analytics and look for mobile visitor numbers and rate of increase
(i.e. compare 2013 with 2012)

4. Consider what mobile visitors are looking for (Directions, Click to Call, Clear Information, Easy Navigation)

5. Check your contact forms on your website work from a smartphone – many don’t!

6. What is the load speed like? Remember mobile visitors expect things instantly, so ditch big images, flash content etc.

7. Check for flash content – this won’t work on many iOS (Apple) devices

8. Must have large buttons for simple, fast navigation

9. Calls to action – just like your desktop site your mobile site needs to direct visitors where you want them

Mobile Impact on Accountants

Things NOT to do with your mobile visitors

Try to ensure you do not make any of these mistakes.

1. Doing nothing

This is possibly the worst thing you can do. Failure to consider and provide for your mobile visitors will mean you are choosing to alienate a growing portion of your clients and potential customers.

2. Rely solely on an App for your mobile strategy or solution

In our view an App is a must have! Equally so is a mobile website. Launching your own App will actually increase visitors to your website. If this is not enabled for mobile visitors your approach will be disjointed.

3. Don’t assume a mobile visitor is the same as a desktop visitor

A mobile visitor expects different things. Whilst not totally different from a desktop visitor, they require the information faster and on the move. They need content that’s easy to navigate, simple to read, quick to load and relevant.

4. Leave it once built

TMAI – Test, Measure, Adapt and Improve. Once you have a mobile-enabled site then don’t just leave it once you have taken your very first step. Review the results from time to time. Review what your mobile visitors are doing (using Google Analytics) versus your desktop visitors. Are there worrying differences, for example a very high bounce rate on certain mobile pages versus desktop? Look for areas that you can improve because every improvement you make will pay off many times over in the future.

Mobile Impact on Accountants