In case you didn’t get the memo, April 21-25 is National Small Business Week in the U.S., sponsored by the Small Business Association. And while it’s true that big brands with big budgets are most visibly promoting how they’re using “dotMobi thinking,” increasingly big numbers of small businesses are showing leadership in bringing innovative ideas to the mobile web.
As I heard one panelist describe it at ad:tech last week, the mobile Internet is the “connective tissue” of our technology-driven and busy lives — keeping us in tune with with the vital functions we need to thrive both personally and professionally. It’s no wonder it’s forecasted half the world’s mobile phone subscribers will be browsing the web in just three years (Informa 2007) … and 85% of iPhone users already do so. Now is the time for any business owner or marketer to seize the day.
The best mobile web sites acknowledge that we want utility — usefulness — out of our mobile web experiences that bring convenience to how we manage our day-to-day lives. Small conveniences immediately translate to customer satisfaction, and that means increased loyalty, and deeper & richer customer relationships. We all know it’s far more efficient to keep a customer than to acquire a new one. And in this economic climate, retention needs to be foremost in any marketer’s mind — especially for small businesses who need to be even more judicious with their marketing spend.
And many small businesses are using “dotmobi thinking” to deliver satisfaction to their customers by providing utility – in simple and small ways that just make sense. For example, Heritage Texas Properties in Houston offers a mobile web site for out-and-about prospective property buyers. 
Accessing their site from your mobile device, you can view Houston listings, get contact information for any of their offices or agents, review local city information like news, weather and dining, and even calculate your estimated mortgage using their mobile-friendly calculator. When someone is in a car and viewing property, these kinds of simple features and useful applications really deliver.
Restaurants are also making small steps towards delivering great experiences. Nottingham’s Restaurant & Tavern in popular ski resort Big Bear Lake, California
uses their mobile web site to offer hours of operation, the menu, directions from local areas, a calendar of upcoming musical events and a quick link to call them; after all, a phone makes calls, too. Nottingham’s has obviously thought about what their customers want to access while in a boat on the lake, on the chair lift or strolling through town. The content is straightforward, but it’s sure to result in lasting relationships with customers.
Both sites also use some best practices from both a technical and marketing perspective. First, they each score a perfect 5 out of 5 on http://ready.mobi for mobile performance, simply meaning the sites will work well on most phones. Second, they each advertise their respective.mobi sites on their desktop web sites! After all, how are your customers going to know you have a mobile web site if you don’t tell them? It’s important to differentiate yourself as a small business and show you provide this added convenience.
If you have a small business and are ready to establish a mobile web site, I have five tips to get you started:
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