Into Tomorrow’s Dave Graveline Digs into the Mobile Earthquake

This week, Mobile1st’s own co-founder & chairman, Tom West, joined Dave Graveline on the technology radio program Into Tomorrow to share insights into the mobile quake shaking under our feet. The show airs on AM and FM and has an audience of 1.4 million listeners.

We all know that the web has upended the business world, knocking down plenty of brick and mortar stores, only to raise up such new virtual edifices as Amazon, Netflix, and iTunes.

But Tom contends we are facing a shift in business and marketing tactics that are so dramatic, and so sudden, they could be equated to a catastrophic earthquake that can essentially re-level the playing field and put once formidable powerhouses at the bottom of the rubble pile.

What triggered this sudden shift? Mobile. “It is the biggest change in technology that has impacted the world,” Tom said. “The mobile revolution is pervasive across every business. Anyone trying to run a business has to recognize that change.”

Fully 60% of online users are currently browsing the web with a phone or tablet, and Tom predicts those numbers will grow to an overwhelming 80%.

“Simply Not Ready” for the Seismic Shock

Yet shockingly, many businesses are simply not mobile ready. They have not retrofitted their websites to withstand the mobile earthquake. And here, says Tom, is the kicker: they don’t know it. These businesses are essentially setting themselves up for major drops in revenue because failing to prepare for this shift in mobile is preparing to fail…big time.

Dave pointed out that not even major website templates like WordPress are fully up to the mobile challenge. (Factoid: 74,652,825 sites depend on WordPress.) And this shift goes far beyond Google’s “mobile friendly” test. That was merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what consumers want from a mobile site.

“Wouldn’t it be great,” Dave said, “to see exactly what your customers see on their mobile devices so you can identify issues and maybe enhance your revenue opportunities?” Digital marketing masters and webdev teams need visibility into their website’s performance on mobile. They need to easily and quickly test their web pages to ensure optimal mobile user experience. In short, they need a mobile device lab, one packed with all the major tablets and phones.

Acquiring a device lab, however, is costly and time consuming. So, Mobile1st developed its own device lab, better known as Mobilizer, that you can access from anywhere in the world. Tom and Dave explored the testing options for digital marketing pros and webdev teams, but you can bet that during his radio show Dave took Mobilizer for a live trial run.

To hear all Dave and Tom’s insights on “Into Tomorrow with Dave Graveline,” listen to the podcast segment (starting at 21:55)!