This morning I read:

With smartphone use soaring, mobile marketing offers an almost guaranteed way for small-business owners to attract more customers — and more sales.

Wow. This is very presumptuous and a little naive.

I agree that mobile is a great opportunity, for small businesses too, and one not to be taken lightly or missed. Mobile is driving people to local stores and mobile sales are increasing.

Among people who have money to spend, aka affluents, 63 percent have purchased something through their smartphone.

However, mobile success is not guaranteed. Savvy shoppers expect to be wooed overall. A poor mobile experience will drive users away from your brand and into the arms of a competitor.

If planning to implement a mobile element to your brand experience, please consider the following:

• Where are your customers? Where are they digitally overall? This knowledge will inform mobile strategy.
• What do your customers value? Provide what they value in a seamless way.
• How can you be different? Continue to woo your customers.
• Integrate. Mobile is not separate, instead it’s part of your overall strategy.

Bonus: Mobile does not always mean build an application, it depends on what your customers are doing. Research is revealing that apps are preferred for navigating and information gathering while mobile web is better for entertainment and searches. Meanwhile, this will probably change quickly and anticipating change can continue to set your mobile experience above others.