I recently sat in on a webinar presented by a staffer from Google’s Partner Enablement Team who shared some pretty interesting facts about how we consume information and engage with businesses.

We check our phones an average of 150 times a day.

In fact, we spend ¼ of our lives connected in some fashion. We’re looking at email, social media, checking in with location-based apps, mapping the drive to our next destination, and using myriad other apps throughout our waking hours, primarily on our smartphones. And if we have a sleepless night, what’s the first thing we reach for? The phone, which we left on the nightstand right beside our pillow.

Mobile searches finally exceeded desktop search – not all that recently – it was actually way back in late 2015. (Yes, that’s a pretty long time ago, given the rapid pace of change in the digital marketing world.)

Mobile has changed the customer journey.

We act on stimuli immediately, regardless of time of day, which means businesses have to be available 24 hours a day. We want someone on the other end of a phone or live chat whenever we want to engage, even if it’s in the middle of one of those sleepless nights.

People make “unscripted” decisions – we’re less loyal to brands and a deliberative decision-making process, and more loyal to “the need in the moment.” Crave a burrito for lunch? Whip out the phone, search for “Mexican food near me,” and pick from the results. Whoever has what we want right now wins.

Because of the immediacy of mobile, we now have very high standards. Frictionless online experiences with businesses that provide relevant content, services, or products really don’t impress us. It’s expected.

Marketers must adapt to mobile.

This all points to the fact that we as marketers must adapt our focus heavily toward mobile or risk being lost in the shuffle. A mobile-friendly website is a given. But with nearly 68% of all emails being opened at least first on mobile devices, email marketing must cater to the small phone screen with responsive design and larger fonts. Bulletproof buttons (that appear in email messages even if the user has images turned off) can ensure your CTA is seen and thus more likely to be effective.

The reader considers these factors and decides which messages are worthwhile, and either interacts immediately or re-opens them later on a laptop or desktop for further engagement.

The shift toward mobile devices is hardly a fad – it’s a solid trend that businesses must embrace in order to connect with today’s digital consumer.

Now it’s YOUR turn – what are YOU doing to adapt your marketing efforts to mobile? Share a comment.