Most marketers now understand how to target mobile-specific consumers. The recipe is simple, really:

• Create a toned-down browsing experience with emphasis on popular site features.
• Make price comparison easy.
• Make the checkout process quick, with minimal typing needed.

If you’ve done that — congratulations on achieving a lower bounce rate and improved conversion rate!

But there is one more important factor of mobile marketing that many businesses don’t focus on enough:

• Timing, timing, timing.

Yes, marketers often forget about timing. When someone is viewing your site via mobile is just as important as what that person is seeing. You’re not just working with your business’s schedule – you’re also working with your customer’s schedule.

When Do Your Customers Need You?

This is especially true for seasonally dependent businesses. Take a florist, for example. Valentine’s Day is a big revenue period each year. Why not offer a special last-minute discount for all of those last-minute shoppers seeking deals on their phones on a gift for that special someone?

How about a grocery store on the 4th of July? Mobile browsers will be looking for BBQ meats and beer. Why not offer both at a special rate and put them at the forefront of your mobile site on the 4th?

Let’s not forget that timing doesn’t need to revolve around a holiday. For restaurants, posting the lunch or happy-hour specials front-and-center on the mobile site is sure to attract a few hungry local searchers. The stakes could be increased by offering a free lunch to the first person who orders a special and mentions the mobile-mentioned special price. It’s easy to get creative when you consider what your potential customers might be looking for at an exact moment or time or day.

Finding Mobile Customers at the Right Time

Once the onsite timing strategy is in place; it’s time to start promoting it offsite. In some cases loyal patrons will go directly to your site. The more challenging obstacle, however, is in determining how to get people who have never heard of your business through your mobile door.

For this, group paid advertising is the ticket. Let’s use an ice cream shop for this example. In the dog days of summer, you can create a geo-targeted AdWords campaign for “hot weather” and “ice cream” mobile-only searches. By adding a great offer and discount code in the ad text, the result will stand out from others and provide a compelling incentive for searchers to visit your shop and make a purchase.

Just remember that mobile users don’t search for long-tail terms so keep the keywords simple. Mobile searchers want information ASAP, so searches tend to be more general rather detailed and specific.

After the onsite and offsite bases are covered, make sure and post the timely discount and incentive via Twitter and Facebook, and specifically mention that it’s mobile-only. Business Insider noted about one of every five Facebook users access the site only via mobile, so you’re sure to attract some additional visitors who wouldn’t otherwise be on the site.

So what’s the moral of the story? By being timely with onsite mobile updates, offsite advertising, and updates in social media, marketers can succeed in mobile by giving customers what they want — when they want it.

What kinds of timely mobile offers have you had success with?

Mike Fitterer is an Account Strategist at Portent. By the time you read this, his focus on mobile marketing may have already become a full-blown obsession.