How Geo-targeting and Mobile Marketing can work together
Mobile responsive websites are the new norm for businesses, but if you’re not using customer location information in your targeted marketing, you’re missing out on a much more integrated and relevant customer experience.
Geo-targeting gains behavioral data based on the customer’s past purchases and uses a location filter to aid them in relevant recommendations. Here’s how it works:
Geo-location
Geo-location is identifying the real-world location of an object through either GPS tracking or a smart device with a built in data transmission ability. Here’s a perfect example. Shopping malls and retail outlets that provide free WiFi services will determine device location based on the hotspot identifiers. This location identifier will locate the device location and report it to the ad servers. Those servers maintain a database of location data and ad campaigns. Once a location update is received, the appropriate ad campaign can go out to the customer.
You can build a perimeter around a location to gain customers. This is done through both geo-fencing and geo-conquesting.
Geo-fencing
A virtual fence is created around a geographical location to limit advertisement messages to that area. This is used in areas near (or within stores) to help draw people to the store experience. This is also how you gain sales and activity points in apps like those for Cinemark Theatres, Walmart, and more.
You want to define a radius by distance or time around your store or area of interest. A coffee shop, for instance, could set up a three mile perimeter around a nearby office complex to gain their interest. You can also create a time-specific one based on a 10-minute or less walking distance.
Geo-Conquesting
This is a marketing tactic in which a company will target a competitor’s store. They build a geo-fence around the competition’s perimeter in order to lure customers away. While this may seem unethical, it actually betters the buyer’s experience by opening them up to other options.
Once you’ve set up your geo-targeting system, you’ll want to ensure you have location-specific landing pages on your website to provide relative content. Let’s say you’re a company who has online and in-store sales. For someone out of town, you could have a landing page that provides a discount shipping coupon for their next order. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Don’t forget to take advantage of geographic specific events as well. The weather and a traditional or local holiday are perfect opportunities to geo-target your customers. If the weather forecast mentions a blizzard, a hardware store could promote snow shovels or snow blowers to its customers. The same goes for any type of weather condition. A sudden heat wave could trigger a summer shirt sale in a clothing store. If a favorite holiday is coming up, sales could be targeted based on festive pieces and attire. The sky’s the limit.
Location based marketing is becoming the new norm. Relevant, up-to-date notifications on customers’ phones are a must. Geo-targeting allows you to create a more personalized shopping experience by interpreting their needs before they have to ask for assistance.