Looking to deliver uber-targeted messaging to your in-store audiences? Learning more about location-based marketing, how it works, and strategies to utilize may be just what you need to kick your next marketing campaign up a notch.
Location-based marketing refers to any marketing strategy that uses location data to serve ads or targeted messaging to a specific local audience. Using location data from mobile devices, marketers today are able to seek out customers by current proximity to the store or recent visits.
Marketers also use location data to serve hyper-local messaging, or messaging specific to a small neighborhood, a city block, or an area of their retail store, and it’s proven successful by way of personalization to the intended audience.
Who Uses Location-Based Marketing?
Location-based marketing is used often by marketers in the retail, food service, real estate, hospitality, and automotive industries—but it can be leveraged by any marketer looking to personalize their marketing communications to a select audience with targeted offers.
Location-Based Mobile Marketing Strategies To Try
From smartphones to luxury vehicles to watches, almost everything today has the ability to track its owner’s location—and that location and spatial data is available to marketers in abundance to understand user interests and interactions. Here are three location-based mobile marketing strategies to consider if you’re new to the game.
Geo-Targeting
Geo-targeting is the process of using location data via IP address to determine the location of a consumer and serve them targeted communications like push notifications or in-app messages. Google uses location-based data from a device’s IP address to improve search and provide users with hyper local results. For example, if you Google “shopping malls” and you’re located in Nashville, your search results page will look different from someone searching for ‘shopping malls’ in Milwaukee.
Geo-Fencing
Geo-fencing gives stores, restaurants, and more the ability to virtually ‘fence in’ a designated area using GPS technology. If an area has been geo-fenced, consumers entering the area may be targeted with advertisements, push notifications, or marketing messages related to your business. Because geo-fencing uses real-time location data, marketers are able to receive real-time engagement with their store or event—but it also leaves room for targeting to consumers outside of the intended audience.
Geo-Conquesting
Geo-conquesting allows you to challenge competitor storefronts directly and target their customers with location-based data. Using GPS technology, you can encourage consumers with intent to purchase to ditch the competition and shop your store instead by offering targeted coupons or personalized service.
Privacy Concerns
There’s this notation that consumers no longer care about privacy in a mobile-friendly, social media frenzied world—but that’s simply not true. While most location-based marketing solutions only provide aggregate data and cannot attach a specific cell phone number to an exact location, privacy concerns may be something marketers in all industries will have to consider as part of this technology’s future in the space.
Why Using Location-Based Marketing Can Enhance Your Overall Strategy
Whether you’re a new brand looking to grow local awareness or a well-known staple interested in attaining new customers, location-based marketing can provide a space to deliver more targeted messaging and cut down on spend. Before implementing a new strategy, consider your audience, your in-store location, and past customer behavior.
Is location-based marketing right for your company? See our case studies for various industries here. Contact us to learn more.