Location-based marketing enables organizations to reach consumers on a particular, individual level through online or offline messages according to their location. By leveraging location data, marketing teams can target consumers based on their nearness to a store, local events, and other relevant qualifiers.
Location-based marketing has demonstrated effectiveness throughout customer journeys, from product discovery and purchase to engagement and retention.
When utilized effectively, location-based marketing empowers marketers to target specific customer segments with personalized offers. As such, it enhances the overall customer experience for a population increasingly prioritizing instant gratification.
Why should businesses invest in location-based marketing?
The best thing about this kind of marketing strategy is that it directs customers to stores where they can easily visit to make a purchase.
Brands need to act on this opportunity to improve their bottom line. When these customers have better experiences engaging with the brand, they’re also most likely to visit the physical stores mentioned in the targeted offer.
Marketers can customize content according to the user’s profile and preferences. It also bridges digital and physical contexts to offer actionable content at a time when the market can use it. The number of market followers will grow naturally if they continuously interact with brands providing personalized products and services. Since they often receive messages and offers that pique their interest, there is a better chance that they’ll make a purchase.
Another reason brands should seriously consider investing in location-based marketing is that it targets areas with high purchasing potential. You’re not just sending out a message or advertisement and hoping for someone to act on it.
Instead, you’re advertising to a group of people who will most likely act favorably on your offer. You’re saving money and effort, supposedly for traditional marketing campaigns.
Understanding the Different Location-Based Marketing Strategies
In recent years, the rise of connected devices has played a significant role in enabling location-based marketing. Nowadays, nearly everything, such as phones, cars, and watches, is linked to the internet.
These devices frequently track users’ locations, producing a wealth of geographical and spatial data. By analyzing this data, marketing teams gain valuable insights into reaching customers and effectively enhancing their overall experience.
You track your target market seamlessly with an address validation API. This tool confirms and authenticates postal addresses provided by users or gathered from different origins. It compares the address details with a database of known addresses to ensure accuracy and completeness.
These APIs assist businesses in enhancing the accuracy of their location data, minimizing errors in shipping or mailing procedures, and increasing customer satisfaction.
There are various methods through which marketers can utilize this location data in their marketing strategies:
Ads in WiFi Hotspots
Wi-Fi hotspots in malls and town centers present an excellent and distinctive opportunity for employing location-based marketing.
The public Wi-Fi in these areas allows retailers to advertise their products and services to online customers.
For instance, when customers access the Wi-Fi network in a mall, they can receive advertisements from retailers leasing space in the mall or meal offers from nearby eateries.
Beaconing
Beacons are small devices that use Bluetooth or WiFi to connect with specific applications nearby. They help target existing customers in a small area.
Beacons send signals to devices nearby, triggering servers to send content like push notifications or emails. For instance, a sports stadium might use beacons to recognize when attendees with the stadium’s app are nearby.
Users need to opt in and have Bluetooth enabled for this to work. But it provides a direct way to communicate with customers. Organizations can track users indoors more precisely, allowing for specific targeting and a better understanding of customer behavior.
Users don’t need to be online to receive these notifications. Stores can place beacons in aisles to send offers as customers browse. For instance, a grocery store could use beacons to identify when a shopper is browsing the ice cream aisle and send them a special offer on ice cream cones.
Geotargeting
It’s a technique used to find out where a user is located so that bespoke messages can be sent to them based on their location. For instance, if a consumer has agreed to share their location with an app, they might receive messages within the app or push notifications tailored to their region or how close they are to a store.
Geotargeting relies on IP addresses. Each connected device has its unique IP address, which helps identify them. Geotargeting determines where users are located by matching these IP addresses to the country, zip code, and other details.
The main advantage of geotargeting is that it improves the customer experience through personalization. For instance, marketers can tailor their messages to users based on specific needs related to their location, such as local weather or events.
A typical example of geotargeting is seen in Google search results. When a user searches for “cafés,” Google uses location data from the device’s IP address to provide information about nearby coffee shops.
Geofencing
Geofencing involves setting up a virtual boundary in a specific area. When target audiences cross this boundary, they become the focus of the marketing strategy. This could include receiving content, offers, or other messages from the brand. An example of a boundary could be around a famous shopping center where the company has a store.
Geofencing uses GPS technology to establish a border. Users who cross this border get notified through their mobile phones.
Geofencing enables marketers to cover wider areas, like malls or event spaces. With this approach, marketers can target all users within a certain perimeter. Although less detailed than other tactics, geofencing can be valuable for significant events or capturing foot traffic near a store.
Geofencing relies on real-time location data, allowing marketers to prompt users to interact with their products or steer consumers away from competitors.
Retailers can utilize geofencing to target users near their stores and encourage them to visit. Suppose a customer browses a product online. In that case, they might be notified that it is available at a nearby store.
Geo-conquesting
Geo-conquesting involves using location data to redirect potential customers away from competitor locations.
It utilizes GPS technology to target users near your competitors. Organizations can gain market share and attract new customers by persuading users who are already considering a product to buy from them instead of a competitor.
The best example of this strategy is Burger King. The popular fast food chain successfully used geo-conquesting by diverting potential McDonald’s customers to their restaurants.
Consumers were prompted to download the Burger King app. When they approached within 600 feet of a McDonald’s, the app sent a promotion for a 1-cent Whopper and directed them to the nearest Burger King location.
Mobile targeting
Mobile targeting is when marketers aim advertisements at consumers on their mobile devices. Because people usually avoid ads, marketers try to make them relevant, focusing on factors like time, device, or location.
Marketers create segments in their mobile advertising platform to specify who they want to target and what criteria to use (like when they enter a particular area or are near a store).
It lets marketers reach users directly on their devices for a more personalized connection. Using a targeted approach often leads to better returns on advertising spending.
Social media advertisements that target based on location data can encourage people to visit nearby stores, restaurants, or events.
Plan Your Strategy Ahead
Location-based marketing is crucial to your business’s efforts, significantly impacting foot traffic and enhancing marketing return on investment (ROI).
There are various methods to implement location-based marketing, including beacons, geo-fencing, and geo-targeting. Regardless of your strategy, it’s vital to have a well-thought-out plan from the beginning.
Additionally, it’s important to remember that while location-based marketing is effective, it shouldn’t be used in isolation. It’s essential to integrate it with other marketing strategies for optimal results.
By integrating location-based marketing with complementary tactics such as social media campaigns, content marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO), you can amplify your reach, engagement, and impact on your target audience.
This comprehensive approach ensures a more robust and holistic marketing strategy that leverages various channels and techniques to enhance brand visibility, customer engagement, and, ultimately, business success.
