You drive by your favorite grocery store and suddenly receive a text offering you several dollars off of your next purchase. You walk by a neighborhood restaurant and moments later receive an email promoting the competitor restaurant down the street. You’ve just experienced the power of geofencing.
Geofencing gives companies the opportunity to advertise their products and services to potential customers within a set geographic radius. It uses a combination of GPS (global positioning system) technology and Bluetooth technology to communicate carefully crafted messages via this hyper-focused, location-driven marketing tool.
But it isn’t only used for marketing. It is used for vehicle control in the shipping industry, to automate time cards and manage employees in the workplace, to monitor cattle in the agricultural industry, to track company property, and to block drones in places like airport runways and the airspace surrounding the White House. It is also used in some home security systems, garage door openers, and home appliances.
How it works
Technically speaking, a geofence is simply a bit of code within a mobile application. Geofencing uses GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi, or cellular data to determine a user’s location. In marketing applications, when a targeted customer enters a pre-determined area marked by a virtual boundary or fence, geofencing can trigger text messages, social media advertisements, or other location-based marketing messages.
Personalization
Geofencing allows you to target specific customers in a carefully defined geographic area. This hyper-focused targeting – when done correctly – can lead to tremendous results. Sending limited-time offers and push promotions to select customers can quickly lead to improved engagement and increased sales. Geofencing also allows you to collect customer data in order to personalize and customize offers based on their interests.
Privacy
When businesses use geofencing as part of an overall marketing plan, it is important to remember to be very transparent with customers. Your marketing team will help you hone social media and app messages when utilizing geofencing and collecting customer information. It is important to show customers that you value their privacy. This gives them the confidence to safely interact with you in the future.
Marketing applications
As you consider expanding your marketing program with geofencing, be sure you know your customer base and understand your local customers’ preferences and triggers. Hire a geofencing marketing company to aid in this analysis. Be sure to weave your geofencing marketing strategy into your overall company marketing plan, so all components work together. Geofencing marketing experts can help you maximize your reach, deliver appropriate calls to action to potential customers and analyze each campaign’s results to ensure success.
Geofencing is gaining popularity in many business marketing settings. Make sure your team is ahead of the curve. Hire a team of experts to incorporate this leading-edge marketing strategy as part of your overall marketing plan.
Looking for geofencing marketing consultants to help you reach potential customers? Wild Coffee Marketing can help. Our experts offer free consultations to help you find the right tools and solutions to help your business grow. Contact us today to learn more!
