Are you having trouble getting in front of your best potential customers? These days, savvy marketers are always looking for the next big thing to engage potential customers and stand out from the competition.
That’s why many are turning to geofencing in conjunction with marketing automation as the ultimate one-two punch for delivering targeted advertising with pinpoint accuracy. Let’s explore what each of these powerful tools can do for your organization.
What is Geofencing?
To begin with, how does geofencing work? Geofencing is a location-based marketing technique that employs GPS, RFID, Wi-Fi, or cellular technology to monitor when a mobile device crosses a virtual geographic fence or boundary you set around a certain area. A action of your choosing, like a push notification or SMS text message, is then triggered.
Some major advantages geofencing can bring to the table include:
Localized Targeting: Reach customers in real-time based on their location.
Customer Experience: Deliver localized offers and information when customers are ready to buy.
Data Accumulation: Gain insightful data around customer habits and movements.
Marketing Automation Keeps Things Running Smoothly
Marketing automation is the use of software platforms and digital tools to complete repetitive tasks without human intervention. It enables marketers to effectively manage multiple campaigns across various channels from one centralized place.
Some major advantages marketing automation can bring to the table include:
Personalization: Customize messages based on customer behavior and interests.
Consistency: Ensure brand voice is consistent across all marketing channels.
Efficiency: Save time for your team to allocate to more strategic and creative tasks.
Geofencing and Marketing Automation | Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together
When used in unison, geofencing and creative automation can be a marketers dream. Below are a few ways this powerful combination can help you target the right customers with the right message at the right time.
How It’s Done:
Triggered Campaigns: Deliver time-sensitive messages or offers to customers automatically when they enter your geofenced region.
Segmentation: Identify and segment your contacts based on their geolocation.
Behavioral Data: Gain insights into customer movement habits to improve marketing campaigns.
Case Studies
We’ll wrap things up with a few examples of what this could potentially look like for your organization. Below are a couple quick scenarios:
Retail
Retail stores can leverage geofencing to capture nearby customers. As they pass by, they will be notified of a special discount for a limited time or new products in store, thus encouraging them to drop by.
Events
In large events like trade shows, concerts or summits, geofencing can help direct attendees to certain booths or activities they’re interested in. Reminders and updates are sent out automatically to keep them informed of what’s happening and when.
Hospitality
When guests are within the hotel’s geofence, staff can send personalized offers and relevant information about services or attractions nearby.
Best Practices for Implementation
Like any other form of marketing automation, geofencing needs proper planning and execution. Consider the following best practices:
Define Clear Objectives
Are you trying to achieve more foot traffic? Or increase sales? Perhaps engage customers more efficiently?
Whatever the marketing campaigns or strategies you plan, know your why’s. It helps in staying focused.
Respect Privacy
If you’re going to collect customer data, disclose it clearly and ask for necessary permissions. Users should have the choice to opt out.
Test and Optimize
Campaigns should be tested regularly. Analyze output data to guess what will work best or improve on others.
Integrate with Other Channels
Automation and geofencing efforts should tie in nicely with other marketing channels, so ensure proper integration.
Monitor Compliance
Data privacy laws and regulations on location-based services are constantly updated. Be mindful of these to prevent any trouble.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
The pitfalls kind of seem like a no-brainer but they’re worth mentioning.
Over-communication Customers will get annoyed and possibly opt out if they’re bombarded with too many messages from you.
Poor Targeting Set your geofences properly and don’t send messages to those who have no relation to your offers.
Ignoring Data Collecting customer data across all interactions is useless if not used to improve strategies.
Lack of Personalisation Customers can sense when they’re just one among many.
Ignoring the Users’ Incentives: Keep an eye on how customers are responding and act accordingly.
Wrapping Up
Geofencing and marketing automation, both are like dynamic weapons in a marketer’s arsenal. If you are looking to offer precise, timely and relevant messages to your target audience, you need to combine the strengths of both these technologies. Over and above, it will help you to improve your marketing campaigns, create better customer experiences and of course, achieve better outcomes. So, say yes to both and bid goodbye to your conventional marketing strategies.