If you clicked on this article, you know that traditional marketing methods aren’t cutting it in the industry today. The first big jump in technology was social media. Marketing agencies had to create cohesive ad campaigns across multiple media platforms.

However, another layer has been added to the pile, and it’s trending fast. Location-based marketing, or geofencing, is the act of sending ads to electronic devices that are within a certain distance from your establishment. This can be done with either GPS or a Bluetooth beacon. Even if customers have their “location” turned off, your notifications can still reach them.

When done correctly, this can give you a HUGE advantage and rapidly increase brand visibility.

If you’re ready to get started, keep reading to learn our five best tips for using geofencing ads to stay ahead of your competition.

Do Customers Even Like Geofencing?

Some people might think that geofencing sounds invasive and annoying. Why can’t customers just shop where they want without being nagged? Well, the truth is that customers have given an overwhelmingly positive response to location-based marketing. Only viewing ads for businesses that are near you saves time and even money.

If a group of friends are out shopping and want to stop for lunch, a quick search will show them ads for restaurants nearby and location-based promotions will show them which restaurants are running lunch specials.

Marketing has always carried the stigma of being inconvenient and in-your-face, trying to convince you to buy things you didn’t need. However, with geofencing, marketing has not only become convenient, but helpful. Customers can discover businesses and promotions in their area that they didn’t even know existed.

Tips on Using Geofencing Ads

So now that you know what geofencing is and how customers have been reacting to it, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon! Here are our five tips for using geofencing ads to grow your business.

1.Understand Your Nearby Audience

Geofencing sends your ads and promotions to targeted customers, but that isn’t all it does. In order for it to know which customers to target in the first place, it has to first take data from those devices. Smartphones and tablets save EVERYTHING, and that information is priceless to business owners who want to learn about their target demographics.

When a potential consumer walks by your business, your geofencing software should glean enough information to tell you their likes, dislikes, and behavioral patterns. Sometimes you’ll even be able to predict where they’ll go when leaving your store.

Harnessing this technology will allow you to know which customers to target before you start spending money on ad campaigns. If you aren’t gathering this kind of information, it’s time to update your geofencing software.

2. Target Your Competitor’s Customers

Nowadays, it’s hard for smaller businesses to compete against larger corporations who have international brand recognition. If you want to have a dog in the fight, putting up fliers just isn’t going to cut it.

Geofencing, however, is a perfect way to get a leg up on your local competition. If you aren’t sure who to target in your area, geofencing will gather data from the devices in your area. You’ll be able to see their demographic, spatial, and behavioral patterns.

For instance, if you own a small coffee shop that’s two miles from a Starbucks, your geofencing software will find customers who regularly visit that Starbucks and send them your promotions. Now you can know that your ads are going to regular coffee drinkers and not people who prefer hardware stores.

This is a great way to ensure that you’re building brand recognition and not losing customers to your local competition.

3. Find Consumers Outside Your Standard Target Area

The beauty of geofencing is that it doesn’t have to just be for customers in your local area. Studies have shown that customers are willing to travel farther for products and services that fit their exact wants and needs. As a smaller business, if you’re able to tap into markets that are farther away than normal, you’re already WAY ahead of the game.

Location intelligence can do through by implementing “spatial-behavior targeting”. This means it can find consumers in different areas that have the same purchasing habits and emotional behaviors as your already loyal consumers.

If you send out promotions for products that enticed your current customers, you’re sure to improve your brand visibility and gain a larger following.

4. Leverage Location Performance For Inventory

The data gathered from location intelligence isn’t only being used to gain new customers. To fully take advantage of these developments, business owners can use gathered data to predict trends regarding traffic, days of the week, and even seasons and holidays.

Once these patterns become obvious, they can use them to stay ahead of the crowds and have their inventory stocked properly.

To add to the coffee example from before, certain flavors are popular during certain seasons, i.e. pumpkin spice during Fall peppermint mocha during Winter. With precise customer analytics, coffee shop owners can know exactly when the demand for these flavors will start and how much inventory they will need.

If you use these same rules to supply inventory and services for your business, you’ll never run out during a rush again.

5. Eliminate Ad Waste

Before spatial intelligence, business owners would have to base their ad campaigns on who was closest to their location. That meant potentially wasting ads on people who didn’t fit the profile of their target demographic.

However, with all the data that geofencing collects from existing and prospective customers, there’s no longer a need to send ads to the wrong consumers. This saves you time, money, and allows you to hyper-focus on building relationships with the right people.

Now that you’ve discovered our five tips for geofencing, follow our link for more info on which geofencing company is right for your business.

Take The Leap

If you’re nervous about taking the leap with geofencing ads, think about your competitors who already have taken the leap. That should make you nervous. Location-based marketing is a tool that you can’t afford to miss out on.

Once you do, your business will take off, and you’ll need to be ready. Contact Designs Desk with any questions you have on web design and how to create the perfect blog for your brand.