A large part of staying ahead in your industry is being wise about cutting-edge technology. Being wise about cutting-edge technology means accurately assessing your options, choosing the most promising technology, and effectively implementing it to give your customers the best possible experience. Today, a key part of your customers’ expectations is personalization. Using “geomarketing” as part of your mobile marketing strategy is your key to a personalized, cutting-edge and innovative advantage in your industry. Here are the benefits of an effective, integrated geomarketing strategy and the potential pitfalls to consider.

 

 

The concept and technology driving modern geomarketing fosters the integration of geographical intelligence into various aspects of marketing, as the name implies. Through the use of GPS tracking, geomarketing can be used to target consumers based on location, track sales and distribution, and adjust product and price accordingly.

 

 

With the emergence of smartphones and tablet computers, mobile marketing has become a natural channel for the application of geomarketing. Consumers have shown an expanding number of digital touch points, as well as a growing use of location-based services. In fact, Balihoo reports that 74 percent of smartphone owners use location-based services, and Loyalty360’s Jim Tierney reports that 47 percent of mobile consumers want to receive coupons when they are in or near a store.

 

With this evidence in mind, geomarketing can be applied to your existing mobile marketing strategy to give you automated, location-based content. You can use this opportunity to drive sales by sending notifications or text messages to the mobile devices of your customers who are in the right place at the right time.

 

These texts can be as simple as a promotional offer, but could also inform customers of their proximity to your store and any sales that are taking place. Mobile marketing strategies already take events, preferences and behaviors into account, especially when it comes to push notifications. With geomarketing, you’re adding “location” as, basically, another event that will trigger a notification.

 

This can even combat “showrooming,” a practice in which customers shop for items in-store then buy them online. Customers who come in just to try out your products are enticed to buy with special promotions and offers that they receive upon arriving.

 

 

Good mobile marketing is effective because of personalization. If you’re collecting the available data from your existing mobile marketing strategy, such as purchasing trends, demographic data or other valuable information, you can leverage this information with a promotional push notification or text message when a customer is close to your store. You can also incorporate social media and geo-location services, including Facebook and Foursquare, to gather data.

 

An integrated strategy spans all aspects of marketing with software that can help you put location-based data on a map, segregate and target your customers and calculate summary information for specific areas. You can further leverage this information by seeking and targeting other similar locations.

 

 

The statistics back the usefulness of mobile marketing based on location and relevance, but, still, be careful not to overdo it. Keep in mind that most smartphones or tablets have a ton of apps on them, and most of them regularly send push notifications to the user. You’d hate to overwhelm your customers with your own push notifications. In addition, apps that send out a large number of irrelevant push notifications tend to get deleted.

 

To combat this, you can make it easy for the user to customize push notifications within the app, so they have the option of only receiving location-based or promotional push notifications. In addition, do not send push notifications to anyone who has opted out. That’s a sure way to get your app deleted. Alternatively, if you’re using text messages, make it easy to opt out with a simple response.

 

Strive to be personable. Your push notifications should be under 200 characters, but it’s OK to inject them with a little personality. In the world of personalized communication, the last thing you want to sound like is a robot. You can also achieve a connection by adding messages to your push notifications on special events and holidays.

 

Utilizing geomarketing as part of your mobile marketing strategy is a great way to stay ahead of the competition. It allows you to effectively leverage multiple types of information, from preferences to location, in order to give your customer the best, most personalized experience possible. As long as you’re careful not to overwhelm, geomarketing as an integral part of your mobile strategy can help take your business to the next level.