Are you looking for a new and modern way of stepping up your business’ advertisement game? Do you want to jumpstart your company’s sales and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty? Then it is time for you to participate in one of the fastest growing marketing trends in the world: Geofencing.
Now you might be thinking, “How will running around the woods looking for hidden containers that only my GPS knows about increase sales?” Although they sound similar, geofencing is not to be confused with geocaching, the strange, early 2000s treasure hunting phenomenon. Geofencing is a much more important and beneficial program that is worth reading about. Let’s start by answering the most pressing question at hand: What is geofencing?
What is Geofencing?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of geofencing is “the use of global positioning software, also known as GPS, or radio-frequency identification, or RFID, technology to create a virtual geographic boundary, enabling software to trigger a response when a mobile device enters or leaves a particular area.”
So basically, the definition of geofencing, in less words and easier terms, is the practice of using GPS to set virtual boundaries around a building that will send alerts when people cross the barrier. Pretty cool, huh?
How Does Geofencing Work?
The way that geofencing works is that an individual or a company chooses the geographic coordinates that it wants to set as its boundary. Then whenever someone passes through those boundaries into the designated area with a mobile device, the geofencing system is triggered and an alert or advertisement is almost immediately set to their mobile device.
The forms of the alerts that are sent to the unsuspecting mobile device can widely vary depending on the geofencing user’s preference. The most common type of alert for marketing purposes is app notifications/advertisements.
For example, say that the manager of a women’s clothing store decided to set up a geofence around the perimeter of a commpetitor's building and the parking lot and also decided that she wanted to send a digital ad to whoever had been in that shop for 7 days after. As soon as someone crosses into that coordinate set, the phone will be tagged and ads for the women's clothing store can be sent to that particular phone for 7 days after they visited the competing store.
The information that can be collected and analyzed from this advanced technological system can be beneficial to your business for several reasons. However, it is important to keep in mind that geofencing may not be the right investment for every company.
Why Geofencing Can be Useful to Your Company
If you’re in the retail business, looking into geofencing is definitely something that you should put on the top of your to-do list if it isn’t already there. Geofencing is a great way to see how many people come to your store and how often they come. Retailers can also use geofencing to send notifications or digital ads to people who come into their set boundaries meaning it is a great way to generate new business.
Retailers can program the geofence system to send alerts to the mobile devices in several different ways including app notifications and emails. These alerts can contain information about current sales, special promotions at that specific location, a simple “Stop by and say hi!” message or a “Thanks for shopping with us. We can’t wait to see you again.” But remember, it is important to include a call-to-action in your message!
The notifications that people receive from the geofencing system can quickly become an important part of your business’ marketing strategy. They can also lead to an increase in sales. For example, according to business2community.com, 53% of consumers visited a store after receiving the location-based advertisement.
In addition, Marketing Dive found that 71% of people prefer to receive personalized advertisements, which includes location. The geofencing alerts can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty as well. You can program your system to send customers advertisements based on their previous transactions, or thank them for stopping by once they leave the set boundaries.
Can I Use Geofencing For Other Purposes?
Setting up a geofence around your company’s building for purposes other than advertising is not uncommon. Many businesses use geofencing to keep track of employees, make sure their hours are properly logged and for safety reasons. Some companies have noticed a slight increase in employee productivity as a result of geofence monitoring. However, it might be a good idea to let your employees know before implementing the system.
If you are looking for a way to get ahead of the competition, you can set up a geofence boundary around your competitor’s store. By doing this, you will be able to get a lead on potential customers for your business.
At Inner Spark, we are experts in the field of geofencing advertising and would be glad to provide you with more information or help setting up your campaign.