With society well into the digital age, it's not hard to identify a few of the many ways technology has impacted our lives. In the field of marketing, where staying on top of trends and tools is the best way to reach success, technology is a formidable ally. Ever since the first mass-produced advertisements and magazines were distributed on a large scale, advancements in tech have always been the driving force behind successful marketing.
And now that we live so much of our lives online, marketers now have their pick of digital tools and techniques. From the ever-reliable email newsletter to machine learning and AI, there are a host of different approaches to creating a marketing campaign that's timely, affordable, and effective. Today, we're going to talk about an important technique that increases the effectiveness of digital advertising: geofencing.
Location, Location, Location
The first thing that businesses who want to create effective campaigns need to understand is that successful marketing doesn't happen in a vacuum. There's no cookie cutter approach when it comes to establishing the groundwork for your campaign. This means that you'll need to do a little more research before jumping into your approach.
A key element in determining if your marketing strategy is going to be effective is location. In our article 'Is Your Brand Geo-Smart?', we discuss how the geographic location of a business is crucial in determining a product or service. In the same way, location can be a very useful tool for establishing the right context and stage for your marketing campaigns. That, in a nutshell, is the principle behind geofencing.
Geofencing and You
To put it simply, geofencing is a marketing technique that employs GPS, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Wi-Fi within a specific geographic boundary. Once a customer with a smartphone enters that specific area, it triggers a marketing action. This marketing action can be anything from promotional banners, coupons, or app notifications.
Geofencing is a fantastic way to get more value out of your marketing dollars because it employs hyper-targeting. You can thus reach your market at moments where they're more likely to make a purchase. And because your materials are sent at the right place, at the right time, you're more likely to see better results.
The logic behind picking up geofencing is solid. Research by New Adlucent found that 71% of consumers prefer ads tailored to their interests and shopping habits, and are almost twice as likely to click through ads that do. Mobile Marketer reports that using location targeting in a campaign is likely to more than double the performance of mobile ads.
Additionally, geofencing or location-based targeting can be used in conjunction with other marketing methods for an overall stronger campaign. Triadex Services suggests enhancing online geofencing with offline techniques like direct mail, for example. Geofencing can be utilized in text messaging campaigns, third-party apps, social media ads, web ads, and homegrown apps.
This technique has already proven its worth in the real world. Perhaps best known is Dunkin' Donuts' geofencing campaign in 2016, which targeted customers going to competitors' stores. The Dunkin Donuts campaign offered these customers coupons on their mobile devices. This eventually saw 36% of customers who clicked on the ad taking a secondary offer, with 18% saving the coupon and 3.6% redeeming the coupon.
As competition in the online sphere increases year by year, it's important that businesses big and small learn how to make efficient use of their marketing tools. Geofencing is one such method, allowing marketers and businesses to maximize their mobile ad impact and stand out from the competition. When it comes to strengthening an online campaign, there are few techniques that do it better.