Reaching customers where they are with what they need is the fundamental principle of geofencing. Earn more. Win big. Geo-fencing strategies provide a targeted approach to digital marketing that helps businesses win new customers. The biggest earners in the geofencing space, however, practice these sure-fire ways to boost their ROI.
Be Strategic
Geofencing can be likened to a game of chess. Make the right moves and you’ll be able to defeat your opponent. Think carefully about geofencing placement. Some businesses have used the diversion approach where a geofence is placed in the broad region surrounding a competitor. A customer who enters this region would receive notifications with deals and coupons from your store. Enticed by these deals, the customer will choose to purchase from your store instead of the competition.
Using the right size for your geofence is another way to be strategic. For instance, if your product is sold in a large department store you may want to place a geofence around the product’s shelf space. Also, if you are building a campaign to sell a specific product line, it would be wise to create a geofence around that specific product’s location instead of around the entire store.
Population Density is Important
Your aim is to reach a large number of people who are more likely to make buying decisions. It is fair to assume that the larger the geofence, the larger the audience. However, you want that audience to include people who are more likely to make the impulsive decision to visit your store. Shops in busy urban areas, therefore, benefit more from a smaller geo-fence. Conversely, stores in rural areas, where people are willing to drive miles to get what they want, benefit more from a larger geo-fence.
Use Wi-Fi instead of GPS
GPS drains battery life. Apps that are programmed to use geofencing with Wi-Fi and cell tower information fare better with users. Although GPS provides a more accurate picture, Wi-Fi preserves battery life. The latter is more important to a consumer.
Don’t Bombard the User
Let’s set the record straight. Customers in your geofence mailing list should be those who’ve opted into receiving location-based notifications from your company. It’s the ethical thing to do. Be considerate. These people don’t want to be bombarded by messages overselling your company. If they are, they’ll have no problem instantly deleting your app. Provide each customer with relevant and timely messages. Too many messages paint your brand in a negative light.
Use Geo-Fencing with Other Location-based Targeting Strategies
Geofencing is a useful tool. However, it has its limitations. One of its greatest limitations is its need for user participation. If the feature isn’t activated on the user’s device, no results will be produced. You could follow all the aforementioned tips and get abysmal results. Therefore, geo-fencing shouldn’t be used in isolation. Instead, it should be used with other location-based marketing strategies, such as beacons.
The team at Copley Advertising consists of geofencing experts. We know how to effectively use these sure-fire tips to help you get the highest ROI. Trust us to help you create a strategic, relevant, timely and user-friendly geofencing campaign. Questions? Email [email protected] to receive our presentation (What is Geofencing?).
