Right technology choices for
location based marketing

Everyone is going on a diet, either to stay in shape or get in shape. Let’s not talk about people who want neither of those things, because they are laggards, at least where digital diet is concerned and in the realm of retail. Technology is coming up with advanced dietary supplements to strengthen your business every day. It depends on the digital dietitians of your organization to pick and choose the essential nutrients that your business is lacking and imbibe them in the diet.

Like there are a number of diets out there bringing out the best in people, there are varieties of digital diet as well making your business look more lucrative and inviting more customers. location based marketing is one of those specific digital diet plans.

According to The Location Based Marketing Association (LBMA), Company usage of location-based marketing is on the rise in most countries — 5% increase in the US from 2016 to 2017, 6% in Canada, 7% in the UK, and 3% in Singapore.

Digital diet for location based marketing:

Emma was out with her friends, shopping. The moment they came near a Starbucks outlet a push message popped up on Emma’s smart phone screen “Hey Emma! Looks like you’re in the neighborhood. Why not stop by for a coffee? We’re giving a buy one get one free only for you today!” Excited, Emma tells her friends about this awesome offer and makes her way to the coffee giant’s outlet.

But how did Starbucks know? Were they following her?

Well, yes.

So what are the dietary requirements to practice and engage with your customers so effectively? Below is the dietary supplement chart:

Digital dietary supplements

 

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Beacons

Vitamins are considered one of the vital nutrients that the body needs in limited amounts. As a retailers beacons are those vitamins that used in just the right amount boosts the health of customer centricity by following their close range activity. Beacons are small, close range, Bluetooth based radios which communicate with the retailer’s app installed in the consumer’s smart phone. To see how it works, let’s take the example of 313 Somerset, a mall in Singapore. Situated near the Somerset MRT station, the mall has its own app called Tring313 app which allows consumers to receive coupons and sales alerts as soon as they walk into 50-500 meter distances from the mall. 313 Somerset is the first mall in Singapore to launch this beacon based facility, this has led to 46% sales conversion according to the retailers. However beacons are a Bluetooth dependent device and its accuracy is mostly in store (departments, product segments).

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Geo
fencing

Mind the minerals which will act along with the vitamins and make the diet more effective. With the help of your mobile device location feature, GPS tracking and cellular network tracking, geo fencing is becoming the that much needed minerals in planning a successful location based marketing diet. Kaplan, an education company uses GPS geo-fences around locations where their target audience is mostly likely to spend time.

American fast food giant Taco Bell targets customers who have downloaded their apps with geo fencing based push notifications. The restaurant utilizes geo fencing when customers are in the vicinity of a restaurant, reminding them that they just need to order from the app and can pick it up directly from a Taco Bell nearby. Their push notifications with offers also come with a tab “Remind Me Nearby” tab that alerts consumers when they are near a Taco Bell.

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Wi-Fi & Bluetooth

Striking the right balance of protein and carbs is essential to constitute an optimal diet. Adding essential nutrients like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the right amount helps you strike that perfect balance in your digital diet. Push notifications via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth has been used by retailers for some time now. With proper permission and apps retailers are able to send push notifications and app notifications with offers and personalized messages whenever the customer is in the vicinity of the store. Proximity marketing is on a rise as JiWire says as much as 53% of consumers are willing to share their current location to receive more relevant advertising and 57% of consumers are more likely to engage with location-based advertising. That is the better half of the consumers willing to let you contact through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Tracking customers instore is easier with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology, apps can direct them from one aisle to another helping them find the products they need. This also helps in sending real time redeemable offers as push notifications on customer phone.

Business health benefits

  • You find your customer rather than wait for your customer to find you.
  • You make it easier for your customer to choose you by making personalized messaging targeted to them.
  • Your brand is always with your customers. Fueling loyalty.

Say no to crash diet

The business needs a fine tuned dosage of all the essential nutrients of location based marketing. Overdosing on any of those will result in negative effects just like a crash diet on human body. There’s a fine line between being helpful to your customers and becoming outright creepy or unethical. Going overboard with location based marketing is like going on a crash diet. So it’s in the best interest of both sides that crash diet is not followed. One such crash diet example is when Uber tried to geo fence Apple and track iPhones even if a customer deleted the app. The practice is called fingerprinting. Apple of course found out and threatened to remove Uber from iPhone app store to stop the practice.

Looking ahead to a better, fitter customer centric retailing

According to the “Global Location Trends Report” 2017, 75% of 253 global marketers, including Starbucks, BMW, and Coca-Cola, believe that location-based marketing will play crucial role in their businesses this year. The report also said– 63% of marketers plan to invest in Wi-Fi, 57% in GPS, about 41% plan to invest in beacons in 2016.

Customer centricity is the game changer in today’s market and every retailer is opening their doors to technology for grabbing the best opportunity. Customers are not left wandering about looking for the best deals, customers are sought out and presented with tailored plans that strengthen the bond with their retailers and ensure retention. Following the digital diet for curating location based marketing would add to the seamless beauty of a retailer’s journey with its customers.

Author: Shreyasee Ghosh, Research Analyst

Practice Head: Abhishek Mahajan, Digital Retail