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The beauty of geofencing: Personalizing the "call to action"
Casey Gannon, VP of marketing, Shopgate, shares insight on why geofencing is an effective way to reach customers, based on their location, to incentivize them to come into the store.
October 22, 2019
By Casey Gannon, VP of marketing, Shopgate
Jenna is a loyal customer of a popular makeup store. As she's running her errands, she receives a push notification letting her know the nearest store location is now offering the newest lipstick color of her favorite brand. The store sweetens the deal even further by prompting her with a digital coupon she can redeem. By reminding Jenna of the rewards that await her at the store, the beauty retailer further solidifies and personalizes its "call to action."
As you can see, geofencing is an effective way to reach customers based on their location to incentivize them to come into the store. As well, these virtual fences can help drive the consumer to purchase by sending messages based on their locations and personalized preferences. According to Salesforce, 80% of people surveyed want to get location-based alerts from businesses and 53% of shoppers visited a specific retailer after receiving a location-based alert.
With geofencing, retailers can connect with shoppers organically, capitalizing on the shopper's location and heightened attention - all on their most personal device. However, in order to maximize geofencing efforts, retailers need to consider the most effective strategy for their target consumers. Below are four best practices retailers should keep in mind when implementing a geofencing strategy into their overall marketing plan.
Get the target audience just right
The first step to creating a geofencing strategy is to identify the retailer's target customers, keeping in mind that demographics will change based on location. By understanding the behavior and preferences of local customers, retailers can send personalized messages and offers that are relevant to the area and develop key insights about the shoppers who are interested. This will ensure the right shoppers are notified at the right time, generating leads and building a loyal customer base.
Drive nearby consumers into the store
Retailers should utilize geofencing to drive consumers who are close to a brick-and-mortar store. In order to get consumers in the door, retailers must focus on the most relevant messaging to each of them in order to drive the "call to action." This means advertising an offer enticing enough to get people into the door immediately, whether it be a fun, brief message or an irresistible coupon. The key to successfully doing this is to target those who are in very close proximity to the location — as in just minutes away from a local store. Customers who receive the notification will keep the retailer top of mind and will be more likely to visit that store.
Target consumers at competitive stores
A great way to get shoppers in the door is target them at competitive stores and prompt them to come into your store instead. Creating a geofence around your competitor's store allows retailers to notify shoppers of better deals and products they are offering. This strategy can be especially effective if a retailer sends personalized messages catered to what a specific shopper is looking for.
For example, Quiznos has used "geo-conquesting" to target people who visited nearby sandwich shops, such as Jimmy John's and Subway. By pushing content around rival locations and redirecting consumers to their own store, Quiznos earned more business, with 20% increase in coupon redemptions and 3.7 million impressions.
Know that it's all about location
For savvy retailers, strategic geofencing is the key to targeting a consumer on their most personal device and drive action. Retailers can use geofencing-powered communication to optimize their mobile capabilities, targeting consumers where they are and staying at the top of their radar based on current location and location history. Not only does this help successfully market to the on-the-go mobile user, but it also adds context to mobile customers' buying habits.
By adding geofencing capabilities, retailers can realize the power of mobile apps and engage with users based on location. Implementing these strategies can give retailers the opportunity to tailor each user's experience and create a personalized shopping journey that generates loyalty and increases the bottom line. What's more, driving these super-contextualized messages that can make a big effect on your overall mobile marketing strategy.
