In this hyper-connected era, location-based marketing is a sure-fire strategy to attract potential customers while retaining existing ones. In fact, according to a report published by Factual, around 9 in 10 marketers have revealed that location-based marketing resulted in increased customer sales, followed by an 86% growth in their customer base.
With smartphone ownership growing at a stunning pace, retailers have excellent opportunities to target their audience using their geolocation data. Here are five easy ways that retailers can increase their in-store traffic and conversion rates.
- Geofencing: Retailers with a brick and mortar store can make the most of location-based marketing. Geofencing is as simple as drawing a circle of 100 feet around your store on Google Maps. This can be done by using APIs when creating a location-based mobile application. This virtual fence will automatically target your potential customers when they are close to your store. Supermarket chains like Whole Foods are already using special offers to attract potential shoppers near competing stores. By incentivizing mobile users to walk into your store using discount codes, retailers can significantly increase their footfall and sales. Whole Foods could increase their post-click conversion rate by 3 times after placing geofences.
- Beacon Technology: Beacon technology enables retailers to pinpoint the location of a potential customer in real-time. They can then use push notifications with targeted offers and coupons to increase their sales. Beacons have also triggered a shift in mobile sales by offering instant value to customers. For instance, a retail store can send a promotional offer to a customer visiting a competitor and luring them into making a purchase. According to an annual report released by the Global Location Trends at SXSW, 75% of 253 global brands like Coca-Cola, Starbucks and BMW, believe that Beacon technology will play a vital role in improving customer engagement and experience.
- Geo-targeted Campaigns: Geo-targeting services offered by search engines enable retailers to allocate resources for marketing campaigns at the local level. With geo-targeted campaigns, retailers can target their audience at the Zip code, city and state level. You can also identify the best potential ad placements and boost your conversions. Google AdWords also integrates a geo-targeting feature that allows you to target customers based on their income levels and zip code. This is a lucrative strategy for promoting a new store location within a specific radius. Established brands can also use their email database to reward existing customers for their loyalty with coupons and offers and boost their customer retention rate while increasing revenue. Fall Rush, a big-box store, reached out to college students with attractive offers on electronics. The retailer used IP addresses to identify colleges by campus and targeted them with relevant ads containing discounts.
- Wi-Fi Ads: There are several Wi-Fi hotspots around public places like malls, cafes and town centres. These locations offer an excellent opportunity to reach out to your target audience and promote your offerings when they access the internet. Specific Advertising networks allow retailers to identify their target audience and deliver ads based on their location while keeping the venue and brand. For instance, if a potential customer uses Wi-Fi at a shopping mall, he/she can be served with ads from nearby retailers. Informing them about your new arrivals or offering a discount coupon can draw them to the store and influence them to purchase.
- Contactless Mobile Payments: With contactless payments gaining momentum across the globe, brands can provide their shoppers with this safe payment option. Retailers can leverage location-based mobile application and use the payment feature to track the user’s location. When customers install the payment app on their smartphone and link it to their PayPal account, the app can follow them and entice them in-store with attractive deals. Your customers can then place orders and make payments using the mobile app. Given that contactless payments will become a permanent reality, retailers can capitalize on this trend and continue to delight customers while driving engagement.
Accessing Valuable Insights from Location-based Mobile Apps
Your existing and potential customers rely heavily on their smartphones to check if a store is open, locate a café nearby, or look up for special discounts. Location-based mobile applications can provide you with valuable insights. From consumer interests and preferences to buying behavior and purchase intent – all of this information can create consumer profiles. Since attracting customers is getting complicated by the day, retailers can use these insights to craft personalized campaigns that increase reach, customer retention and revenue.
