One of the key features of mobile devices when it comes to marketing is geo-locating. Fact is, the opportunity to deliver the right message in the right place is a marketer’s dream.
Geo-location is the ability to determine a smartphone’s location. Clearly an advertisers ability to deliver personalized content to a user, based on their exact location sounds like a fantastic opportunity. The tools are available now, are you taking advantage of them?
Before you discuss geo-location with your iPhone application developer or Android application developer, familiarize your self with the different approaches. While you may know about geo-location you may not understand the details or the differences of different types of campaigns.
Geo-fencing
Geo-fencing allows you to deliver ads, messaging or notifications within a specific perimeter around a location. Typically 5 miles is considered the most effective radius as results fall off quickly at distances further in studies (JiWire). Your messaging must be effective to get results but communications within this range have been shown to have greater effectiveness due to increased relevance.
Geo-conquesting
This is simply a variation on geo-fencing where you create a perimeter around a competitor’s locations and deliver ads, messaging or notifications in that area. There are several cases of geo-conquesting shown to have great results but you must be careful to use it when appropriate. It has also not worked well in cases where a great deal of customer research is involved in selecting a product. Make sure to decide if customers view your product as more of an impulse buy before implementing a geo-conquesting strategy.
Part of the reason that location oriented marketing is so powerful via mobile devices is that phones have become the de-facto source of local information now. Users are quick to check their phone to find local information so location relevant messaging can leverage this to be truly effective. This extends to consumers using mobile phones while on the showroom floor making mobile devices important to purchase decisions.
A well thought out campaign can draw customers in at the most opportune times. Savvy brands are expanding the mobile marking programs with improved data retention and analysis to improve performance, but already mobile ads and location based campaigns are showing impressive results.
Photo: Gonzalo Baeza (Flikr) http://bit.ly/1AZIa6b
With smartphones becoming more important every day, a mobile first marketing approach is becoming critical for modern businesses. Mobile device users are currently spending on average over 3 hours and 45 minutes per day on their mobile devices so the suggestion of a mobile first approach should be no surprise (Flurry).
While many businesses still make mobile an afterthought, savvy business people are making mobile a priority to capitalize on trends in the market.
Before just pushing ahead with an iPhone application developer or Android application developer, it is best to understand how mobile can best fit within your overall marketing plan, and even more importantly, how mobile fits with your customer’s path to purchase. Mobile application development is about more than bringing and app to market, it is about creating an application that provides value for your business and customers.
Serve your customers
Start by asking yourself how your application can serve the needs of your customers. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Some times the best application come out of non linear thinking. But don’t be afraid to look at trends to evaluate utility with respect to what your consumers are used to in the market.
Also, remember when you build your application to make it a continuation of your branding and to focus on creating a uniform experience with your web site or physical locations.
Don’t forget to optimize your user’s experiences. Keep their convenience in mind as no consumer wants to use a complicated application that is not intuitive. No where is this more important than with a small screen. Users will quickly delete mobile applications that aren’t easy to use.
Utilize location based marketing
One of the biggest advantages of mobile marketing is the location data created on user’s mobile devices. This data can be utilized to create better mobile marketing strategies. For instance, promotions delivered within 5 miles of a retail location are shown to have a spike in effectiveness. Mobile allows you to deliver messaging while users are in the right location for your messaging to have maximum effect.
Personalize the experience
Not only do you need to utilize the context of location, but the most effective applications and mobile marketing programs are personalizing their experiences to users. Messaging is most effective when it is relevant and mobile users are typically willing to give you the information you need to improve their experiences’ while on your application.
Make your website fast and responsive
Make sure your website is responsive and friendly. You will need to keep mobile connection speeds and screen sizes in mind, as poor experiences will lead users to abandon your site quickly. Avoid large images and make sure your visitors can navigate your site easily. Mobile web visitors are often on the go so convenience is at a premium. Don’t forget to optimize your site with an easy to access phone number and directions to your store.
Photo: Luke Ma (Flikr) http://bit.ly/1AVnVq6
Marketers in the past never had opportunities like they do now. With a mobile device, consumers have a regular connection to brands right in the palm of their hand.
With mobile devices shopping has been evolving and changing as users are leveraging the power of mobile devices to enhance their shopping experiences. In fact, Google found that 84% of smartphone owners use their devices while in physical stores.
The shopping process has grown, in fact, consumers most likely started shopping on their mobile device before they ever entered your store. Due to this growth in the shopping process, brands can extend their marketing strategies. Brands can start engaging consumers in the shopping process before they arrive and continue to interact with users after they leave or even while they are at a competitor’s store.
Key to this process working is data. Companies have access to data now like they never had in the past. Businesses can utilize insights from location based mobile data to help them understand the customer journey and improve the experience.
Location based mobile data is a marketer’s dream. But you can’t use it if you aren’t collecting it, make sure you discuss your intent with your mobile application developer. Your iPhone application developer or Android application developer can help you prepare for a data driven mobile shopping application.
Typically customers are happy to provide the data in order to improve shopping experiences, so make sure you start off by giving your users the opportunity to create a user profile. The data from the user profile can be used to help you segment your messaging and deliver it to users as applicable, rather than sending out one-size-fits-all style messaging.
Additionally, it is easier than ever to deliver your message on a localized basis, providing locations, pricing and deals for each store. It doesn’t matter to someone in Phoenix, AZ if you have deals in your CO locations, make sure you are delivering content relevant to your user’s location to increase interest in your messaging.
Location based mobile data can help you understand which brands or products a user is interested in when they visit your physical stores and allow you to deliver content based on the user’s specific interests. Keeping a user’s interest in a great part determined by relevance. The more relevant your messaging, the more interested users will be.
As you are gathering data plan ahead to use data as part of your planning process to better understanding the sales process and how you can improve user’s shopping experiences.
Photo: tyrande101 (Flikr) http://bit.ly/1DZZ5QO