location marketing is important //

Imagine if your marketing messages could be tailored to the exact location of your customers, based on their current location in real-time.

Sending a text message with opt-in to offer a discount when a customer enters your store. You could remind your customers it’s happy hours and offer two-for-1 appetizers if they are near your restaurant or bar during a certain time of the day.

Local or location-based marketing is key to delivering relevant content to customers.

This is a crucial strategy to consider, especially considering that mobile advertising accounted for the largest market share in 2022, at $34 billion. The total spend on digital marketing reached a staggering $77 trillion.

This article will explain how to leverage data from mobile devices of users to create content (advertisements and offers, etc.). That will help you drive business.

We will explain what location marketing is and show you how to use it.

Tables of Content

• 
  What’s location-based marketing?
  
• 
  Location-based Marketing Methods
  
• 
  Location-based marketing
  
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  Additional resources
  

Estimated Reading Time: Minutes

What is location-based advertising?

The primary purpose of location-based marketing is to use a mobile device’s geographical location to send out notifications or content that are tied to that specific place. Two ways can you define location as it relates to marketing:

• By GPS coordinates on mobile devices
• To trigger alerts or ads when consumers are at stores, you can use Bluetooth-based beacon technology.

The latter might be called proximity marketing. However, the main difference lies in the way location data is generated. (Beacons can be physically placed and are used to identify specific locations, such as an aisle in a store.

When you consider the many benefits of location marketing, one element immediately rises to top: relevance.

Instead of pushing generic ads through channels hoping it resonates with some consumers, location-based advertising allows marketers to deliver highly targeted messages that reach customers as they go about their day.

Location-based marketing is best for businesses or brands with physical locations. A furniture store might offer President’s Day discounts to customers who pull into the parking lot at the mall where the store is located on a holiday weekend.

Another important type of location-based advertising that doesn’t depend upon mobile data is inbound. Sites such as Yelp display advertisements and promotions based upon user behavior. This includes the types of businesses and locations that are explored.

Marketing methods that are location-based

Three main methods of location-based advertising are available. They target customers based upon where they are, what they’ve done, and what brands would like them to do.

Geofencing

Geofencing is a combination of several location services that pinpoint consumers’ exact locations in real-time. It is implemented by mobile software and can be found within mobile apps. Geofencing must be enabled by the user of the app. This means that potential customers will need to share their location with the app.

A geographic area is defined by boundaries (fencing). A radius around a restaurant, store, or neighborhood is an example. Marketing actions take place when people cross or leave the boundary.

Starbucks uses geofencing for rewards program members to offer discounts on drinks when customers are within walking distance of cafes.

Geotargeting

Geofencing uses location data in real time, but geotargeting creates content that targets customers based on their location.

If you are a local restaurant looking to promote a new brunch option, you could target customers who have visited your restaurant in the past 60 days to increase return business.

This allows marketers to send targeted content only to certain demographic groups or people who have demonstrated specific behaviors.

Geoconquesting

Geoconquesting is a geo-based marketing strategy that sends notifications to customers who are near a competitor’s company.

Burger King’s “Whopper Detour”, a marketing campaign that aimed to reach consumers located within 600 feet of McDonald’s, is a well-known example.

This clever and well-known marketing strategy used geofencing in order to send coupons for Whopper sandwiches for users of the BK App. The app was downloaded over a few days, Adweek reported.

Benefits of location-based marketing

There are many reasons for marketers to use location-based strategies.

Businesses that primarily transact in person can reach customers where and when they are most open to receiving campaigns.

• If they’re within close proximity of your store.
• Events are happening.
• Et cetera.

This can lead to higher foot traffic and more sales. Targeted, relevant content delivered at the right time can improve visitor experiences. This helps customers retain and grow their loyalty.

Respondents to a survey stated that increased engagement was one the top benefits of location-based advertising. The strategy provides a window into customers’ needs using insights from what people do and, in some cases, how long they spend doing it.

Website visits are a reliable way to predict consumer behavior. However, marketers must still make assumptions. However, location marketing is more reliable than other types of marketing because it relies on customer visits to stores, concerts, and restaurant visits.

It can also quickly tell marketers if their campaigns are successful. For example, has foot traffic increased/ decreased? Are app downloads increasing or decreasing?

There are also some disadvantages. Marketers must limit the use of data from mobile users who have consented to their phones tracking their location and accessing it through apps.

Privacy concerns must be taken seriously by marketers. Data must be handled with care and cannot be traced back at any individual. The laws protecting consumer privacy in the federal and state legislatures are constantly changing. Brands would be well-served to keep up with the latest regulations and follow them to the letter.

If done correctly, however, location-based digital marketing can be a valuable part of any digital strategy.

But there’s more!

If you are interested in more information on location-based marketing, here are some resources:

• Airship, a mobile app developer, has an excellent piece that focuses on real-world examples.
• MartTech’s location marketing content landing page.
• HubSpot’s guide for local marketing.
• Here’s Yelp’s view on local advertising for businesses.

Why location marketing was first published on MarTech.