Innovative “Geo-Fencing and GPS Alert” Push Messaging Marketing Tactics
tim rich and lesley katon via Compfight
Push messaging is a feature that is available through a native mobile application (NATIVE = an app that is downloaded rather than viewed through a browser) that offers marketers an incredible amount of functionality. Since native apps require users to download an app, the user has invited marketers into their pocket, living room, office and basically wherever the user brings their smartphone. Therefore marketers can capitalize on contextual messaging to deliver sales promotions, product awareness messaging and other direct marketing tactics.
Geo-fencing or GPS Alerts
Due to the mass adoption of mobile and smartphone technology, users have begun to demand tailored messaging that meets their needs and objectives. GPS has become an incredible feature for marketers, because it allows them to deliver contextual messaging to their customers and prospective customers.
Interested in mobile statistics and mobile marketing? You may also like: Charts: Worldwide Smartphone Market Share and Trends, What is Push Messaging and why is it so Powerful?, 6 Things to Consider when Building a Mobile App
I am going to use a big box store as an example. A user watching television notices a big box store, they frequently shop at, has a mobile application. They download the application because they were made aware that the app offers deals, sales and other benefits such as a store locator and hours of operation.
Upon download the user is asked a brief set of questions to determine their preferences.
- What are the departments you shop in most (secondary and tertiary as well)
- What are your favorite brands?
- What type of products would you like to receive alerts about
- Where are your favorite stores (GPS based through a store locator)
Upon completion of an initial customer assessment, the user is telling the mobile application their preferences. Therefore since they have set their favorite departments, brands, products and stores, marketers are able to deliver relevant messages.
Let’s go through the purchase decisions, involvement steps and channel relationships
1. The user/customer wakes ups in the morning and decides they would like to go to a big box store
2. They get in their car and drive to the store, not expecting to buy more than one new product
3. Since they have preset their preferences (favorite stores, products, brands, departments) and they have downloaded the app, as soon as they walk into the store push messaging, is sent to their smartphone with contextual content
4. The user opens and views the contextual content and puts their phone back in their pocket
5. Since preferences have been set, geo-fencing can provide messaging when a customer walks by one of their favorite brands, departments, products etc.
6. The user puts items in their cart that they may not have noticed and checks out
7. The application stimulates buying and improves sales and ultimately channel relationships because the big box store is making more purchase orders through their suppliers
8. Not only, does the app provide increased sales and channel relationships, but it also provides data about consumers who own smartphones and what they are looking for while at the point of purchase. Therefore retailers are able to improve their supply chain through demand metrics.
Read More4 Reasons Why Tourism Boards Should Leverage the Power of Native Mobile Applications
Evan Leeson via Compfight
GPS and Geo-Location
Geo-location has become an integral part of native mobile application development. Tourism boards can utilize GPS to provide an immersive experience where users can locate and get turn by turn directions to area points of interest. Since a native application is utilizing the capabilities of the device, the experience is quicker, more efficient and leaves the user with a positive brand image.
For Example, A Tourism Board can provide a map view and locations of all of the point of interest
- Restaurants
- Nature Trails
- Night Life
- Local Theater, Sports, and Events
Camera API and Photo Upload
Tourists love to take pictures. Therefore incorporating a camera function within a tourism based application can be very powerful. Tourism boards can run contests and engage users simply by incorporating an existing function into a branded application.
For example, a visitor is in town for a wildlife adventure, and suddenly comes across a unique animal; the user snaps a picture using the camera function within the application or the application provided by the device. The user can upload the picture to the mobile application and “photostamp” the bottom right corner of the image with a catch phrase and logo i.e. “Saw this in the Yukon…YUKON TOURISM”. The user can then upload the photo directly to their social networks.
THAT IS A VERY POWERFUL MARKETING TOOL!!!!!!!
Push/Pull Messaging
The user visits a destination and downloads a tourism mobile application. They had a great time but they return home to their job and day to day routine. Fortunately, since the user downloaded the application, they invited the tourism board into their pocket, living room and workplace because the application is running off their device. The Tourism Board marketing team can now have a direct mobile marketing opportunity.
For Example, The Tourism Board can send push notifications to users of the application that update them about upcoming events. The push message could have a question embedded, such as “Are you attending the Jazz Festival this June?” The Tourism Board can than pull information and obtain data from users of the application
Media Rich Advertising
Native apps provide a more powerful ad delivery system than web based apps. When clicked, banner ads offer a rich user experience. Essentially, native based ads are separate apps that run in the background of native mobile apps. Therefore, native based ads provide audio, video and visual feedback that far surpasses web based ads. The aforementioned capabilities provide an excellent platform to promote local businesses and points of interest, which stimulates economic development.
Read More3 Mobile Tactics to Increase In-Store Customer Experience
Understanding in-store shopping behavior is not an easy task. Retailers spend large dollar volumes on getting to know consumers. Mobile has created an opportunity for marketers to effectively and successfully interact with shoppers. The opportunities are endless; I have highlighted 3 tactics that have the most potential.
Enabling Location Based Technology through a Branded App
Native based mobile apps offer an opportunity for brands to develop deeper relationships with their customers by engaging them in a personal and relevant way. Location-aware mobile technology allows retailers and brands to create an immersive experience at the point of purchase by offering mobile applications with geo-intelligence. The consumer is provided with an experience that is catered to their needs, while in-store, and the marketer is provided with intelligence about their customers.
A Location based native mobile application provides the following in store metrics:
• When consumers were in-store
• How long consumers were in-store
• What consumers are doing while they are in-store
• Where consumers are in relation to physical locations
A branded, geo-location mobile app provides marketers an understanding of in-store shopping behavior. Marketers are able to effectively interact with customers, increase sales, establish customer loyalty and analyze metrics provided by the business intelligence of a location based application.
Geo-Fencing
A geo-fence is a virtual boundary that can be placed around specific locations, which allows marketers to communicate with customers once the geo-fence boundary is breached. For example, if you were grocery shopping, as soon as you walk into the store, a push message would appear on your smartphone asking if you would like to receive the weekly flyer or “show this confirmation code to the cashier to receive a 10% discount on Coca-Cola products”. Geo-fencing has a tremendous amount of opportunity because of the cross-promotional and sales promotion opportunities. The cross-promotional strength of geo-fencing has the potential to increase channel relationships between manufacturers, wholesalers, intermediaries, and retailers.
Note: Geo-fencing also has an opportunity to engage the consumer upon exit of the geo-fenced area. For example, “thank you for using the mobile coupon, provided. Please fill out your thoughts on the mobile couponing experience”
Encourage Users to Check- In and Share Using a Branded Mobile App
Incentive is imperative when encouraging users to check in. Therefore marketers must offer deals and promotions to users who are willing to check in and share. For example, “Check in and Share to facebook or twitter for a chance to win a $1000 gift card”. Although the initial investment of a branded location enabled application may be fairly significant, the return on investment will come quickly. If you think about it in regards to media expenditure; an ad in a magazine that has a circulation of 20-30k will probably cost between $10-30k just for the media. A check-in with a “$1000 incentive to share” creates an opportunity to reach 10,000 people if 20 people with 500 followers on twitter or 500 friends on Facebook share that they have checked in at a store.
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