Technology and innovation play a fundamental role in the challenges that companies must address in the digital environment. A marketer must be prepared for this constant change and to recognize all the possibilities that technological advances can bring to companies. It is precisely this union, digital marketing and technology, which has been doing great work in recent years in the digital transformation of the market, generating new opportunities and more successful strategies. As you know, one of the main concerns of companies is to attract the customer's attention and, in this direction, bluetooth technology has regained prominence and has become one of the best allies for sending ads to users based on their location.
Geofencing refers to a virtual boundary or fence around a specific geographic location. The applications are endless and affect all productive sectors. An example is soccer fields, a fairground or shopping centers. Well, through geofencing, which uses GPS global positioning or RFID (radio frequency identification), a mobile device action can be generated. An example could be an email or text message that is activated automatically. Thus, in a scenario such as a shopping center or any other point of sale, a geofence perimeter can be established around the shops so that, as customers enter the defined area, they can receive a special offer.
Advantages and disadvantages of geofencing
Obviously, as in any other technological application at the service of digital marketing, its use must be well defined and the pros and cons analyzed. It is clear that it is a good tool when it comes to proximity marketing, but we must bear in mind that, by sending these notifications randomly, the client can be invaded and, therefore, deactivate the geofencing capacity. In that case, it is very likely that you will lose that contact forever.
For this reason, we recommend that you always use it in a contextual way and when it is really relevant to do so: that is, when you can add value to a brand and provide better experiences.
Furthermore, geofencing is an ally of customers, for example, when they approach a store or business, they can receive a notice for each product that is on sale or learn about other offers that are of interest to them. In that case, this technology can help you build customer loyalty, either with new offers or promotions. And best of all, this is just the beginning of what this technology can do for your product or business.
One of the disadvantages is that it can be hard to maintain. Like any technology, geofencing has its bugs. The majority of people who have used geofencing said it worked most of the time. But some, ran into some problems. These users experienced consistent problems with their geofencing technology. some said they had to abandon the technology entirely. Employers with workers at different job sites might find themselves updating the geofencing perimeter more than they would like.
Geofencing typically focuses on impulse purchases, such as coffee or consumables. But it is not as relevant for high-value purchases, which typically have a long consumer journey. In these cases, geofencing is best used to gather data to make the rest of your customer experience run smoothly. Now that we have a better idea of what geofencing does for businesses, you can decide if it’s worth a try for your business in particular. We definitely recommend talking to marketing professionals before making a decision so that they can guide you through the process. At Century Digital Marketing we create digital marketing strategies specialized for every business. Let us know if you would like to set up a meeting to discuss further.