Location-Based Marketing, What’s it?
Location-based marketing (LBM), also referred to as location-based advertising (LBA), is a marketing strategy that enables companies to put their marketing campaigns together using location-based information of the customers and clients.
In this type of marketing, mobile device owners typically receive location-based alerts from a local, near-by business. And the alerts are commonly sent to mobile phones through SMS text messages. These SMS LBA alerts may include information and details about an offering or purchasing incentive, like a discount coupon or an exclusive sitewide deal.
The technology behind location-based marketing benefits from geo-fencing which uses software programs to create a virtual geographic boundary while enabling the software to trigger and send SMS alerts when a mobile device crosses a particular area.
Previously, marketers were using the mobile marketing platform to keep in touch with their customer base and it provided them the flexibility to carry out their marketing tasks on the go. Though they were able to keep their marketing strategies mobile and kicking, anytime, anywhere, the next step forward is to target the audience depending on their exact location. This is where we as marketers should need to concentrate and stats – showing location-based ads accounting for more than 35-45% of total mobile ad spend with revenue increasing to over $16 billion in recent times – back this step with solid reasons.
The Challenges that Lie Ahead
In spite of all the great statistics and instinctive feelings about location-based marketing pioneering mobile marketing more effectively into the near future, many marketers are still in that nervous intermediate condition to take a decision in regard to this way of marketing. Out of 70% of digital marketers who think that location based mobile marketing has an essential potential for their business, there are only 65% who believe its accuracy and have that trust in it to perform their game plan.
Location-based marketing is facing the same tests and trials that big data faced and is still facing from the time of its beginning. Although we know that we have that technological means to measure, capture, and find the meaning of this type of data, making sure that all these pieces will work in harmony is another story. When marketers are not sure about the accuracy of data collected from LBM, it’s quite difficult for them to see a good reason to invest the thinking-power, time, and money into it.
Another challenge that location based SMS marketing has in similar to big data is the identification of location-based data. It feels like a better concept on the face value, a concept that’s easier to define as well as understand. But this marketing tool will remain less appealing to marketers until the technology evolves that can bottle the location-targeted data and iron out all the confusion.
Should You Wait for the Perfect Time to Take Action?
There is an old famous expression that applies quite appropriately here. There is never a “perfect time” for anything. The data that actually feeds location-based mobile marketing will, of course, improve with the passage of time and it will become a lot easier to take advantage of this data when the tech has improved – but what now?
What we need to realize is that there always come certain challenges that every new technology has to face and tackle. You see the tech is being imagined and developed, implemented and made better, even it is redeveloped sometimes, and whatnot. If we wait for the tech to be perfected before we can actually start using it, you can imagine how long it’s going to be. The smart marketer knows that it’s a never-ending cycle and the technology that’s here is ready to go (despite its flaws). So, we would suggest you jump on board and you can definitely look for creative ways to materialize the maximum potential of LBM with time and experience.