The world of marketing is currently undergoing a tectonic shift. The old methods of reaching consumers, such as billboards, television commercials, and popup internet ads, are losing favor quickly with both consumers and advertisers. Nowadays, marketing needs to be geared to individuals and their specific needs, not just towards broad groups who may be passing in the street. One of the most exciting developments in marketing is geo-precise advertising. Here you will find out what geo-precise ads are and why they represent such a revolution in the history of marketing.
What are Geo-precise Ads?
You have probably encountered a geo-precise ad even if you aren’t aware of it. Any ad that you receive on your mobile device that is for a local company is a geo-precise advertisement. A geo-precise ad is simply an ad that is specifically targeted to a person or group of people in a specific location. Geo-precise advertising is nothing new. Television ads for local companies that are shown during the national news, for example, but only visible to consumers within that local company’s region are also a form of geo-precise advertising. The difference today is that the precision of geo-precise ads is becoming greater and greater. Unlike with other advertisers, such as traditional SEO services, geo-precise advertisers can increase your presence by going straight to your consumer. Companies can now send ads to consumers not just while those consumers are sitting in their living rooms, but when they are just a few blocks away from the company’s store. Most mobile devices are equipped with GPS, allowing advertisers to know the specific location of consumers in real time.
Advantages
Numerous advantages to geo-precise ads exist, both for consumers and advertisers. Here we detail just a couple of them.
Find the Right Customer Fast
With old forms of marketing, companies had to simply accept that many, even most, of the people viewing their ads were never going to take the next step and purchase a good or service from their business. This situation was just an unfortunate, but necessary side effect of eventually reaching the right customer. With geo-precise ads, however, advertisers can worry less about targeting customers who will never show any interest in their ads, and focusing more on customers who will. Because mobile devices are, well, mobile, a company can target a customer who is near their business with special limited time offers, enticing them to hop inside and make a purchase. When a business combines this ability with what they already know about their target consumers, they can reach a level of precision in their advertising that was previously unheard of.
More sales, more discounts
Timing and interactivity are key to geo-precise marketing. As mentioned before, a geo-precise ad can offer limited time offers to nearby mobile users, but for geo-precise advertising to be used effectively, there needs to be a sense of urgency and exclusivity to the offers. An advertiser that offers a 20% discount to a nearby mobile user if he/she purchases something within the next hour is much more likely to succeed than an advertiser who offers a 40% discount for purchases made within the next week. Why? Because the very limited time frame of the former scenario gives the customer a sense of urgency, whereas in the latter scenario a customer is able to put off making the purchase until later (by which time they will likely either forget about the promotion or decide against it). Furthermore, creating urgent discount offers allows customers to feel as though they are getting exclusive offers, which not only means they are more likely to purchase your product, but they’re likely to feel a greater sense of brand loyalty, meaning a higher customer retention rate for your business.
Geo-precise advertising is still new in the world of marketing, but already it is booming. The old style of advertising is falling to the wayside and companies that embrace geo-precise advertising will have a much greater chance of reaching the customers they need sooner rather than later.
Daniel Hicks is a retired advertising agency executive. In his spare time, he likes to share his insights on various websites. Visit the www.seoworks.com website for more ideas.
