2020 certainly has been the year of curveballs, especially for small businesses. And when you pair all of this uncertainty with businesses that primarily work face-to-face with customers, Plan B turns to C turns to’ you get the picture! In today’s world, where in-person interactions are becoming less common, there’s a newer and smarter way to get your business’ information in front of the folks that should see it.
GeoFencing is one of the most powerful ways to drive up leads and referrals in an efficient and cost-effective way. In short, GeoFencing is the best way for you for you to hand over your business card ‘ but digitally on smartphones, tablets and computers!
We know that digital marketing tactics are always changing, and it can be hard to keep up. That’s why we’re going to break GeoFencing down step-by-step!
Display Ads
Even if you don’t think you are familiar with Display Ads (also known as online banner ads), you likely interact with them on a daily basis. Display ads are digital banners that are aimed at qualified prospects as they navigate the internet. A classic example is when you look up a favorite tool on Google, and you suddenly see ads on different Websites (Facebook, ESPN, your preferred news provider) all about that tool and where you can buy it.
Retailers are able to track people that are looking for their products online. By Googling ‘hammer,’ you are highlighted as a possible sales opportunity. Thus, hammer-related ads make their way onto your screen throughout different sites.
Advanced Targeting
What sets GeoFencing apart from simple Display Ad marketing is the more targeted approach to who views your ads. To execute a GeoFencing campaign, a marketer sets specific location areas ‘ which we call ‘geo-fences.’ While these areas can certainly be broad, you can set your geo-fence to target a super specific location. You can target a neighborhood, a block, and even a specific home or address!
GeoFencing is great because it allows companies to target the areas that mean the most to them. While you may technically offer service to a city, GeoFencing allows you to focus on the residential areas, or the commercial ones (or both!). Home service companies can point to the exact neighborhoods that they want to sell more to. The geo-fence ‘activates’ whenever someone’s wifi-enabled device falls into your target area – prospects don’t receive any notice about this automated process.
In a world where everyone carries their smart phones along with them, this is how smart business operators grow their operation! Sound creepy yet? Well, it may feel that way. But these days, smart businesses are using every tool they can to leverage more relationships and more referrals ‘ you should be doing the same.
Logistics
Another highlight of GeoFencing is its relatively low cost to implement. Unlike other marketing models, you do not pay for clicks on your ads. You simply pay for impressions, another word for having your ad appear on someone’s screen. And what is the cost of these impressions? Around $0.01 a pop! That’s right, just one penny. You can keep your costs down even further by targeting specific areas and not casting too wide of a net. This way, there will be minimal wasted impressions!
If you aren’t already keeping a list of important addresses, now is the time to start. Think about the locations that you would want to leave your business card at, and jot down those addresses, zip codes, etc. With any style of marketing, you get the most out of it when you narrow down your audience and build data on your prospects.
While strategies are always changing, the goal of marketing remains the same: get your company’s information in front of the people that need your services. To drive more referrals and business, GeoFencing is the way to go for the modern small business. Give Market Hardware a call to learn more about how we can help you!
