Today, even small- and medium-sized business can harness the power of location data by using platforms that let them deliver in-app ads directly to people’s mobile devices. But having access to location data is one thing. Knowing how to use it is another. Here are five tricks every mobile marketer needs to know.
1. Think beyond geo-targeting
Location data gives marketers the power to target precisely, even down to 0.1 miles. But this form of geo-fencing is old news. Smart marketers are taking geo-targeting one step further by reaching audiences based on stores they visited, whether it’s a competitor store for conquesting or their own store for increasing repeat visits. For example, as a restaurant, you might want to serve mobile ads to people within a five-mile radius to increase brand awareness. But if you can deliver ads to people who visited a competitor restaurant nearby, you’re more likely to reach people that will pay you a visit and eliminate wasted impressions.
2. Manage your message
Successful mobile marketing is about delivering a great message that’s relevant to your audience. If you know the audience you’re trying to reach, based on where they’ve been, you can tailor the message you deliver. For example, if you can see that someone has visited a competitor, you know they are likely to be a potential client of yours. You can directly target your competitors’ customers with a unique offer to draw them into your business. You can also increase the likelihood of a customer coming back to your store with loyalty retargeting. Just like remarketing to those who visit your website, give people who’ve been to your business a reason to come back, whether it be via a promotion or new item, to increase repeat foot traffic and sales.
3. Value your customer
Every customer is worth something, but the trick is knowing just how much. One measure of marketing success is if the resulting sales are greater than your marketing outlay. To evaluate, you’ll need to first know the value of a customer visiting your store. A simple way to do this is to divide total store revenue during a given time period by the number of visitors for that same period. Then evaluate the number of visits from a particular marketing initiative to obtain an effective cost per visit (eCPV).
4. Look for the payoff
Eyes on an ad are great, but if mobile views don’t translate into physical visits, you aren’t getting your money’s worth from your location-based marketing provider. Make sure you’re using technology that allows you to track the number of people who see your ads and then come to your store as a result. That way you can make sure your marketing strategy is paying off in observed visits to your brick-and-mortar location—and adjust spend accordingly if it’s not.
5. Pick your partners
Not all vendors of mobile marketing services are created equal, so make sure you choose your partners carefully. Know who you are working with and what their metrics are because your mobile marketing strategy can only be as good as the information that informs it. Take the time to find out how your potential partners derive and verify location signals, and how they measure metrics like visits, unique visitors reached, impressions, and clicks. The most trusted platforms have their data validated by third parties so they are not “grading their own homework.” Find testimonials and case studies that match your business. And if you run marketing campaigns on your own, pick a partner with a self-serve advertising solution that gives you the tools and flexibility to run, optimize, and deliver results at your own pace.
Access to sophisticated location data and mobile audiences targeting are among the most powerful tools in a mobile marketer’s arsenal. They can make all the difference between your hard earned marketing dollars going to waste or helping to drive customers through your door. With its ability to reach customers on the go, location-based mobile advertising is a mainstay for every modern savvy mobile marketer.
See how the mobile savvy marketers at Ted’s Montana Grill used these 5 tricks to achieve 12X return on ad spend and a 4.4% increase in same store sales.
What to make location work for you? Get started with GroundTruth Ads Manager today.
