Mobile Geo-Fencing

The key to marketing is targeting where your customers are. In the 1930’s during the golden age of radio that place would be the radio. With the decline in radio and the rise in television during the 60’s you’d want your ad to be seen on TV. With the rise of the internet in the late 90’s and early 2000’s you’d want you ad to be seen online. The next frontier for marketers and advertisers is on mobile.

The next time you’re out in public, take some time to notice your surroundings. You’ll most likely see more than a handful of individuals with their attention occupied by their smartphones. A Pew research study found that 61 percent of adults now have smartphones and that number is expected to rise as the price of smartphones decreases.

A new way to reach these mobile users is through geo-fencing. Smartphones are GPS enabled devices and geo-fencing allows you to target your ads to users based on their location. Geo-fencing establishes a virtual perimeter around a location. The targeted location could be as small as a city block or as large as a couple miles. When a user breaches the virtual barrier your ads can be shown to them on their smartphone.

For the marketing savvy dealership there are several applications for geo-fencing. One application is upselling customers that enter your dealership. You could set up geo-fencing campaign to show ads featuring a coupon for 100K mileage service. A customer coming in for an oil change may possibly see that deal and decide to do the 100K mileage service as well.

Another application could be to set up a geo-fence around your competition. This way you could steal potential customers. Let’s say Joe Car Buyer is shopping at the Toyota dealership next door. He’s in the middle of negotiations and when the salesmen leaves to “talk to his manager” Joe Car Buyer kills some time on his smartphone. While on his smartphone Joe Car Buyer sees your geo-targeted ad that offers a 0% APR special offer. Joe Car Buyer is intrigued and crosses the street to your dealership.