Proximity Marketing – Getting closer to your customers

Image credit:  honeyaccess.com

Modern day technology has revolutionised marketing in ways that no one ever imagined. Who knew that marketers could interact with consumers on their mobile devices directly? Cellular technology was a big hit in the business sector as it became very handy for companies to send marketing messages to their potential customers. Marketing is a tool that plays a significant role in promoting a product or service for a brand. However, with competition rising companies need to reach consumers with the intent to purchase before their competitor does. The growing use of mobile phones while shopping has led to businesses to adopt ‘Proximity marketing’ which is also known as ‘hyper local marketing’. It is a unique approach to communicate with customers that are found in close proximity of a business. The foundation of this interaction lies upon Bluetooth and WIFI technology that enables the company to connect digitally by sending marketing messages to customers.

The message is sent to those who are most likely to visit the store at their present location. The mobile user is sent a short message that engages them to spur into action. It is pivotal for the company to consider adding an opt-in component to their campaign. The content in those messages should be to the point and appealing, as unwanted solicitations never encourage buyers to pay attention. If a company plans on going ahead with this approach, it needs to skim the content that is to be sent. The message should give a preview of the benefit that comes along with the purchase of the product. It should be clear enough for the customer to understand, and it should be able to influence their buying decision. 

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Your company needs to persuade its customers to install their mobile app because once the customer has his/her Bluetooth enabled on their mobile phones, all it takes is a beacon signal to send them a notification of the message. The beacon signal only works if they have the app installed in their smart phones. Informing the target customers about the app can help them realise its significance. Customers do not want to receive spam messages all day, and an app helps them out of this situation. This channel of communication needs you to have the right software that can easily run the location based campaign without any delays.

The main objective behind proximity marketing is to drive in as much traffic as possible to the business and generate a good amount of sales that day. If your retail store already has a high turnover rate, then proximity marketing can help you retain customers and gain valuable insight to their buying behavior. Proximity marketing can turn out to be a great source of adding value to your products. Businesses can make product recommendations and inform about current discounts or offers. This way you can target the right customers and their needs. It also provides you with access to consumer analysis which can give you survey statistics and other metrics to improve your sales strategy. 

Alejandro Catalan
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School