In today’s competitive marketplace, businesses that wish to thrive must incorporate the latest, most effective marketing tools available. Geomarketing, a location-based, dynamic geographic advertising and content marketing strategy is just such a tool.

Geocoding is the process of transforming a description of a location (a pair of coordinates, an address, a name of a place) into a location on the earth’s surface. In marketing circles, geocoding is sometimes used when trying to determine location coordinates from online transactions and mobile phone location data which is less specific. Geocoding allows you to create highly detailed maps based on data dimensioned by geographic areas or “geofences”.

Geofencing, region selection using a coordinate system, like the coordinates output from the geocoding process, is often narrowed down to regions as specific as postal codes, suburban communities and city neighbourhoods. Alongside modern GPS, we can go beyond a geofence and look at location as specifically as mere centimetres/inches in specific applications.

Geocoding, geofencing, and raw location-centric data, together can provide an understanding of where people are, where they were, and the activities that took place, down to actual coordinates, or as wide-reaching as across the globe. In today’s global economy, having accurate and reliable location information regarding customers has become vitally important, and geocoding often plays a role in the process.

Geomarketing is a tool that uses geocoding (location-based information) to help companies put together marketing strategies and campaigns. Ever wonder why you’re not seeing your own ads online? It’s not uncommon that you exist outside of a geofenced target area! Data is collected through normal business activities or with geographic information software. Geomarketing is one of the most effective digital marketing procedures available to companies.

Geomarketing enables a company to:

Create detailed profiles of clients; who they are, their socioeconomic level, where they live, how they travel to get to your business, buying habits, behaviour patterns, etc.
Determine locations in which potential customers are found with similar profiles to existing customers.
Identify market potential for a product/service in a geographic area.
Determine key locations for advertising based on the density of potential customers.
Tailor merchandise, services and/or offers to consumers living in specific geographic locations.
Offer online advertising based on a user’s location.
Use geographic segmentation to show exclusive discounts.
Reduce expenses by identifying the best locations to engage their audience.
Assess customer activity by area to determine where to place new physical stores.
Use the information to target existing customers when they’re in the vicinity of a company’s location.
Improve the performance of email campaigns by including info on their business’ location closest to a recipient’s detected location.
Identify the best location for new retail outlets based on customer needs/preferences, the performance of existing outlets, the location of competitors, and accessibility by road and public transport.
Identify the best location within a shopping mall based on traffic density and nearby shops.
Use discriminatory pricing for products and services based on the existence of competition and the willingness of customers to buy at a higher price.
Ensure advertising is relevant to a location (weather based ads, cultural tendencies, ethnic population, prevalent language)
Determine consumer shopping patterns (stay durations, how often consumers visit your establishment, when customers are near your location, how they move between different retail outlets, where they stop, and where they buy).
Determine the best time to get customers to take action.
Publish content (blogs, videos, other content) at a specific time for visitors from different regions.
Determine location-specific topics for your content.
Test content by targeting different locations.
Display website content that is distinct to a user’s origin.
Learn how many people are active on your website from various regions.
Develop targeted marketing strategies for specific clusters of customers.
Know the opinion your clients have of your business, in real-time.
Identify and analyze the location of competing companies.

Geocoding is about extracting precise coordinates from geographic data in other, often less precise forms. It allows your organization to integrate geographical data into your strategy so you can deliver content related to your target audience’s location. Geomarketing is an incredibly effective marketing strategy; giving you insight into your customers and allowing you to hyper-target consumers. Do you have a geomarketing strategy in place? Consider incorporating one.

Not sure if your data would benefit from geocoding? Need help with your overall marketing strategy? Call us at (403) 456-0072 or email [email protected]. Allow us to be your very own marketing department! Connect with our tightly-knit team of knowledgeable digital-first consultants, each eager to help your business grow. Contact CAYK today.