The Benefits of Geo-Targeting
When you are working to build an audience for your brand or business, it is crucial to have the right technology and tools that help you target specific customers.
The benefits of geo-targeting enable you to get in touch with customers in a set geographic area or radius, allowing you to send personalized messages, perform market research, and much more. With the power of geo-targeting on your side, you can gain the data and feedback you need to build and maintain a profitable business.
In this article, we will discuss what geo-targeting is, how it works, and 4 of its key benefits. Plus, we will cover ways in which you can take advantage of geo-targeting technology and how 1Q’s platform and geofencing capabilities can help.
What is Geo-Targeting?
Geo-targeting is an advertising and marketing method that uses location data to target audiences in specific geographic locations. With geo-targeting software, advertisers and businesses can send personalized ads to customers that are within a set physical radius from the business location.
For instance, let’s say you own a beauty salon in the downtown area of a city. You can use geo-targeting to send ads to potential customers who are within walking distance of your salon, increasing your chances of attracting more daily foot traffic.
How Does Geo-Targeting Work
In terms of functionality, geo-targeting software uses geofencing technology that can access publicly shared cellular, GPS, and WiFi data.
To put it in simple terms, geo-targeting works by allowing you to set up virtual boundaries within a geographic region. When customers enter into these virtual boundaries, the data coming from their mobile devices is then used to reveal where they are, where they are going, and where they have been.
Although this may sound a bit like you are spying on customers, geo-targeting only uses data that a customer has consented to share through whichever apps they are using. This consent is provided through opt-in agreements that give all parties involved the necessary legal protections to use this form of advertising.
4 Key Benefits of Geo-Targeting
Geo-targeting has many specific and unique advantages that make it a powerful advertising method that is useful for all types of businesses.
Here are 4 key benefits you can enjoy by utilizing geo-targeting:
1. Personalized Advertisements
When you know exactly who and where your potential customers are, it is easier to design more effective ads that are personalized for these exact people.
Personalized ads often include a unique offering that is highly relevant to the customer viewing the ad. For instance, if you set up geo-targeting boundaries in a well-known shopping area, you can create and send ads that are specifically targeted toward customers who are already in a shopping mindset.
By increasing the relevancy of your ads in this way, you are more likely to find and attract your ideal audience — rather than simply sending ads into the void of the Internet and hoping they make a catch.
2. Real-Time Access to Customers
With more traditional advertising strategies, your ads are not always directly received by customers at the ideal times. Comparatively, geo-targeting gives you real-time access to customers who are within a set geographic region.
This real-time access means you can not only personalize your ads further but also vary your ads on a day-to-day basis depending on various factors, such as weather or holidays. The ability to send ads to specific customers while they are actively within the virtual boundaries you have set up is extremely advantageous and can help you build a steadier stream of business every single day.
3. Past, Present, & Future Data
Geo-targeting not only provides you with information about where your potential customers are currently — it can also tell you where they have come from and where they are likely to go next.
The benefit of this type of data is that it can reveal a lot of useful insights into customer behavior. Having the ability to notice and track behavioral trends among your customers can help you to improve your overall marketing strategy.
As a result, you can create ads that are all the more relevant and effective with audiences that are within your virtual boundaries.
To give an example of this, let’s say you own a gift shop that is near many restaurants and bars. With geo-targeting data, you can discover the average times of the day when customers are arriving at and leaving restaurants, using this information to send targeted ads that encourage them to visit your store before or after their meal.
4. Market Research Capabilities
We’ve touched on this lightly already but one of the greatest advantages of geo-targeting technology is its market research capabilities. Geo-targeting not only helps you to create better ad campaigns but also helps you learn more about your ideal customers and their behavioral trends.
Having real-time access to your customers is only one part of the equation. To create personalized ads and effectively use location data, it is essential to embrace geo-targeting as a tool for market research as well as advertisement.
With geo-targeting, you can learn a lot about your target audience such as where they like to shop, eat, visit, and more. Plus, with the right digital tools — like 1Q’s survey-based market research platform, for instance — you can even speak directly to customers to get your research information straight from the source.
Who Should Use Geo-Targeting?
Any business can benefit from geo-targeting, as it helps you to gain insights into the locations and behaviors of various types of customers.
Of course, geo-targeting can be especially helpful for businesses with brick-and-mortar shops or offices that are looking to gain more foot traffic. However, geo-targeting can also benefit more digitally-based businesses as well.
For example, imagine you are a freelance graphic designer working remotely who primarily designs logos for small businesses. You could set up an ad campaign using geo-targeting to send ads specifically within the commercial areas and business districts of your town or city, ensuring your ads reach the small businesses you want to work with.
How to Take Advantage of Geo-Targeting Technology
Understanding the uses and benefits of geo-targeting is all well and good — but how exactly can you utilize this technology?
One of the best ways to take advantage of geo-targeting is to work with a third-party platform or software provider that handles all the technical aspects of the marketing strategy for you. Rather than having to hassle with setting up the geo-targeting technology on your own, you can rely on this third-party provider to help you set up your virtual boundaries and get in touch with nearby customers quickly.
Take 1Q, for example — with 1Q’s technology and platform, you can send survey questions to highly specific customers in set physical locations automatically and receive instant feedback, with no software knowledge or implementations required.
Final Thoughts: 1Q Offers Easy-to-Use Geo-Targeting Tools
Here at 1Q, our mobile research platform provides you with the consumer feedback and market research you need in real-time.
Using our patented geofencing capabilities, 1Q technology offers you comprehensive abilities to access data and customer insights, as well as pinpoint customers within precise location radiuses. Plus, we guarantee that our survey takers are certified bot-free.
With incredibly affordable pricing, 1Q has the geo-targeting technology your business needs to complete meaningful market research. Get started with 1Q today by booking a demo to receive 100 test question credits (a $100 value) for free!