Digital Marketing Strategies: Proximity Marketing

Your consumer, no matter who they happen to be, has a life outside of your product or service. There is no guarantee that your marketing content will reach your consumer’s eyes at a moment when they want to engage with it. 

So how can you catch a potential customer at the right moment? How can you meet them at the point where they are most likely to engage with you? 

Proximity marketing.

At the Bristol office, we are always in search of content marketing solutions that will improve, but not over-complicate, the lives of our clients. 

Hyperlocal, targeted advertisements are a very good example of this. They take the existing day-to-day of your consumer, and make it work in your favour.

What is proximity marketing, then?

Say, for example, you’re out shopping. You walk into your favourite clothing store, and as you begin to search through the racks, you receive a notification. 

“You can get 10% off any pair of jeans in store with this code.”

You’re already there, in the store. You do need new jeans. So why not buy them while you’ve got the offer? That, reader, is proximity marketing in action. 

Proximity marketing targets consumers with content marketing tailored to their specific location. 

The location needn’t even be your store. If you can use proximity notifications to entice customers to a location, then the opposite is also true. 

Imagine: A potential customer steps within a certain range of McDonald’s. They receive a Burger King notification, offering a discount/coupon/offer. This notification invites them to rethink their choice of fast food. 

How does proximity marketing actually work?

As technology has developed over the years, so has the sophistication of proximity marketing. 

There are several different proximity marketing systems available, dependent on the size, type and preferences of your business. These include:

• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
• NFC (Near Field Communication) 
• GSM. 

Bluetooth proximity marketing relies on Bluetooth enabled devices coming within range of the server, or “beacon”.

Wi-Fi works in a similar manner, and the two are often used in conjunction with each other. 

NFC systems make use of RFID chips, usually embedded inside of something like a poster. These chips transmit offers and links to nearby NFC-enabled phones. 

GSM systems are able to send messages to all mobile devices within a specific area. In fact, in the Philippines, a GSM system is used by the government for the transmission of important public information. 

Based on our experience developing content strategy for start-ups in Bristol and London, we recommend the use of a Bluetooth beacon system. 

Beacon technology has developed a huge amount since 2013, “and is expected to keep on growing.”

Why should you use proximity marketing? 

Nitty gritty explanation completed, you might be asking: What’s in it for your business? Why should you use proximity marketing? 

Proximity marketing:

• Collects more customer data – tells you which customers are most likely to respond/engage, enabling you to better target your advertising
• Increases your sales by: 
  • Targeting the audience most likely to buy (a.k.a. the audience already in your store)
  • Enabling you to make offers with short-term expiry dates that call customers to action (“Only valid for the next hour”, “Must be redeemed today”, etc.)
  • Putting sales offers to your potential customers 
  • Reminding customers of what they have already earned e.g. loyalty points that they could redeem that day for free/reduced price items
• Is personalised – personalised content marketing is preferred by consumers, and comes with an increased likelihood of engagement.

Impressona provide content marketing services to businesses from Bristol and beyond. If you are interested in our services, simply contact us. We’d love to have a chat about what we can do for you.