Proximity Marketing: The New “P” in Marketing Today

by Irene George

    For the longest time, it’s always been just the 4 P’s in Marketing: product, placement, promotion, and price.  But these days, with all the advancements and integration of technology in marketing messages, it now includes the 5th P, proximity.  It’s a way marketers can deliver messages to consumers in real time.  For example, let’s take a look at the current app market and the way social media has had a major influence on the way apps are created. Check-in apps like Foursquare, shopping apps like Groupon, dining apps like OpenTable, and popular Facebook acquired app Instagram, are all apps from diverse categories, that all use location based technology to service their consumers.   People have almost become fixated on the idea of being able to post where they are and share their locations with friends.  For brands competing for your undivided attention in the overcrowded marketplace, the mobile device has become a gold-mine. According to Marketing Land’s article on “Four Key Mobile and Location-Based Trends For 2016,” more and more people are constantly using their mobile devices for multiple reasons.  It’s predicted that there will be:

• 2 billion smartphones worldwide this year, 2016 alone, represents little over 60% of the number of people that are online
• In the US, of the majority of time people spend online, 51% of that is now on mobile devices, which implies that people are more comfortable performing a lot of their daily tasks right on their mobile devices
• In 2016, it will also be the year of mobile payments, with PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, and now Samsung Pay available, it enables smartphone users to rely on their mobile devices while shopping
• Location-aware technology will be available inexpensively which means that spending in mobile advertising will increase as more users are on their smartphones than on laptops and PC’s

  These trends, predicted to continue for a very long time, means that location based and proximity marketing services consequently will be increasingly offered, which will create tremendous opportunities for marketers.  With either marketing service, brands and retailers will be able to target their shoppers either in the store as they are shopping or within the vicinity of the store’s promotions as long as people have their wifi and bluetooth enabled and they opt-in to receive messaging.  According to an infographic on “The Future of Proximity and Micro-Location Marketing,” that Marketing Land featured, the following has been reported:

• 50% of women share their location and information with retailers for in-store credit, flash sales, gifts, and early access to new styles
• 53% of consumers are more likely to engage with location-based advertising as well
• 57% of consumers are willing to share their locations to receive more relevant advertising
• 72% of consumers respond to calls to action in marketing messages they receive within site of the retailers

Consumers are crunched for time and are becoming more demanding that ever as they are bombarded with unwanted advertisements and useless push notifications that already disrupt their mobile experiences, all day long.  People see the value in relevant content being delivered to them, and with GPS enabled technology, brands can hyper target, re-target, and deliver their consumers real-time promotions that actually makes sense to that customer.  They can take advantage of these promotions before they walk right past the store, and as a result the store’s sales increase.  It’s a win-win for everyone! Knowledge is power, and knowing the location of their consumers, marketers will be able to better understand their behaviors by analyzing their responses to location driven promotions, in-store push notifications as they are shopping, personalized messaging that makes the consumer feel special, and offering scanning opportunities so consumers can find out more information on their own before they are hassled by hungry salespeople lurking in the aisles. A brand or retailer will truly be able to increase sales, by leveraging the opportunity proximity and location-based marketing will be able to give them.  The key to success is really the combination of delivering both relevant and time-sensitive promotions to their consumers, and as long as that happens, consumers are more likely to continue opting-in to receive more information and remain brand loyal in the long run.