Is Geofencing Losing its Creepiness?
- Author:
- Tim Parry
- Source:
-
Geofencing was a hot topic Monday at the Mobile Shopping Fall conference. The tactic involves marketing to an opted-in mobile customer via SMS messaging based on the customer's proximity to a certain location.
Most geofencing takes place in that particular merchant's store. But technically, a merchant can geofence someone who is standing in another merchant's store.
But is geofencing creepy, dirty pool, or smart marketing?
"It's fantastically effective for us, and it's a big traffic driver," Mark Parrish, vice president of loyalty and retention for Barnes & Noble, said during a session.
He says they can offer coupons and discounts via geofencing and drive 1,000 customers to its stores. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but Parrish says that's 1,000 customers who may have just walked on by.
Geofencing is location-based. A merchant cannot reach an opt-in customer via geofencing unless his phone is turned on and the GPS is active. In some cases, a consumer must make a credit card purchase before the geofencing takes place.
Parrish said geofencing can be considered creepy. But he added that it's something today's teens and 20-something seem to expect from marketers.
Case in point: When a consumer turns on an Android for the first time, he is told straight up that Google is going to track his every move...
Editor's Picks
Notice: We utilize cookies and other web technologies on our site. For more information regarding our use of web technologies, please review our Privacy Policy.
Comments & Discussion
Is Geofencing Losing its Creepiness?
In short…yes. Even though it is now one of marketing’s foremost overused words, relevancy is only gaining, well, relevancy. The “creepy” line continues to evolve (i.e.: fade with each passing moment) with the increasing capability of the email, mobile, and social technology used to facilitate any sort of hyper targeted marketing campaign. With the boundaries seemingly only limited by whatever “legislation” might be out there, in my opinion the line in the sand is only drawn by what has been socialized and what consumers are used to. For example, 10 years ago wouldn’t the notion of receiving a shopping cart abandonment or product view email have been crazy to you and at the time way past the creepy line? Yup. And how about today? I expect those campaigns and consider an online retailer without such programs as being late to the party.
With that, as long as it is implemented deliberately and not abused, I think Geofencing will soon become a welcome addition to the email, mobile, and website targeting/retargeting family.