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10 Most Commonly Asked Location Based Mobile Marketing Questions

 Voupons SMS and GEO fence services

With the explosion of mobile marketing over the last couple of years, we here at Voupons have seen an increasing interest in location based SMS campaigns. While this type of technology has been around for years, there’s still a lot of questions regarding location based mobile marketing, and concepts like mobile geofencing, and how these technologies can be used to improve your SMS marketing campaigns.

To get answers to some of the most commonly asked location based SMS marketing questions, we reached out to our good friend Rip Gerber (pictured below), the founder of Locaid, the world’s largest mobile location-based marketing platform, and the exclusive provider of SMS geofencing technology to Voupons. Below are the 10 most commonly asked location-based mobile marketing questions and their answers as they relate to SMS marketing.

#1 What is mobile geofencing?

Mobile geofencing, which is sometimes called Geotargeting, is a location-based service (LBS) where layers of location intelligence allow a brand to make decisions or take some action based on a geographical area of an SMS subscriber. Mobile geofencing isn’t a new technology either, and as our society becomes increasingly mobile, developers and brands are realizing the added value that mobile geofencing can bring to their SMS marketing campaigns. The same way as Eagle Boys Pizza used this to get new customers.

#2 What’s an example of an SMS campaign using geofencing?

Creating a geofence for an SMS campaign will allow a brand to tailor SMS promotions to an SMS susbcriber’s real-time location, increasing SMS marketing open rates and SMS redemption rates. For example, Locaid recently powered the technology behind a location-aware SMS marketing campaign for Easton Mall, in partnership with Alliance Data.

The SMS campaign was targeted at cardholders of select branded credit programs, which ran from Black Friday to New Year’s Eve in 2012. The SMS geofence was created around Easton Mall in Ohio and was designed to trigger an SMS text promotion to SMS subscribers when they were within a predetermined proximity of the mall.

The SMS promotion encouraged SMS subscribers to use their store-branded credit cards for a chance to win a shopping spree at one of the participating retailers. Following the pilot SMS program:

  • 39% of SMS subscribers said that the location-based mobile marketing campaign influenced their purchase decisions.
  • 37% of SMS subscribers said the SMS promotions influenced them to visit a specific brand within the mall.
  • 68% of SMS subscribers indicated they would sign up for future location-based SMS promotions.
  • Card holders that received the location-aware mobile marketing messages spent on average 24% more in a shopping trip than the average card holder that didn’t receive the location-aware SMS promotions.

 

#3 How do you determine where SMS subscribers are located?

As I said earlier, a mobile geofence is a layer of intelligence that allows you to make decisions or take some action based on a geographical area. A mobile geofence can circle anything, or any area, such as a retail store, a stadium, or even a neighborhood. Locaid uses a Network-based Geofence, which uses carrier-grade location data to determine where SMS subscribers are located. You can see an example of this below, where this SMS subscriber is 22 miles outside of the geofence that Starbucks had setup for their Mountain View store location.

 

#4 Do customers have to opt-in first to receive location based SMS messages from a brand?

Yes. The number one rule for location-based marketing is that you need permission to locate a mobile device. Permission can be obtained in multiple ways, from customers replying to a text message confirming they want to share their location with a brand (see below for an example), to customers giving permission within a web opt-in form that captures their mobile phone numbers.

 

#5 Once opted-in, is this technology always tracking SMS subscriber locations?

Not with network-based geofencing– it’s simply not required. The correct way to use a geofence for an SMS campaign is to use it as an additional data point for your SMS subscribers in order to send locally-targeted, relevant content. This will then increase SMS redemption rates, and thus the return on investment on any SMS campaign. For example, with location-aware SMS marketing, restaurants only need to look up the location of their SMS subscribers once a day around happy hour if they’re interested in sending SMS promotions to increase traffic during happy hour, as they would only focus on sending promotions to those subscribers within the geofence during that specific time.

 

#6 How accurate is the SMS subscribers location?

Locaid advocates the use of network-based mobile marketing geofences that uses carrier-grade location data to pinpoint the location of an SMS subscriber.

Accuracy depends on a number of factors, including whether the SMS subscribers’ wireless carrier supports the use of A-GPS location capabilities, which are extremely accurate in outdoor environments, to less accurate options for mobile phones that use G-CID, Cell ID and Enhanced Cell IDs, which will produce a mobile geofence location accuracy ranging from one to five city blocks, or 100 – 5,000 meters.

Other considerations that affect location accuracy of an SMS subscriber include the wireless carrier network technology, including GSM, UMTS, CDMA, HSPA, and LTE deployments, in addition to the topography of the area, such as if the SMS subscriber is in a dense urban, suburban or rural area.

#7 How big or small can the geofence around a business be?

A geofence for an SMS campaign can be as big or as small as the business wants. The size of the geofence depends on the SMS campaign requirements and the expected accuracy of the underlying location method that will be used i.e. A-GPS VS G-CID, which we discussed above. A business can also create multiple SMS geofences, which would be useful if they had multiple locations.

#8 Can we create an SMS geofence based on a city, state or a zip code?

Yes. The best use case here is for online gambling where location data is a key requirement for any wage-taking gaming app, or mobile lottery. Obtaining approvals from regulatory agencies and gaming testing labs require that a users physical location within a state or territory with legalized online gambling be verified to allow bets to be placed. GPS location can be easily spoofed, and wifi or geoIP are insufficient to provide validated location beyond country level. Network location accuracy, reach and un-spoofability make it a requirement for authenticated, verified location compliance.

#9 Does this technology work on all mobile phones, carriers, and all plans?

With network-based Geofencing you can reach 100% of your SMS subscribers regardless of mobile phone type, carrier or plan. Locaid has the widest reach in the industry and can locate over 400 million mobile phones across the US and Canada through our unrivalled relationships with the tier 1 and 2 wireless carriers. The best part is that adding location based targeting to an SMS campaign doesn’t cost SMS subscribers any additional money, as the only costs are to the brand sending the SMS messages.

#10 How much does it cost to add this type of capability to an SMS campaign?

The costs for adding a network-based geofence to an existing SMS campaign depends on how often a brand wants to lookup the location of their SMS subscribers, so pricing can vary. It’s also very easy to increase or decrease how often an SMS subscriber is located, which can be adjusted based off the results a brand experiences. The best part is that this type of technology can be implemented on existing SMS campaigns with only a minimal amount of work.

Have more questions about how to leverage location based mobile marketing services like geofencing to increase mobile redemption rates in your own SMS marketing campaigns? Call us at Voupons HQ and we’d be happy to discuss the capabilities of this exciting technology.

See how Eagle Boys Pizza used GEO Fence:  http://www.voupons.com.au/blog/find-out-how-eagle-boys-pizza-were-able-to-launch-a-geo-fence-campaign/

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The Future of interactive shopping and Google’s indoor maps

Ava walks past a shop in a shopping centre

Her Voupons App on her phone alerts her that there is a discount over 50% off in that store. The Google indoor maps sends a geo fence alert and directs her to that store.

She goes to the shop window and there is an amazing dress for $100 and was $200. Save $100

She uses her voupons App and scans the QR code in the window. It takes her to the app and she purchases or saves that dress on her phone and it gets delivered to her safety box at her home.

She then walks past her favourite sushi place and is notified that is cheap Tuesday so she goes in and shows her phone to get cheap sushi.

Voupons saved Ava $120 with the Voupons app.

We accept Voupons here – Show your phone and save: Promote your sales, events or competitions


 In-store offers will account for more than 40% of indoor location technology revenues in 2017

Google Won’t Dominate $5 Billion Indoor Location Technology Market

​Indoor location is perfectly positioned to save the retail industry’s burning platform – bricks and mortar. Major US retail brands will all launch indoor location technologies in 2012 and 2013 to enable advances in customer analytics, store optimization, proximity advertising, couponing, and CRM. Competition is vicious, with over 30 big name IC vendors, start-ups, carriers, handset OEMs, and infrastructure providers (Wi-Fi, small cell, DAS, etc.) all fighting to win this space. While Google and other industry giants loom large, retailers will want to maintain control of in-store data, advertising, and CRM. As a result, start-ups and infrastructure providers will see significant success. Carriers will also have a role to play, particularly with the onset of small cells. http://www.abiresearch.com/press/google-wont-dominate-5-billion-indoor-location-tec

Voupons Geo Fence and Geo location Smartphone apps will play a part in delivering relevant coupons, events and competitions in this space.

Google’s indoor maps, currently only available on Google Maps for Android, enable users to delve virtually into places such as shopping centres, train stations and airports – predominantly in NSW and Victoria – to give users access to their floor plans.

At some places indoor maps can pinpoint users by using nearby mobile phone towers and Wi-Fi hotspots to triangulate their approximate location within a building. Wi-Fi and mobile towers are used to locate people as GPS doesn’t work indoors as roofs obstruct the view of the sky.

So far, Google has surveyed about 40 locations in Australia to enable users to pinpoint themselves while indoors. Some Sydney locations with this feature include Central Station, the Queen Victoria Building, IKEA Homebush Bay Drive and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Google’s indoor map of the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney.

So how well does the technology work? I tested it out in Sydney at Central Station, the Queen Victoria Building (QVB), Harbourside Sydney and at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

At the QVB, floor plans showed the correct names of many of the stores inside, though did not include the names for all of them. Some stores, for example, were listed as an empty block, which happens when floor plans are uploaded to Google by businesses which are out of date.

The blue pinpoint showing where I was inside the QVB followed me as I traversed into the building and up its escalators, where it then automatically switched to the first level’s floor plan. It was, however, a little flaky at times and often showed me standing where I was a minute prior.

Google’s indoor map of Flinders Street Station, Melbourne.

At Central Station the only floor plans available appeared to be of the top entrance, where many intercity trains depart from. The detail of that floor plan was very basic and hardly useful if I wanted to catch a train from a certain platform, as many platform numbers weren’t listed and neither were the names of many shops, which are instead shown as their lot number.

Hungry Jacks was shown simply as lot “33”, even though it’s been there for many years (time to update your floor plan, Central Station?) and train platforms appeared as grey rectangles.

The pinpoint tracked me at the top part of Central Station quite well until I went to the suburban trains, where it then got lost as there may not have been enough Wi-Fi nearby to triangulate me.

Google’s indoor map of Melbourne Airport.

Also, when I stood next to the station manager’s office and attempted to navigate to it using walking directions, it directed me to go out of one entrance and come back into another. Google tells me this is because walking directions for the inside of buildings haven’t been switched on.

At the Museum of Contemporary Art the pinpoint initially worked well, but when it came time for it to transition to level 2′s floor plan once I got out of the lift I had to manually change to it. The plans at the art museum showed things such as galleries, screening rooms and toilets.

Where Google hasn’t surveyed a building and there isn’t much Wi-Fi around to help a user’s smartphone determine where it is, a big circle often appears on the screen, suggesting that the user is located somewhere within it. This is what I found when testing out indoor maps at Harbourside Sydney in Darling Harbour, one of the locations where Google Maps basically turns your phone into a map found at a shopping centre with no “you are here” pointer.

Google’s indoor maps of a number of places in Sydney’s CBD

Although still helpful for finding stores within the Harbourside shopping centre, without the pinpoint telling me where I was I had to constantly look for nearby shop names, like I would with a regular physical map plastered on a directory. How old fashioned and uncool!

In conclusion, Google’s indoor maps are a useful tool for commuters, shoppers and tourists, but rely heavily on many venue’s floor maps, which aren’t always detailed, meaning it’s sometimes easier to just use indoor signs. I was surprised that none of Central Station’s platforms were numbered on the indoors maps and that many of the food joints were only listed by their lot number.

The other downside I found while testing was that the pinpoint dot that is meant to follow you around didn’t always accurately locate me. Sometimes I would stand still and it would move me 50 metres away. Indoor walking directions also weren’t available a lot of the time.

Overall, it’s a little gimmicky, but still a cool feature to have built into Google Maps. If you’re a business you can help by uploading your indoor floor plans to maps.google.com/floorplans. You can also help make the pinpoint more accurate by using a smartphone app and walking around to map out nearby Wi-Fi like Google’s Street View cars did when taking photos of houses.

 

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Global Smartphone App Download Market Could Reach $15 Billion By 2013

Check out these estimate research organizations in order to gain some perspective on the current and upcoming trends for these markets.

Worldwide smartphone application market, which it estimates will grow from $1.94 billion in 2009 to $15.65 billion by 2013.

The big surge in applications will be driven by a fast-growing number of smartphone users, which the research company estimates will increase from about 100 million last year to nearly 1 billion by 2013.

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Big Data Mobile Marketing

Big Data Mobile Marketing

In writing this article I had every intention of simply providing links to various articles in an attempt to demonstrate the potential Big Data and Mobile Marketing could have for business. But I realised something. The potential of Big Data is currently aimed fairly and squarely at data analysts contracted by big companies. It means nothing to the single operator bricks and mortar business that make up the majority of Australias economy. Or does it?

What is Big Data?

In information technology, big data is a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using on-hand database management tools. Wikipedia

Not much good right?

With global mobile data traffic coming in at 597 petabytes per month in 2011 (8x the size of the entire global Internet in 2000) and estimated to grow to 6,254 petabytes per month by 2015, there’s no disputing the astronomical data quantities of the mobile world. And the data is rich. Read More (source: Forbes)

Automate Actions

Imagine being able to trigger marketing or CRM actions based on words actually said during a call. Imagine plugging in call analytics data with a marketing automation tool you already use. Imagine generating emails, dynamic content, lead scores, CRM triggers, remarketing, SMS marketing, or big data cloud triggers, all based on words actually said during the call. Read More (source: Jason Wells | Viral Blog)

Engaging services

As an growing number of brands and businesses are increasingly collecting more data on their audiences, those that can combine and analyse this data effectively will be the ones that ultimately succeed in delivering a truly engaging service. The technology is there, we just need to raise our consciousness as to what constitutes a true location experience. Read More (source: Kamran Saeed | Mobile Marketing Magazine)

NFC (No F^+*!^$ Clue?)

NFC (near-field communication) chips, which enable mobile payments and wave-for-information functionality on products or points of sale, and big data are among a number of ‘tipping point’ technologies considered to be on the verge of tipping into the mainstream.

HTML5, machine-to-machine and in-memory databases are expected to tip, but LeHong identifies mobile payments using NFC and big data as the two that are particularly interesting. Read More (source: Marketing Magazine)

The thing is, Big Data has been around for a while. What is becoming evident, is that the Smartphone is enabling small bricks and mortar operators to access data on a level traditionally reserved for the corporate conglomerates. Of course, the trick is to find the right platform that provides the right data sets for your business’s marketing strategy.

So What Should You do About it?

Let the marketing moguls and technology developers sort it out. Soon enough your business will be presented with turn-key packages that will allow you to pick and choose what is relevant in the world of big data. In fact, it is already here…

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