Understanding the Basics of Geofencing Marketing

Insurance agents know that generating new leads is key to sustaining business. But have you harnessed all the tools at your disposal that can help you reach out to potential customers? In today’s modern world, there are a variety of ways in which you can connect with people online, even directly to someone’s smartphone.

Geofencing marketing is one of these types of tools. Also known as geofencing advertising, this type of marketing allows you to connect with customers based on their GPS data, so that specific promotions or campaigns are triggered based on location. Keep reading to learn how geofencing marketing can play a key role in generating leads and providing insights into customer behavior.

How Does Geofencing Marketing Work?

Geofencing marketing is actually not new, but has grown in popularity as a marketing technique with the boom of smartphone technology. It works by setting up invisible, GPS-based boundaries around specific business locations, so that when a user crosses over these lines, nearby businesses are triggered to begin serving ads to that user’s device.

This allows businesses to be extremely specific when defining who receives their marketing campaigns. Rather than blasting out ads to a wide range of customers in a select city, a business can choose extremely specific parameters and only deploy ads once a potential customer has entered the defined location. Geofencing locations can be determined by radius from a select point, by walk or drive time from a select point, or by mapping out the footprint of a building.

Using Geofencing Marketing to Generate Leads

Clearly, geofencing marketing makes sense for brick and mortar stores who want to encourage customers to shop with them — they simply begin deploying ads once a customer is within the boundaries of their business. But how can geofencing marketing be used to generate leads for insurance companies?

Depending on your specific insurance industry, geofencing can be critical in identifying new leads. What you’ll need is to understand your prospective customer and their journey prior to purchasing your product, and deploy geofencing marketing in locations relevant to their customer journey.

For instance, automobile insurance businesses often employ geofencing marketing at car dealerships, the DMV, and auto body shops, as customers already visiting these locations would have overlapping interests with auto insurance services. Travel insurance businesses would utilize geofencing marketing at airports, car rental businesses, and heavily populated tourist locations.

Using Geofencing at Events, Trade Shows

You can also use geofencing around the venue of a specific event or tradeshow you are attending. Let’s say you specialize in writing construction insurance and are attending an event or speaking on a panel at a trade show to establish new business opportunities. Geofencing trade shows is a cost-effective way to create brand awareness and capture mindshare…even after people have left your booth or presentation. Imagine attendees browsing on their smartphone device, checking out their favorite news or Facebook or LinkedIn feed and then seeing your ad reminding them of your agency.

How Geofencing Marketing Can Provide Valuable Customer Insights

Another key aspect of geofencing marketing is additional analytics. You’ll be able to learn if certain locations and times of the week or month lead to better sales, and if certain customer profiles are more profitable.

These insights will then help you further target future leads. Rather than wasting marketing funds on customers who likely won’t purchase your product, you can narrow your ad campaigns to go after specific demographics that have proven to have stronger ROIs. This should also prove helpful to the customer, as you’ll be targeting people who are more likely to have a high interest in your product.

Getting Started with Geofencing Marketing

There are numerous third-party companies that offer geofencing marketing campaign services, and it can be helpful to speak with several to determine what best suits your overall needs. Cost, geotargeting size, and overall data provided are all factors to consider when negotiating a contract.

You’ll need at least a basic understanding of your buyer persona before getting started with geofencing marketing. It’s helpful to keep campaigns hyper-local and specific — you don’t want to confuse customers with too much information. Small, simple campaigns with a clear CTA have the best chance of success!