Should Clients Request Geofencing within their Apps Now?

Geofencing is a new technology that’s getting some press lately.

You can read more about it in this linked resource, but suffice to say it’s a method of using a mobile user’s location (and/or other location-based information) within an app to provide related services or added features.

Let’s dive into geofencing to understand more about it and why clients are talking about it.

Geofencing 101

Geofencing essentially is a way to track a user within a certain area using GPS or other means. The idea here is to be able to provide related services based on this information.

Companies can use geofencing to find who’s nearby and target them with advertising. The same searches can locate businesses with an office or people who reside nearby, which makes it easier to send out mailers, invites to a store opening or to attract local customers before going nationwide.

Is Geofencing Beneficial to Businesses with Apps?

The simple answer is that it depends on how they intend to use it.

For instance, advertising is a popular usage. Real-time advertising which changes what ad is shown based on the user’s location has many benefits. Customers can be shown relevant ads based on the store they’re shopping at – a rival store can beat Target’s pricing – or companies can learn more about their users. A new mother might go shopping in a store that mostly sells baby products, in which case the app’s owner using geofencing technology now knows there is a new baby in the household.

It’s important to understand that advertising works best when relevant ads are shown to consumers or businesses at an appropriate time. When they’re viewed at an inappropriate time, they’re unhelpful. By using geofencing to obtain better information about where the mobile user is, they can be enticed by a coupon offer or a discount based on their daily routines. These ads get clicked on much more often and generate greater revenue for app owners too.

How Else Can Geofencing Be Used?

With the geofencing ability to identify mobile users near a given location, it’s possible to reach people who have just attended a business expo. While an expo stand might be occupied by a business that doesn’t have access to all the attendee information – only the ones who visit their stand and share their contact details – using geofencing, they can still advertise to other attendees.

Such technology could entice expo visitors to come to their expo stand or offer an exclusive product if they respond to the advertisement while the expo is still running. This turns real-time location information into something valuable from a marketing standpoint.

Anyone with the company’s app already installed can also see relevant ads for their products. Using location and movement information, a company with a wide product range can work to narrow down what might be of interest to their customer. This can make all the difference when making product recommendations and lead to a higher response rate.

Geofencing is a newer technology that’s extending what is possible with mobile apps. Even if you haven’t tried it out yet, as someone learning app development, it’s certainly a growth area worth exploring.