The Compelling Appeal Of Proximity Marketing

Proximity marketing is the process of advertising directly to a customer using mobile media, also known as cell phone marketing or advertising. These differ from other traditional as well as online marketing efforts, in which these marketing methods involve customizing ads suited to the end user.
Don’t you wish you just had a micro-chip in your head that could answer you calls, give you directions, and recommend a great place for Mexican food? Well, that’s a bit extreme, not to mention invasive. But, if you have a GPS and a smart phone in today’s society, you barely even need to think for yourself anymore. Just like those gigantic and cumbersome paper maps are flying out the window, so are coupons clipped from the local newspaper. Advertisers who offer deals and discounts are tapping into a new way to reach their potential customers, that doesn’t require them to dig through the junk drawer for scissors or even to turn on their printers. Proximity marketing is an ‘opt-in’ application that allows advertisers to literally tap their customers as they’re walking or driving by. Yep, you could be standing in the middle of a few restaurants and the one utilizing the application could draw you in through your smart phone with an enticing deal or discount.

These proximity marketing applications let consumers check for nearby deals and receive promotions directly to their phone from local businesses. These apps utilize the phone’s GPS capabilities to figure out where the consumer is and if they’re nearby, shoot them a little compelling deal for restaurants, stores or services in their immediate area. These proximity marketing apps not only help consumers to find nearby stores and restaurants, they are also capable of helping them make real-time reservations, post feedback, and even submit reviews. Bottom-line bonus for the “slow in the beginning of the week” restaurants and mom and pop stores who can now enjoy greater foot traffic if they send out a compelling enough offer.

Proximity marketing companies allow their advertisers to direct potential consumers to locations in their vicinity while simultaneously providing information about the products or services they offer. When this information is combined with incentives such as coupons and vouchers, you have a compelling combination of both information and money-saving incentives. While this type of marketing may seem invasive to some consumers, there are an equal number of consumers who are on-board to receive these potentially cash-saving messages to their smart phones. Our smart phones have successfully become the vehicle that bridges the internet with the physical world and there’s no slowing down now. Proximity marketing is here to stay and the apps are becoming “must-haves” for today’s savvy consumers.