Location, Location, Location
BY LAUREN LABUNSKY
In today’s world, nearly everyone walks around with a smartphone day to day. In most cases, these devices make it possible to track the user’s location using GPS technology. Not only does this come in handy when you want to pinpoint the location of your friends and family members or when you need directions yourself, but it’s also highly useful as a marketer.
Location-based marketing allows you to target audience members, or prospects for your dealership, based on where they are or recently have been. This strategy allows you to reach prospects at key points of the customer journey. As a dealership that is likely focused on your local community for most sales, the opportunity for location-based marketing is especially beneficial.
There are two digital advertising strategies that are tied to location in especially valuable ways:
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) operates largely on the location of searchers looking for businesses like yours. A search query like “ATVs for sale near me” will prompt an ad for your dealership to appear for those located within a specified distance from your store and who display a high likelihood to purchase from you. While ad targeting also focuses on things like demographics, past search history, and more, location is a huge element. Eighty-two percent of smartphone users conduct “near me” searches and 90% of those searchers say they are most likely to click on the first set of search results¹. Plus, smartphone searchers are likely on the go themselves – research shows that 76% of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby end up visiting a business within a day².
- Geofence Targeting is entirely focused on location. This marketing strategy allows you to display ads via mobile device when prospects enter geofenced locations, whether that’s a specific place like the competing dealership in town or a more broad area such as a neighborhood with an average income level that matches the prices of the units you sell. There are even more advanced abilities within Geofence Targeting as well. Event Geofence Targeting is based on event-specific locations, with ads running during the dates and times of the event. Addressable Geofence Targeting allows you to target specific households and businesses and can incorporate known addresses from your DMS or CRM.
In the customer journey, marketing to prospects by location can make a huge difference. Serving an online ad to someone demonstrating interest in units like yours at just the right moment – for example, by visiting a dealership that sells the same type of inventory – could make the difference in that prospect buying from you. Advertising to a search engine user at the precise moment that they are looking online for a dealership like yours can earn your dealership more leads that convert to sales. With access to location information, you get a huge piece of the puzzle in delivering your message to the right prospects who are most likely to become customers.
Lauren Labunsky is the public relations manager at Dealer Spike, a leading web services provider for powersports dealerships. The award-winning digital advertising company is focused on helping dealers increase sales through powerful, distinctive website design and a full suite of online marketing tools to drive results. Dealer Spike’s expertise comes from real-world dealership experience and a team of professionals who also ride. When you work with Dealer Spike, you’re working with digital marketing experts who have a passion for your industry.
¹Search Engine Land
²Think With Google