Reach perfect prospects at the perfect moment
BY LAUREN LABUNSKY
There is no better way to assess a prospect’s likelihood to buy than to see what actions they take in their customer journey. From a digital standpoint, these actions could be things like opening an email, submitting a lead, or visiting a social media site – actions that can be tracked through tools like marketing automation.
What about the actions that prospects take offline? Visiting a dealership in person is clearly a major indicator that the prospect is serious about buying, and if a prospect chooses to visit your dealership, great! But what if a prospect in your local market visits a competitor instead? With Geofence Targeting, the story is far from over.
Using location data gathered from smartphones, Geofence Targeting gives your dealership access to advertise to people visiting specific locations. If you think your likely prospects will visit a certain place – for example, your competitor’s location – you can geofence that area and deliver mobile ads to people within the boundary that you set. Someone visiting your competitor across town could see an ad for your dealership’s latest units in stock or sales promotion while looking at similar units at the competing dealership.
Of course, Geofence Targeting isn’t limited to rival dealerships – the opportunities are endless. Local restaurants or popular shopping centers may be a good option to reach a large quantity of people, but it would be more strategic to target places where you know likely prospects may be. For instance, a venue holding a motocross racing event would be a wise choice. To get even more creative, you could target the hotel associated with the event. Addressable Geofence Targeting allows you to target specific home addresses where you know customers or prospects live based on information within your CRM. You can even geofence entire neighborhoods that fit your target audience profile.
One of the most powerful aspects of Geofence Targeting is that, with some providers, you can continue to advertise to people who visited your targeted location(s) for up to thirty days post-visit. It is arguable that the most impactful time to advertise is when the person is present in that location, possibly considering a purchase at that very moment. However, as with all advertising efforts, most people need to be exposed to an ad several times before deciding to pursue it. Continuing to advertise to those prospects for a month will keep your dealership at top of mind, reminding prospects about the units you offer and enticing them to buy.
Geofence Targeting takes digital advertising to another level – reaching people digitally based on actions they take in person. This strategy allows you to pinpoint people who are exhibiting a specific behavior that indicates their likely interest in your dealership. A powerful advertising method is backed by the confidence that your target audience is likely to convert, and Geofence Targeting provides outstanding insight into the intentions of your target audience.
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.