A lot of retailers right now are struggling to weave their way through this new normal. And this is happening all over the world. They started the year trying to adapt to the increasing shift towards e-commerce and possibly end 2020 still struggling to come on top amidst the recession that covid-19 has brought about and the physical restrictions on various business activities.
Although attracting new customers via e-commerce is crucial for diversifying revenue, staying relevant, especially in your local markets, is equally crucial. Below are certain strategies that retailers can utilize for bringing in and targeting local customers.
Digital Advertising Geofencing
With geofencing, you can restrict your ads to individuals in specific locations. This could be extremely useful for driving impulse purchases and raising foot traffic. For instance, let’s say that you produce an advertising campaign that offers a discount for a limited time on specific products or services.
If you crafted your offer to expire within several hours and people near your physical store see the deal on their smartphone, there’s a huge chance that they just might take you up on your offer.
Data-driven Marketing Personalization
Because a lot of retailers are forced to limit their operations, they can’t exactly take advantage of crucial in-person interactions with shoppers. This makes the collection of customer data more vital than ever because accurate data helps with customizing marketing messages that, in turn, could help foster relationships with customers.
For instance, keeping track of dates that are important to their customers such as anniversaries and birthdays could aid retailers in creating marketing suggestions and messages that are relevant and specific. To some degree, this helps recreate that feeling of intimacy that you get with face-to-face interactions.
Likewise, observing the shopping habits of your local customers could yield crucial marketing intelligence. Let’s say that you can determine the hours a specific shopper tends to shop. You could target that shopper with a text message during the times that would likely draw them to visit your IV drip business location.
Local AI-driven Programmatic Marketing
Besides geographic targeting, you could also consider AI-driven programmatic marketing for targeting high-value prospective customers in their locations. This enables retailers to utilize their limited marketing funds to significant effect without having to micromanage their ad campaigns.
By taking advantage of real-time optimization and retargeting strategies, you can aid target local shoppers move from ecommerce to physical stores and back more easily.
The next several months are critical to the failure or success of numerous retailers worldwide. Expect to experience continuing effects resulting from the covid-19 pandemic and perhaps an extended recession. Although there’s no doubt that e-commerce could reach new markets, you still have another option, which are local customers who are looking to see their community survive this difficult time.
Through experimenting with local personalization and targeting, you can forge connections with local shoppers that can help your business thrive. This will also help build up your brand and make it a solid fixture in your community.
