Article /
Science & Technology /
Science & Technology
Understanding your audience, no matter where they are |
India is becoming a smartphone-first nation, with usage
rates now the
second largest in the world — exceeding the US and just behind
China — and adoption is still set to grow. By the end of this year
337 million
people, over a quarter of the population, will use a smartphone.
For marketers, this makes it critical to place mobile at the top of the agenda
if they want to take advantage of this vast audience. Yet a big market isn’t
easy to engage; just because mobile offers sizeable scale, doesn’t mean
campaigns will inherently be successful.
To effectively capture interest, marketers must ensure messages are always based
on deep individual-level insight and delivered in the right place, at the right
time.
So, how can they do so?
Breaking through the noise
The ubiquity of mobile, especially smartphones, creates both challenges and
opportunities. On the one hand, it broadens the lines of communication for
marketers and allows them to access consumers 24/7. But on the other,
competition for attention is high: in India alone, users spend almost
three
hours on smartphone apps each day and download rates topped 12 billion last
year. To stand a chance of breaking through, messages need to have maximum
personal and in-the-moment resonance; there is no room for one-size-fits-all
marketing on mobile.
And this brings us to location. By harnessing the connectivity of smartphones
and using it to obtain valuable location data, marketers can tailor messages
according to where consumers are — thereby adding contextual relevance to their
targeting that amplifies its impact.
Location: the key to better understanding
Generally speaking, marketers can leverage mobile location data in two ways.
Firstly, they can collate GPS data produced by in-built geolocation tools.
Though it’s worth noting that this functionality is often switched off and data
collection is dependent on consumer opt-ins, which aren’t guaranteed. Secondly,
they can utilise IP geolocation technology, which can establish the location of
a device without requiring opt-in or making the user personally identifiable.
Capable of locating users right down to post-code level, IP geolocation provides
accurate and granular data that significantly enhances the precision of
campaigns. For instance, instead of serving generic discounts, retail marketers
can deliver real-time notifications featuring local offers to individuals.
Moreover, IP intelligence also extends to further key attributes, including;
connection characteristics – such as connection type (3G, 4G, WI-FI, wired, home
or business) and speed, mobile carrier, internet service provider (ISP) and
proxy information. This wealth of information not only helps marketers make
sense of complex multi-sessional journeys, but can also assist in streamlining
and simplifying the user experience. Marketers may choose to adjust message
dimensions when public networks are in use to avoid slow page loads, or deliver
ads for favourite products at the time individuals usually set off for the
store.
And that’s not all. When merged with additional sources, geolocation data can
also form one of the key components in building a multi-layered marketing
strategy. By combining it with other insight — such as data relating to a
consumer’s demographic, affluence level, device, and browsing activity —
marketers can use location as a springboard for constructing richer behavioural
profiles. Armed with a holistic picture of how individuals behave, what
interests them, and when they are receptive, marketers have the ideal basis for
effective targeting.
In the era where smartphones are king, it’s increasingly vital for marketers to
develop their own smart strategies that allow them to cut through the noise and
outpace rivals. And to do that, they need the in-depth understanding only
accurate location data can bring. By seizing the power of IP geolocation to
pinpoint where consumers are, what they are doing and how they are connected,
marketers can give their messages a unique contextually relevant edge. By taking
things a step further and blending location insight with a wider pool of data,
they can create campaigns with deep real-time resonance no mobile user can
resist.
TAGS:
Digital Marketing,
usage of smartphone in India,
marketing through mobile phones,
Digital Marketing through smart phones,
IP geolocation technology,
marketing campaigns through mobile phones,
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