BBVA API Market
Geolocation has become a new resource which companies can take great advantage of, both large businesses and small startups. The idea of sharing the location of our business entails many advantages, providing the possibility, for example, to attract new customers, retain existing ones and increase the presence of our brand in the market.
In addition, more and more consumers are becoming interested in this type of applications and services, both to share their location and also due to their usefulness. Thanks to geolocation it is possible to know everything around us that can be useful, such as a store, a restaurant or a bank.
Geolocation is a trend that will continue to gain followers. At least this is what studies such as Mobile Life anticipate, showing that 19% of mobile device users currently use geolocation for some reason and 40% are interested in using it in the next 12 months.
There are already a wide range of options that allow us to discover the power of geolocation. New apps, web applications and social networks are incorporating this capability as a feature that provides a new customer experience, and allows them as well to establish a substantial competitive difference in today’s saturated markets.
First steps towards the “geolocated success”
If you want to make the most of the advantages of geolocation, the first step you have to take is to place your business or startup properly on the maps. To do this, you need to register in various specialized services such as Google Places, Foursquare, Nearby or Yelp, among others, and make sure you appear in the right location. This will give more visibility to your company, because being visible in different networks will allow users to “check-in” virtually in your business and improve the range of your target audience.
Geolocation is a bonus you can also offer as a service on your corporate site. Thus, for example, the user entering the website can see a map highlighting the location of your business and easily find out how to get there from where he is located or any other address. If the client is using a mobile device he can also find your location with any of the multiple mapping apps available in the market.
Another of the most common uses of geolocation is to attract those customers who are near your business launching exclusive offers or promotions. This is an option that can be added to your company’s app and which will help you generate profits. As we will see later, a good promotion on time can greatly facilitate sales and is also a good way to build customer loyalty among those who visit your neighborhood frequently.
Social networks can also lend you a hand. The popular Foursquare, for example, can help you know the tastes of customers through their check-ins in the premises they visit. Moreover, in many cases users include location data when they send messages through social networks like Twitter or Facebook. Analyzing these messages you can get interesting statistics that can help you understand what users are demanding or which may be the best area to open a business, the best opening hours, etc.
Examples to follow
In Spain, one of the first companies that started using geolocation services was El Corte Inglés, The group launched a specific marketing action for Foursquare called “Comando fantástico” (Great Command). It was a contest in which participants had to add the Great Command to their network and keep track of its movements. The first person to reach the physical location of this command and register it in the social network won a trip to Japan for two. That was the first approach of El Corte Inglés to a geolocation service such as Foursquare, where it now has many followers.
Another best practice is the promotion launched by the famous French pastry shops Paul Bakery, who sent a series of offers to users who were nearby their establishments. As seen in this video, the results were quite satisfactory and prove the effectiveness of good marketing strategies applied to geolocation.
An API is a very useful mechanism that connects two pieces of software equipment to exchange messages or data in a standard format such as XML or JSON. Thus, it becomes an instrument that can be used to search for revenue, open the doors to talent or innovate and automate processes.
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