Creating a Deeper Brand Experience with Proximity Marketing

Experience is everything.

This should be stamped on the forehead of every business person out there. The reason? That is exactly what consumers consider before they associate with any brand. The only option is to create a deep brand experience that adds value to the consumer’s life. It is crucial for survival. The new player in the brand experience game is proximity marketing and it is one that both the top dogs and underdogs can use to improve their marketing strategy and strengthen that crucial bond with their customers. 

What is a brand experience?

Heart racing, you open the wonderfully clear plastic. You slide open that uniquely designed, every pixel counts case. The hairs on your arms stand tall as the perfectly fitted insert holds up your glorious new IPhone.

We have all had that experience, albeit, other brands are available, but we all know that excitement. The thrill of that perfectly packaged item that says - you deserve this you crazy cat!

This feeling. This is what we describe as a brand experience.

This brand experience can be found in many ways including design and identity, packaging, communications as well as environments. Although, I don’t have to tell you that this thrilling feeling can also be turned upside down with a bad moment or interaction with the brand to create a negative brand experience. That is something none of us want.

Gartner explains that there is a very definite link between brand experience and personalisation especially in the era of millennials. In fact, they even predict that by 2018 organisations that enhance their brand experience with personalisation will out sell companies who don’t by 20%!

Why can proximity marketing help enhance a brand experience?

Ping!

A reminder to have your boarding pass ready as you walk towards security. That’s useful.

Ping!

A list of your inflight entertainment and meal options on board. Now that is what I am talking about!

These are some of the ways that Virgin Atlantic are taking advantage of proximity marketing to increase brand experience and they aren’t the only ones. Across many different industries, many different organisations are using and testing proximity marketing to bring their customers even closer including McDonald’s, Tesco and Urban Outfitters.   

Research carried out by JiWire and published by Forbes found that 57% of customers are more likely to engage with location based advertising with a further 62% sharing the locally advertised deals with friends. So what can we take from this? Customers are willing to engage, interact and share local advertising if it provides immediate value to their lives or those around them. Integrated into a marketing strategy you can add value to both your business and your customers’ lives simply by including proximity marketing based on content that your customer wants to receive.

What are the benefits of proximity marketing on brand experience for the business?

For different industries and different roles, the value added by proximity marketing will be different. A few of the key benefits of proximity marketing on brand experience include:  

• Low cost - Including proximity marketing into your strategy does not need to cost you the earth. Over the last 5 years the technology has evolved at a fast pace to meet the demands of businesses wanting to get closer to their customer. Now, the technology is of a high standard and at a fraction of the cost that it once was.

• Increase leads & conversions - With proximity marketing, you trigger your brand in the minds of customer in the right place at the right time, where before they may not have been specifically thinking about you. In McDonald’s trial of proximity marketing, they found a 20% conversion rate with 30% of those who received a promotion using the offer more than once. These are additional sales on top of those already coming to your store. I am sure you would agree with me when I say - You would rather they were in your store than your competitors!
  
  

• Increased customer engagement -  Becoming known by the customer for giving them the content and offers that they want strengthens your relationship with them. The French multinational retailer, Carrefour, increased their rate of app sign ups by 600% in just 7 months simply by adding proximity marketing to their strategy. The data they received and were monitoring helped increase the store’s profitability. The reason for this was that they could offer deals the customers wanted in order to strengthen the relationship and build their loyalty.

Customer relationship building through brand experience and proximity marketing go hand in hand. The best part is that it is no longer the case that only the big companies with big budgets can afford it. It is accessible to every type of business in a wide range of sectors no matter what the budget. The more personal you make the customer experience of your brand the stronger you make that bond and the more the customer will remain loyal to you as a business.

For more information on how you can integrate proximity marketing into your strategy contact me via rachel@hurree.co.