By now, most shops, restaurants, and cafés are allowed to reopen regardless of their size. But how does a customer find out that their local Italian restaurant has reopened, or a shopper that their favourite boutique has new stock? Where does the clientele get information about the conditions under which a restaurant, shop, hairdresser, etc. is open? Currently, this only happens if they proactively visit the website or the retailer sends out mailings, SMS, or WhatsApp messages to their regular customers. However, this is largely wishful thinking, as brick-and-mortar retail and gastronomy, unlike the B2B business environment or online retail, do not collect customer data. Location-based marketing offers an effective way to target customers in their vicinity and inform them about important information such as opening hours, mask mandates, or delivery services.
All the answers to the most important questions that consumers need answered should be readily available. We have put together some for you:
- Are you open or closed?
- Does the mask mandate apply to consumers?
- Do you have the product in stock?
- Are all locations closed or open? Are there any exceptions?
- Is there a delivery or collection service?
Tip: The coronavirus measures should always be kept in mind in order to quickly share information about any changes!
Step 1: Online information should be up to date across all channels
Website, Google Maps
- Opening hours
- Restrictions: Mask mandate, social distancing, etc.
- Offer: Products, services etc.
- Delivery service information
- Address
- Contact person + special service hotlines
Step 2: Share updates
All adjustments and changes made by the business on the website will be shared with regular customers via existing contact details such as mailings or messenger services, as well as social media channels. Instagram and Facebook are ideal channels to promote the re-opening and distribute daily updates.
Step 3: Location-Based Advertising
To reach even more potential customers in the immediate vicinity, location-based advertising is currently experiencing a new surge. This involves serving location-specific advertisements to users on their mobile devices. The principle works using geo-tracking and has the advantage that only regional offers are displayed. With geo-fencing, the user's GPS coordinates are used to determine their location. The advantage of this is that localization can be carried out with an accuracy of a few metres, which means a small reach, but for brick-and-mortar businesses, it results in minimal wastage of their marketing efforts. Invictus uses the established technology of its partner for this purpose. Yous.
