Business Owners: Increase Profits using Hyperlocal Technology

As a business owner, I'm sure that you've come to find that new technology and e-commerce is making it difficult for you to keep up. As a graduate student in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, I have focused my research on tech marketing and have found two articles which will give you insights into how to use hyperlocal technologies to grow your business.

          

According to "How Hyperlocal Tech Is Reviving Brick-and-Mortar Sales" by Allan Haims of Street Fight Magazine, hyperlocal technology is revitalizing physical retail locations. He suggests that the ubiquity of smartphone use has opened the door to direct digital marketing. Haims also discusses the various  ways in which new marketing technologies are affecting the hyperlocal retail market. First, he talks about the ability to monitor in-store traffic patterns to improve the store and sales and mentions the expanded use of different payment types that allow brands to be more connected with the consumer. Second, Haims touches on beacon technology and the use of social media to target customers with discount deals. Lastly, he calls on retailers to improve the efficiency of their inventories using new marketing technologies.

The second article, titled "Apple Watch will support hyper-local ads urging users to flash the cash", by John McCarthy of The Drum, surrounds the highly-anticipated release of the Apple iWatch and its tie-in with Hyperlocal Technology. McCarthy is reporting that the upcoming Apple iWatch will have the ability to receive ads pushed to it, hyperlocally, from nearby stores. Also, the fact that the smartwatch will be Apple Pay compatible means that these ads will be able to be redeemed and paid for just by touching your watch. The rest of the article is comprised of quotes regarding the potential magnitude of the Apple iWatch.

                

Based on my insight gained from Northwestern's IMC program and the information from these two articles, there are three actionable tactics that I recommend you as a marketer should do:

• Invest Hyperlocally. Start to consider options for investing in hyperlocal beacon technology. If you fail to get ahead of the trend, your competitors will leave you in their digital dust.

• Accept Digital Currency. Create the ability to use Apply Pay and Google Wallet in your retailer locations so that customers’ purchases are as simple as touching their wrists.

• Prep your Team. Develop hyperlocal campaigns and financial strategies that would be most profitable and implement these campaigns/strategies using beacon technology.

As a marketing executive, it is crucial that you stay abreast of technologies like hyperlocal and beacon technologies that have the potential to be the “next big thing” in marketing tech. Follow these three steps in order to stay ahead of the curve and eclipse your competitors.

Brandon Duran, originally from Los Angeles, CA, is
pursuing a Master’s in Integrated Marketing
Communications from Northwestern University’s Medill.
Currently on the Brandy Strategy and Data Analytics
specialization tracks, Brandon is interested in using data
analytics to improve the equity of brands in the tech industry.

Connect with Brandon on Twitter and LinkedIn.